Chapter 166 LIORA COMES FIRST!

RONAN'S POV

"Liora, wait!" I called out the moment she rose from her chair.

But she didn’t even flinch. Not a glance. Not a flicker of acknowledgment. It was as if I didn’t exist—as if my voice was nothing more than background noise drowning in the chatter of the crowd.

I watched her weave through the hall, her steps quick and deliberate, each one echoing the urgency to escape. She didn’t just want to leave—she wanted to get away from me.

I pushed through the crowd, following her as fast as I could. "Liora, please, just listen to me!" My voice cracked with desperation as I reached out to grab her hand, but she yanked it away as though my touch burned her.

"Don’t." Her voice was sharp, and the single word sliced through me like a blade. She held up a finger, her glare fierce enough to make me freeze.

I had never seen her like this—so angry, so guarded. And it wrecked me.