Chapter 40: Tense Confrontation

Elina’s POV

The silence was worse than yelling.

It pressed down on the room like a thick fog, suffocating and heavy. The air felt stagnant, as if even oxygen had stopped flowing. I could hear my own heartbeat — fast, uneven, painful — like it was trying to escape from beneath my ribs.

Ryan stood at the doorway, unmoving. His body was rigid, his shoulders squared in a way that screamed tension. His eyes darted between Isaac and me, flickering with something unreadable — anger, confusion, betrayal? Maybe all of it. He didn’t speak, but the way he held himself made it clear: he wasn’t just watching. He was waiting.

And then, without warning, he moved.

In one swift motion, Ryan crossed the room and reached for me. His hand gripped my wrist tightly, not painfully, but with enough force to pull me toward him.

“Elina,” he said, voice low and urgent. “Come here.”