Lyra’s POV
The more I tried to distance myself, the tighter his hold became.
I told myself I was fighting it, that I wouldn’t let him control me, but the truth was much more complicated than that.
I could hate him for what he was doing to me, for how he’d trapped me here like I was just another thing he owned. But I couldn’t hate the way he made my pulse race, the way my skin tingled under his gaze.
And I hated myself even more for that.
I’d been avoiding him all day, lingering in the farthest corners of the estate, pretending I had some sort of agency over my life. But the problem was, you couldn’t hide from Leo Weston. You couldn’t outrun him.
He was a force of nature. And I was caught in his storm.
The door creaked open behind me, slow and deliberate.
I didn’t turn.
I didn’t ha
