Chapter 325

Elijah turned to Mrs. Linden with a stern look. Mrs. Linden, realizing this was no longer her battle, turned to me with a pointed glare. "Ariana, you'd better learn your place," she warned, her tone dripping with condescension. Elijah furrowed his brows. "Mom, that's enough," he said his tone firm. "Go home." With that, Mrs. Linden had no choice but to leave. Once she was gone, the tension in the room didn't dissipate. A heavy silence fell between Elijah and me. He stared at me with an expression I couldn't quite read, his gaze intense enough to make me squirm. It felt as though he were trying to unravel a puzzle he wasn’t sure he wanted to solve. "Let's talk somewhere quiet," he suggested, his tone unusually soft. I shook my head firmly. "Here is fine. I need to check on Evan soon." His jaw clenched slightly, but he nodded. "You've always had a soft spot for Evan," he muttered, almost to himself. I didn't respond. Maybe it was true. After all, Evan was the only Linden famil