"Do you want to compensate with a kiss?" Adrian asked, a slow, teasing smile curving on his lips.
Raya's body froze mid-step. She blinked at him, disbelief sharp in her gaze, and then instinctively, subconsciously, her hands clenched into fists. She glared at him, not just in anger but in pure incredulity.
The nerve. Just because he had orchestrated Kaelo's little lesson, just because he had allowed her to strike back, did he think that absolved him of all the pain, all the manipulation, all the fear he had made her endure?
No. If anyone were to be her hero in this world, it would be Grigor. Not Adrian. Not this man who had so casually controlled her life like a marionette, tugging at her strings with a smile.
Her lips trembled. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again, words choking somewhere between pride and despair. Instead of answering his teasing, she swallowed the lump in her throat and let a voice emerge that was quieter, heavier with desperation.
