~Elsie's POV
For a moment, I just stood there, my words still hanging in the air, my body cold and heavy from everything that had just happened, and I braced myself without even realizing it, already expecting the worst.
I thought he would take her side.
I thought he would look at me the same way they all did, like I didn't belong there, like I was the problem that needed to be fixed or removed.
But instead….
"Livia."
His voice cut through the room sharply, louder than I had ever heard it before, and it carried something dangerous in it, something that made even me flinch.
"What are you doing?"
The anger in his tone was not hidden this time, and for a second, Livia froze where she stood, her confidence cracking in a way I had not seen before.
"I…" she started, but he didn't let her finish.
He had already moved.
He stepped closer to me, his presence suddenly right there, and I felt it before I even fully looked up at him.
"Are you okay?"
