A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 348

Frank had just opened his mouth to speak when the elevator doors slid open.

The conversation was cut dead, tension thickening the air inside the elevator.

Elissa stood with her gaze downcast, silent as stone. Rowan looked just as grim, his face dark and unreadable. Frank, caught between the two, couldn’t decide who needed comforting more—so he simply kept his mouth shut.

When the elevator reached their floor, Frank glanced at Elissa and offered quietly, “If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

Then he stepped out first, leaving the other two behind.

Inside, Elissa and Rowan stood on opposite sides, as distant as strangers sharing a ride. Elissa had no intention of explaining herself. If Rowan wanted to believe the worst, let him. Someone like him—arrogant, untouchable—wouldn’t lower himself to fight over a hopeless romantic like her anyway. That would make things simple. No more worrying about that paper-thin agreement between them. They could cut ties cleanly, once and for all.

Yes, it was better this way.

She wouldn’t fall apart. After all, they’d been apart before, and she’d long grown used to living on her own.

When the day came for her to finally avenge her parents, he could hate her without hesitation. It would be easier for both of them.

As the elevator reached the twenty-second floor, Elissa didn’t waste a second. The doors opened and she strode out, barely holding herself together, desperate not to let him see her unravel.

Rowan watched her hurry away from him like he was the plague, his expression turning ice-cold. He stepped out and deliberately walked in the opposite direction.

His patience had finally run out. If she wanted to get back together with Frank, then so be it. He could afford a wedding gift—something bigger than last time. He’d never been stingy with her.

But the moment he pushed open his front door and saw her slippers waiting in the entryway—her slippers, only hers—something in his chest twisted painfully. All reason seemed to snap.

He spun around and stormed down the hall after her.

Elissa had just slipped off her shoes and was closing her apartment door when it suddenly stopped short, pushed back by a force she hadn’t expected.

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