Chapter 418

Amara glanced at his arm, toned and muscular. Hitting it would probably just hurt her hand. No, thank you. Her gaze then drifted to the cut on his forehead. His bangs mostly covered it, but up close, she could see the mark. She felt no sympathy. After how he had behaved, he deserved it. Then again, she had a cut on her own forehead, from when she had protected Elysia. And he had been the one to bandage it. Hers was so shallow, though, that it had practically healed overnight. A little concealer had hidden it completely.

She turned her head, her voice cold. “What happened yesterday is in the past. I don’t want to talk about it again, and I would appreciate it if you never brought it up again, Mr. Everly p>

It was a clear rejection. Finnian fell silent, a heavy feeling settling in his chest.

Suddenly, the lights overhead began to flicker like a strobe, making their eyes ache. Then they went out completely. The elevator gave a violent shudder, as if caught in an earthquake. The sudden lurch brought to Amara’s mind countless news stories about falling elevators, of mangled bodies. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she was too terrified to even scream.

In the next instant, a warm body lunged toward her, wrapping her in a tight embrace. Overcome with fear, she instinctively threw her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. She clung to him desperately. Sensing her terror, he held her even tighter, so tightly that for a moment, she felt as if they might merge into one.

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the shaking stopped. The world fell silent. With a soft click, the elevator doors slid open. A hotel✅ manager and several maintenance workers stood outside, staring at the handsome man and beautifu woman locked in a tight embrace inside the elevator. They were all stunned.

It took Amara a moment to process what had happened. The elevator was working again? She looked down and saw that she and Finnlan were clinging to each other like a pair of conjoined twins Atot blush spread across her face, and she shoved him away. She turned to the astonished faces outside, and seeing they were all strangers, she let out a relieved breath. She offered an awkward smile. “Is it fixed p>

“Yes, it is. We are so sorry for the inconvenience,” the manager said, quickly composing himself and bowing.

Amara let out a sigh of relief and stepped out of the elevator, Finnian following behind her. Just moments ago, she had been filled with a righteous anger and fear. He had done something terrible, and her coldness had felt justified. But after clinging to him for dear life, burying her face in his chest, and holding on so tightly… it was suddenly very difficult to maintain that cold facade.

She couldn’t even bring herself to look at him. She turned and practically ran, leaving Finnian standing there, watching her hurried retreat with a look of helpless resignation.

Her phone had signal again. Amara checked the time. The press conference had started nearly an hour ago; it was probably over by now. She sighed, sent a quick message to Keith and Cedric, and drove home.