LUCIEN
I had done it again, not quite, but almost.
The halls were quiet when I returned to my chamber, alone. My steps echoed like accusations down the marble hall, each one reminding me of the mistake I had almost made.
I almost lost my control and kissed her again. Almost.
Her eyes—those rare violet gems, they never left my mind.
She had looked at me like she wanted to understand, like she might have forgiven me for every cruelty I have ever thrown her way. The cold attitude I had showed her—everything.
And for one reckless second on those stairs, I wanted to let her. To pull her closer, forget titles, forget vows, forget the damned bloody curse that sits like a thorn in my throat.
A curse that I couldn’t forget, it won’t let me even if I wanted to. Leonardo and hi
