Lila's POV
Lucien left for a business dinner downtown around seven, his sedan rolling quietly down the gravel drive until the iron gates clicked shut behind him. The second they did, the whole mansion seemed to shift, turning cold and vast and completely empty in a way it hadn't felt an hour ago. I sat on the edge of my mattress, legs dangling, staring at the dark wood floor, feeling weirdly, stupidly lonely.
A few weeks ago, I'd have celebrated him leaving. Popped some fake champagne. Danced around my room like the villain was finally out of the building.
Great. He's barely gone twenty minutes and I already miss the guy who legally owns me. Cool. Cool, cool, cool. Very normal. Very healthy.
I hated how much space he'd started taking up in my head. Ever since he held that necklace agai
