A heavy, suffocating silence reigned in the living room after Elena dropped her demand. It was the kind of silence that preceded a storm, thick with the scent of old money and new blood.
Damian scoffed, a sound of pure, unadulterated disgust that seemed to vibrate in the quiet room. He looked away from Elena, his eyes landing on a distant piece of art as if searching for anything more pleasant than the woman before him.
"All this drama just so I should marry you? Why should I?" he demanded, his voice flat. To him, this felt like the most petty, desperate play he had ever witnessed in the high-stakes world of the Thorns.
In response, Elena didn't use words. She simply turned her phone toward him, the screen glowing brightly in the dim light. She played a video.
