I woke up to soft morning light through the curtains. For a moment, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, feeling the familiar weight of another day in this quiet mansion. Then it hit me. Today was my birthday. Twenty-two.
I sat up slowly and checked the date on the small clock by the bed. Yes. March 12th. Another year older, and somehow I felt smaller than ever. In my old life, birthdays were small things, Evelyn would bake a simple cake, Father might give me a quick hug and a “Happy birthday, sweetheart,” and Natalia would usually ignore it or make a mean comment. But at least there was something. Here? I didn’t expect anything. Lucian probably didn’t even know, and even if he did, I doubted it would matter.
I got dressed in comfortable clothes and went downstairs. The house was qu
