Hazel's Pov
“I have nothing to say to you, Nicholas.”
The words came out sharper than I meant, but I didn’t care. I turned on my heel, already moving, already needing distance from those eyes that kept pulling at something inside me I didn’t want to name.
His hand shot out—fast—fingers closing around my wrist.
Not hard. Just firm enough to stop me.
I yanked back instantly, twisting free like his touch burned.
“Don’t.”
Dimitri stepped forward in the same breath, putting his body half in front of mine. Shoulders squared.
Nicholas’s eyes narrowed. The air between the three of us crackled.
“This is between me and my wife,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “Stay out of it.”
Dimitri didn’t budge an inch.
Nicholas’s jaw ticked. His gaze flicked to Dimitri, then back to me, and I swea
