Sonia’s POV
I didn’t turn back.
Not this time.
I walked ahead, my heels clicking softly against the marble floor of the hallway, my breath unsteady but determined. My skin still burned from Alexander’s touch, from the way his body had felt against mine when he’d kissed me like he was drowning. Part of me was still trembling, still raw, still suspended between wanting to run to him and wanting to protect myself from him.
Behind me, I heard his footsteps.
Slow. Heavy. Controlled.
But there was a tension in each step, like he was fighting something inside himself with every inch he moved.
I didn’t look back until I reached the living room doorway, until I felt him stop a few feet behind me, as if coming any closer would pull apart the last thread of restraint he had left.
I finally tu
