~Lucian
The house swallowed us in silence the moment the door closed.
No voices.
No movement.
Just the echo of her uneven breathing and my footsteps behind her.
She stood in the middle of my room like she was waiting for judgment. Like she expected a verdict to be delivered at any second.
I told her to take a shower because I needed time.
Because my hands were shaking.
Because the fury that had driven me here had cracked the moment I truly looked at her…really looked. She wasn’t defiant. She wasn’t guilty in the way I’d expected. Her fear was too raw, too unfiltered to be an act.
Now I sat on the edge of the bed while the sound of running water drifted faintly from the bathroom.
I pressed my palms together, jaw tight. Vanessa had pushed her into that party. I could feel it in the
