The room had become my prison and my sanctuary all at once.
Two days of silence pressed in on me, broken only by the muffled sounds that seeped through the thick stone walls. Voices sometimes drifted by, laughter echoing faintly, footsteps tapping down hallways I couldn’t see. But no one came to me unless it was the butler with food or some folded dress placed neatly on the bed while I wasn’t looking.
I didn’t leave. I didn’t dare.
The thought of walking into one of those strangers again—family members who looked at me like I didn’t belong, or worse, like I did—made my stomach churn. It all seemed like a family cult, everyone orbiting around Lucian like he was the sun. They adored him, feared him, obeyed him. And me? I was a question mark. A misplaced piece in their perfect little puzzl
