Velvet chains of winter

d long ago how t

val demanded it. Quiet footsteps. Soft breaths. Neutral expressions. In

el Arden Blackwood's presence

atching, afraid that if Maribel sensed even the slightest shift in Elara's posture

pacing ou

ut sharply throug

t. The smell of toasted bread and bitter coffee sat hea

she murmured

lm and placed it neatly on the table. Her eyes

cted lately," Marib

around the edge of her

hly. "You represent this family when you're

. "Honestly, Mother, I don't know why you

urt. Elara had heard variat

ay, the

omeone had looked at her and

ack quietly and stood.

dded. "Don

face like a blessing. The city felt different today-brighter, louder, alive.

tice the blac

rried precision, that her heart jumped into her throat

slid down

la

eath c

resting casually on the steering wheel, hi

e walking alone,

aring like this," she whispered, glancin

eplied. "That'

ward the pas

nt, Elara

tepping into unfamiliar territory-especially with a man like him.

d

forward before her

aintly of leather and something sharper-control, maybe. Kael pulled back o

to drive me,"

," he r

h things unspoken. Elara folded her hands in her lap, acut

doesn't know abou

el answered wit

ld have a

it comf

of the business district. Kael parked and

he said

ned. "I'm

n't a sug

ated, the

s of her daily life. Kael ordered effortlessly, as though the staff already

eading through her chest, she fin

d, but there was something beneath the surface-a tension, a restraint-tha

is?" she asked again,

speaking. "Because people like Maribel V

tightened. "You

"I've seen her records. Her

ned. "You inv

es

th relief. Someone had finally noticed. Someone b

ael added quietly. "I don't

ur reason?

ou looked terrified in the rain. And

deep inside her, h

id something like

her destination, Kael d

e," he said calmly. "But it does m

, unsure w

d away, her p

ou need anyt

ightened arou

jaw set with quiet resolve. He had cross

ld soon realize her

.