Elyra’s POV
I could still feel the sting on my cheek. It wasn’t just the slap. It was the shock of it. The disbelief.
She had actually slapped me.
For a few seconds after it happened, I just stood there, staring at her as if she had grown two heads. I mean, I had always known she never liked me, but I had never expected her to be that bold, never expected that she could show just how much she hated me.
And before I could even react properly, Radiel had stepped in.
He grabbed her wrist mid-air when she tried to swing again and pulled her back with firm control. Not rough. Just steady. Protective.
“Enough,” he had said, his voice low but sharp.
The room had gone silent. Even my secretary had frozen behind her desk.
For a moment, I had looked at him differently. Not as the arrogant, a
