章 46: My little pretty flower

Leila's POV:

The moment Raphael's voice reached my ears, my blood turned to ice.

"My little pretty flower has grown up." The words slithered through the air like poison, dragging me back into the darkness of my past, to the nightmares I thought I'd left behind. I had hoped he wouldn't recognize me, that maybe I had been forgotten, but I should have known better. Raphael was too cunning for that, too determined.

 I had thought the library was a safe place to hide. No one ever came here, not anymore. It seemed perfect, quiet, and isolated—a place where I could catch my breath and escape the mounting tension between Drake and me. But as I sat there, tucked away behind the shelves with a book in hand, I let my guard down. And now, I was paying for it.

 Raphael had found me.