Celina’s POV
I WOKE to silence. Not the sharp, suffocating silence of being watched, but something softer—like the hush of a storm that had passed but left its damage behind. My throat was raw, my body aching, and my mind splintered with memories of the night before—Lucien’s voice rough with accusation, his hands gripping me as if I might vanish, the furious hunger that had swallowed us both.
I curled tighter beneath the sheets. Shame burned through me because even in that storm, I’d given in. My body had betrayed me, responding to him even when my heart screamed for distance. And afterward… the image haunted me most: me, broken against his chest, whispering that I felt trapped while he held me as if the word itself was a blade.
Now, the bed was empty.
I sat up slowly, every muscle hea
