Elias’s POV

Ronan didn’t let go of my hand for a long time. Not until my breathing steadied.

Not until the tremors in my fingers faded.

Not until he was sure I wasn’t about to fall apart again.

Even then… he didn’t step far. Just enough to breathe, not enough to leave.

He stood near the window, back turned to me, shoulders heavy with the weight of every secret he’d just revealed. I could see the tension in his spine, in the slow, deliberate rise and fall of his chest.

He ...