The room had gone too quiet again.
Not empty quiet.
Measured quiet.
The kind that formed when two people stopped speaking but neither disengaged.
Luca remained standing near the edge of the long table, one hand resting lightly against the polished surface beside him. The low amber lighting from the wall sconces cut shadows across the library shelves, softening the sharp architecture of the room without making it feel warmer.
Nothing about the estate ever truly felt warm.
Elize noticed that now.
Even comfort here felt intentional.
Controlled.
Designed.
But tonight something inside that control had shifted.
Because Luca was no longer directing the interaction completely.
He was allowing it to continue.
That difference mattered.
Elize understood it immediately.
This was no long
