Chapter 17

Elise felt like vanishing when Kaide held back her hand as she tried to enter her room—so much for dealing with it alone.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Kaide asked Elise, his jaws squared in, filled with worry and alertness as he caressed Elise’s face.

But Elise shook her head. “Nothing, nothing at all,” she said. “You don’t need to worry about it, please,” she said, and Kaide knew she was asking him to let it go.

His hands dropped from her soft cheeks, taking a step back to lengthen the space, which he had noticed was far too small because of them.

“What’s in your hand?” Elise asked, her gaze lowered to what Kaide was holding in his hands. Elise then looked back when she heard the sounds of someone coming down the steps.

And for a moment, there was noticeable panic on her face that Kaide noticed, but before he could ask, Elise had pushed him into her room, closing the door in haste.

“Sorry about that; what were you saying?” She asked, forcing a