Hadrian left me standing by the car, striding purposefully toward the main entrance without so much as a backward glance. A storm of emotions churned within me, each one vying for dominance. Anger, however, burned brightest. I tried to smother it, to bury it beneath a facade of indifference, but it clawed its way to the surface no matter how hard I tried.
"Asshole," I muttered under my breath.
He froze mid-step and turned to face me, his gaze sharp enough to cut glass. "What did you just say?" he hissed, his voice low but dangerous.
I met his eyes, unflinching. I wanted him to see the defiance smoldering within me, to know that I wasn’t going to yield—not to him, not like this. I wasn’t his slave, and I refused to let him treat me as one. But no matter how fiercely I glared, the truth r
