ELISA’S POV
The guard walked beside me in silence, his steps relaxed and unhurried, making me wonder if he was used to pacing himself with others. For a while, I let the quiet remain between us, my mind still heavy with Alec’s words. The memory of his smirk, his cruel tone, the way he had tried to break me—it all sat like a stone in my chest.
But the silence between me and the guard started to become too much, and I found myself glancing at him every so often.
“What’s your name?” I asked softly, breaking the quiet.
He turned his head toward me. A flicker of surprise passed across his face, then softened into something almost shy. “Caius,” he said.
I repeated it under my breath, testing how it sounded. “Hmm.... Caius… I don’t remember ever seeing you around here before. How long have y
