|Serena's POV|
His eyes stay locked on mine, quiet and unreadable, and for a moment, I'm sure he's going to lie—tell me it's because I matter, or because I'm not as broken as I think, or because this is what anyone would do in his place. Something sweet. Something safe. Something false enough for me to pick apart later in the dark.
But Gryphon Vance doesn't lie.
Not like that.
His thumb brushes my lower lip, his eyes flicking there briefly, and I feel the breath catch behind my ribs as he answers, low and steady and terrifying in its simplicity.
"Because you're mine."
I blink.
Once. Twice.
The words aren't laced in romance or softness. They don't come gift-wrapped in metaphor or laced with pity. They're raw and real and branded with some kind of ownership that should terrify me—bu
