ROWANNE’S POV.
All I had was pretence. A mask I wore with painstaking precision. Smiling in front of everyone, especially when he was in the room, was my only armour.
And yet, shamelessly, he stared. Boldly. His gaze was relentless like a silent storm that chased me no matter how far I tried to run. It wasn’t just a look, it felt like a claim. It marked me and burned through me, as if I already belonged to him.
God help me. I—
I loved it.
I loved the way he made me feel like I was something more than a shattered woman piecing herself back together. His attention stripped away the pity that clung to me like a second skin.
Under Eli’s gaze, I wasn’t the sombre widow draped in black or the woman everyone whispered about in hushed tones at parties.
No, under his stare, I was someth
