Elisabeth's POV
I remained motionless.
He refused to listen.
Our eyes locked in a silent battle before I forced myself to take an unsteady step toward him, my voice shaking with raw desperation as I repeated the plea, hoping that repetition might somehow break through his walls, "Jefferson, I'm begging you. This wasn't me. You understand who I am. You know I could never turn against you this way."
His jaw tensed with such force I feared his teeth might crack, yet his eyes held my attention most. Those stunning, intense eyes I had studied countless times were now vacant. Empty. That hollowness destroyed me far more completely than any cruel words could manage.
"Know you?" His voice sliced through the air like winter wind. "Do I truly know you, Elisabeth? Because everything I believed about you..." A harsh laugh escaped him as he shook his head slowly. "All fabricated, correct?"
