Ava’s POV
The driver dropped me off at the front of the estate just after four.
I barely waited for the car to fully stop before I opened the door and stepped out, bag over my shoulder, the residual energy of the school day still moving through me like a low current. The afternoon light sat soft on the white stone of the mansion. The gates closed behind the vehicle with their usual heavy finality, but for once the sound did not settle on me the same way it normally did. My phone was already in my hand before I reached the front steps. Sebastian’s last message was still open on the screen—a short, teasing line about something that had happened after the final class, followed by a question that made the corner of my mouth lift without permission.
I went straight to my room.
I did not sto
