Elena – POV
I shouldn’t have left without waiting for him.
But the thought of facing Adrian after last night…
after the way he looked at me…
I panicked.
Or maybe I ran.
Yes.
I definitely ran.
Even when I was getting ready, even when Ava zipped up my dress, even when she kept telling me I looked “drop-dead gorgeous”…
all I could feel was the weight of his last stare.
So intense.
So consuming.
So utterly impossible to escape.
And the stupid part?
I kept searching for him anyway.
Every time the wind brushed my skin, I expected it to be him.
Every shadow, every footstep behind me felt like his presence getting closer.
But he wasn’t there.
Not in the hallway.
Not in the lobby.
Not anywhere.
And for a moment, I felt… relieved.
But relief is such a liar.
Because the second
