The night after their vow renewal, the estate was unusually still.
The laughter and clinking of glasses had faded, guests had returned home, and the lanterns in the garden swayed gently in the breeze like sleepy fireflies. Aurora sat by the bedroom window, staring out into the quiet.
She wasn’t thinking about the past—not the betrayals, the fire, or the cold silence she’d once lived with. Tonight, she was thinking about what came after. What came next.
Adrian walked in moments later, a soft smile tugging at his lips as he leaned against the doorframe.
“You always get quiet after a storm,” he said.
She turned toward him, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “It still doesn’t feel real. All of it. You. Us.”
Adrian moved to her, slowly lowering himself beside her on the cushioned b
