As the elevator doors closed, Elena looked at her reflection in the mirrored wall.
She looked the same.
Cold.
Composed.
Untouchable.
Yet something felt different.
Because tonight...
She had laughed.
She had eaten junk food.
She had walked beside Alaric without thinking about every possible danger.
For almost an hour, she had simply existed.
And that scared her.
Because Elena Vaughn knew how to survive pain.
She knew how to survive betrayal.
She knew how to survive hatred.
But kindness?
Kindness was dangerous.
Because hatred pushed people away.
But kindness...
Kindness made people stay.
And Elena wasn't sure what frightened her more— losing Alaric Hale… or slowly realizing she might not want to.
Later that night—
The penthouse was unusually quiet.
Elena had already disappeared into her room after returning from their walk.
Alaric remained alone in the living room.
One arm stretched over the couch.
Phone resting loosely in his hand.
