Lucius felt a surge of frustration as he listened to Catherine’s words, his heart pounding with a mix of anger and helplessness. The feeling of not being able to protect her gnawed at him. He knew the rumors and the hurtful whispers had not only wounded her, but had also deepened her sense of loneliness and abandonment, pushing her further into a state of despair. While he fully understood the truth in what she was saying, it still didn’t sit well with him that she believed he was powerless to change her situation, that she felt so alone and isolated despite being under the same roof as him.
“Catherine,” Lucius said, his voice barely above a whisper, yet there was a quiet intensity to it. “You may think of me as just fulfilling the terms of a contract, but I am not the man you imagine me
