Elise didn't stay long after the encounter with Camilla. She made her rounds, accepted a few compliments with a poised smile, then slipped away into the night before the vultures could circle.
The car was waiting outside. And inside it—Silas.
He leaned back in the leather seat, one arm stretched across the backrest, looking like sin wrapped in a tailored suit. His lips curved into a smirk when she slid into the car.
"You looked like you were ready to gut someone back there," he drawled, voice low and rich. "Should I be worried?"
Elise exhaled slowly, feeling the buzz of adrenaline still simmering beneath her skin.
"No," she said. "Camilla just needed a reminder that I'm not some toy she can break."
Silas turned slightly, studying her with an intensity that made her heart skitter against her ribs.
"I didn't need you to fight my battles, you know," she said, voice tight.
"I know," he answered simply. "But it doesn't mean I'll ever stop wanting to protect you."
The words slipped into the quiet like a match striking against stone. Elise's throat tightened. No one had ever said anything like that to her—not without expecting something in return.
She stared out the window, trying to gather herself, but Silas wasn't done.
"You don't owe me anything, Elise," he said, voice softer now. "You owe them nothing. Your family. The people who tried to use you. You're not some pawn they sold off anymore. You're..."
He hesitated. For once, the unshakable Silas looked like he was searching for the right words.
"You're mine," he said finally, the word rough and almost broken. "But only if you want to be."
Elise turned to him, breath caught in her chest. For a moment, the air between them was too thick, too electric.
She could see it—him. The man who had given her the chance to reclaim her life. Not with pity, but with partnership. With fire.
Slowly, Elise reached out, her fingers brushing against his. His hand immediately curled around hers, warm and solid, like an anchor she hadn't realized she needed.
For the first time in a long time, Elise let herself believe in something that wasn't survival.
She let herself believe in him.
"Drive," she said, voice shaking slightly. "Let's go home."
Silas didn't say anything. He just squeezed her hand once before telling the driver to take them home.
And this time—It wasn't a house waiting for her at the end of the ride.It was the future.