Mara POV
I wake to silence.
No coffee brewing downstairs. No footsteps in the hallway. Just the hollow quiet of a house that's become a mausoleum.
Three days since the kiss. Three days of Lucien vanishing into his office before dawn and returning after midnight. Three days of instructions delivered through Mrs. Dahlia, the housekeeper, instead of direct conversation.
"Mr. Cross requests you attend the investor dinner Friday."
"Mr. Cross has arranged for your dress fitting."
"Mr. Cross will be working late again."
At this point, I feel Mr. Cross is a coward!
I pour my own coffee now, the routine feeling like defeat. Diana left yesterday. She hugged me at the door, whispering, "You don't have to stay here, you know."
But I do. The contract has eighteen months left. My family's debt
