Liam's Pov
I could feel my own pulse hammering in the corridor outside her door. Every step I took echoed on the smooth stone floors, grinding against the silence like a blade. I’d circled this hallway half a dozen times already today, each footfall a promise and a threat. Guilt and rage warred inside me until my chest felt too tight to breathe.
I stopped and pressed my forehead to the door, hand splayed over the wood. Behind this door was Leila, my Leila, yet somehow not the same woman who had laughed with me in the sun, who had rested her head on my shoulder, who had whispered my name like a prayer.
I slammed my fist against the door. “Leila!” My voice came out raw, cracking. “Please just talk to me!”
No answer. Only the muted echo of my own desperation.
I pressed my shoulder into t
