The Mistress Who Took Everything

ch 14

The next day in the morning, the house felt bigger in all the wrong ways.

No soft footsteps from Alina’s room.

No quiet presence in the hallway.

No familiar rhythm holding everything together.

Just silence.

Lily woke up slowly. For a moment, She forgot.

Then she turned, and the space beside her door felt… off.

She sat up listening to nothing. Her chest tightened.

.

“Mom?” she called.

The word echoed. No reply, and then she remembered.

Downstairs, breakfast was already set. Serena stood by the table trying her best “Good morning,” she said gently.

Lily didn’t respond. She looked around. One chair empty.

“Sit,” Damian said. Lily sat slowly, and picked up her spoon. She stirred her food and didn’t eat.

“Do you want something else?” Serena asked.

Lily shook her head. The silence settled in. “You’ll be late,” Damian said.

Lily nodded but didn’t move. Because leaving meant coming back, and coming back meant facing the empty space again.

“I’ll take you,” Serena offered.

Lily hesitated. A few days ago, She would have said yes immediately but now she wasn’t sure.

“…okay,” she said finally. But her voice lacked certainty.

The drive was quiet. Serena glanced at her a few times. trying to find the right words, but none came.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly.

Lily looked out the window. “I don’t know.”

At school, everything felt normal. Friends laughed, teachers taught and life continued. That made it worse.

When school ended, Lily didn’t rush out like the others.

She stayed back packing her things slowly while watching other kids leave. Some running into their parents’ arms, others complaining, and a few laughing. Her chest tightened again.

“Lily?”

She looked up to see a teacher. “You’re still here.”

Lily forced a small smile. “I’m waiting.”

“For who?”

There was a pause. “…I don’t know.”

Back at the mansion, Serena stood in the kitchen, waiting. The clock ticked louder than usual, and everything felt off like time was dragging. Finally, the door creaked opened, and Lily walked in slowly with no rush.

“You’re late,” Damian said.

Lily nodded, offering no explanation or excuse.

“Did something happen?” Serena asked.

Lily shook her head, but her eyes looked distant.

Dinner came and went, barely touched.

That night, Lily sat in her room staring at her phone. She unlocked it, through her contacts and stopped, her finger hovered over "Mom." She stared at it for what felt like an eternity before locking her phone again without making a call.

Downstairs, Damian stood alone, the house too quiet.

“You should call her,” Serena suggested softly.

He didn’t respond.

“She might want to hear from you.”

There was a pause. “She left,” he finally said.

Serena looked at him, her voice barely above a whisper. “No, you pushed her out.”

Damian exhaled slowly.He looked around the house. Alina was gone, and suddenly everything felt more challenging and unstable.

Upstairs, Lily lay in bed staring at the ceiling. She turned slightly looking toward the door, half-expecting it to open, half-hoping to see her mother But it didn’t.

And in that moment, Lily felt what life was like without her mother there, and she didn’t like it.