Sophie’s POV
When Adrian appeared in the library, his presence shifted the air before he even spoke.
He didn’t need to raise his voice; the weight of his silence was already heavy enough to fill the room.
“We’re attending the Blackwell Gala tomorrow,” he said, his tone clipped, controlled.
I lifted my gaze from the book I hadn’t been reading, my heart already tight. He stood in the doorway like a wall—broad shoulders, dark eyes, every inch of him carved from command.
But it was his next words that sliced through me like glass.
“I’ll be bringing Elena as my date.”
The world tilted.
For a heartbeat, the letters on the page blurred. My fingers locked around the book until the edges cut into my palms, but I didn’t flinch. Not outwardly.
Inside, though—inside, my blood roared.
Elena
