The estate no longer felt like a home— It now felt like a controlled environment.
Sophie noticed it in the way the guards now stood at every entrance, in the quiet murmur across the estate, in how even the staff moved more carefully — as if the walls themselves were listening.
And along the way, Ethan barely let her out of his sight.
At first, she told herself it was necessary.
After the school incident, after the message, after Adrian’s quiet promise of escalation… it made sense.
But that didn’t stop the tension building between them. Because this wasn’t just protection. It was close. And closeness changed things.
Sophie stood by the window in her room, staring out at the long stretch of the driveway. Her reflection in the glass looked unfamiliar — not because she had changed, but b
