"His hand was too firm."
Eli's departure had left a void in the glittering formal hall that seemed to expand with each passing second, his absence somehow more present than the hundreds of elegantly dressed students who continued to swirl around the dance floor in blissful ignorance of the psychological drama that had just unfolded. Silver felt the loss of his presence like a physical ache, a hollow sensation in her chest that made breathing feel like conscious work rather than an automatic function.
But Carroway showed no intention of allowing her to process what had just happened or retreat to safety where she could examine the emotional wreckage that seemed to be accumulating around her with increasing frequency. Instead, he seemed energized by Eli's retreat, his grip on her waist shifting from merely possessive to something that felt dangerously controlling.
