Chapter 26 – The Other Woman
(Serena’s POV)
My hand froze on the spatula, the pancake sizzling untouched on the pan.
Did he just—?
I turned slowly, my pulse racing. Lucian stood in the doorway, shirt half-open, hair tousled, eyes wide as if he’d seen a ghost. His lips moved, but the word that slipped out cracked like thunder.
“Beverley…”
For a heartbeat, I couldn’t breathe.
Beverley.
The name he had cried out in his sleep. The name that still lingered like smoke in his nightmares. The name that wasn’t mine.
I swallowed hard, heat rising in my chest. Anger, confusion, something else I didn’t want to name. “What did you just call me?”
Lucian blinked, his expression faltering, muscles tightening as if he wanted to snatch the word back. His gaze darted between me and the plate of pan
