Chapter 63
Ella
I turned slowly, the world seeming to spin slightly, my pulse hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. It felt like a drumbeat echoing in the sudden silence of the room.
Nikolai leaned against the sink, arms crossed, watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher. His dark eyes, usually so expressive, were clouded with something unreadable, something that made my throat go dry and my palms sweat. It was a look that sent a shiver down my spine, a mix of intensity and something else… something that felt dangerously close to desire.
"You ran away," he said, his voice low, almost lazy, like he was merely stating a fact. But I wasn’t fooled. There was a sharpness beneath the words, a quiet accusation that made my stomach clench.
I swallowed, trying to moisten
