"You're leaving?" Alaric nearly shouted. "What do you mean you're leaving?"
The room froze.
Before Adeline could answer, Isabelle stepped forward, her voice calm but firm, cutting through the rising tension. "Adeline," she said carefully, "what exactly are you saying?"
Her father didn't speak at first. He just stared at her—quiet, unreadable, as though she had struck him without lifting a hand. The disappointment in his eyes hurt more than anger ever could.
Adeline took a breath. She had rehearsed this in her head, over and over, but it still felt like stepping off a cliff.
"I mean," she said steadily, "that I won't live here anymore. I'll move to another house. Somewhere else."
Alaric's disbelief turned into fury. "Absolutely not!" he snapped. "I won't allow it." She already lived away from home when she studied at the academy. Did she like being away from them?
