Sophie’s POV
I couldn’t breathe in that office.
Not with Adrian’s eyes on me, sharp as blades, burning through every layer of armor I had left. Not with his voice echoing in my skull, that gravel-edged growl that always left me torn between fury and something I refused to name.
When I finally stumbled back to my room, the silence wrapped around me like a vice. I shut the door, pressed my forehead against the cool wood, and let out the breath I’d been holding since the docks.
My chest ached. Not from fear. From the war raging inside me.
You’re not ready for that name yet.
Cole’s words slithered through my mind, poisonous and irresistible. He dangled truth just out of reach, and I hated how much I wanted it.
But Adrian’s voice cut through, deeper, darker. The difference is that I don’
