Rita writes의 작품

Seraphine's POVI froze.My hand was still wrapped around the door's edge, the locket open in my palm, the symbol staring back at me like it knew exactly how much trouble I was in.I turned around slowly.Caelum stood a few feet away, dressed down from earlier, no jacket, sleeves pushed up to his forearms. His expression wasn't angry. It wasn't anything I could easily name, which somehow made it worse."Lady Seraphine," he said. "It's late.""I couldn't sleep," I said. "I went for a walk.""Toward a locked door in the oldest part of the east wing." He tilted his head slightly. "That's a very specific walk."I closed my fist around the locket, hiding it against my palm."I got lost," I said. "You know this is a new house and there are lots of corridors."He stepped closer and I stepped back a bit avoiding his gaze. His eyes dropped to my closed hand for half a second before they came back up to my face."You're a terrible liar," he said."No I wasn't lying”I muttered.Something flicker

Seraphine's POVThe room Caelum had given me was nothing like my room back at the Vale manor.My room at home was cold. Stone walls, a small window that let in more wind than light, a bed that had never quite felt like it belonged to me. I had spent years making it bearable rather than comfortable, filling the shelves with books and covering the floor with rugs I had bought myself because nobody else thought to.This room was warm.I stood in the middle of it for a moment after the maid closed the door behind her.Then I crossed to the window, sat down on the cushioned seat, and pulled off both my gloves.I did it slowly, the way I always did when I was alone and certain nobody was watching. I held both hands out in front of me, palms up, and let the cool air from the window gaps move across my bare skin.Outside, the Ashford gardens were quiet and dark, lit by a row of low iron lanterns along the stone path below.I breathed in.The air here was clean. Sharper than home, with a cool

Caelum's POVI stared at her retreating back.Her heels clicked against the tiles in a slow, deliberate rhythm, each step perfectly measured, her head up, her dark hair moving slightly with each stride.Edward was still on the floor behind me, curled around himself, gasping like a man who had forgotten how breathing worked.I looked at him for a moment. Then I looked back at the corridor where Seraphine had disappeared around the corner.She was stronger than I had expected. And I had expected quite a lot."Take him to the physician's chambers," I said to the two guards standing nearest to Edward. They moved immediately, getting their hands under his arms and lifting him between them. He was still making that winded, broken sound.I turned and walked in the opposite direction.Riven fell into step beside me before I had made it ten paces. "Did you see what she just did?" he said."Of course I saw it, Riven," I said. "I was standing right there. I'm not blind.""She's dangerous," he s

Seraphine's POVThe car came to a stop and one of the Ashford guards pulled the door open, offering his hand to help me down.I took it carefully, making sure my glove didn't slip, and stepped out onto the stone path.The first thing I noticed was the air. It was different here. Warmer somehow, even though we were well into the cold season, like the ground itself was giving off a quiet heat. The second thing I noticed was the manor.I had grown up hearing my father describe the Ashford estate as a place built on stolen glory, grand because it was paid for with Vale blood and Vale land. I had pictured something cold and arrogant, a big ugly building.I had not pictured this.The manor was beautiful. Genuinely, almost painfully beautiful. Stone walls covered in dark climbing vines, tall windows that caught the afternoon light and threw it back in warm gold sheets, a set of wide front steps flanked by iron lanterns that were already lit even in the middle of the day. The gardens on eithe

Seraphine's POVDinner at the Vale Manor was never a warm affair.It had never been warm, not even when my mother was alive. But back then there had at least been the sound of her voice filling the silence, her laugh bouncing off the stone walls, her habit of sneaking extra bread onto my plate when my father wasn't looking. Now it was just the two of us, sitting at opposite ends of a table that was far too long for two people, eating food that was far too good for a family that had lost almost everything, while the candles burned low and nobody said a word.I liked the silence well enough. It meant I could eat in peace.I stabbed a piece of steak and chewed it properly, the way I always did, and stared at the candle flame at the center of the table while I thought about Lena and Dara sitting on the other side of the garden wall this evening, probably finishing the wine without me and complaining about it."A lady should never chew so loudly."I looked up. My father was watching me fr

Seraphine's POV"Hey! Come back here, you little cunt!"My boots hit the marble floor hard as I ran, my hair flying behind me, my heart pumping with the kind of joy that only came from doing something I wasn't supposed to do. The Vale Manor hallways were long and cold and lit by torches that threw orange shadows on the stone walls, but I knew every single turn in this place. I had memorized them years ago.There were four guards behind me. I could hear their boots, heavy and clumsy compared to mine. Guards. They were my father's guards. Big men in dark uniforms who thought that because they were large, they were fast.They were not fast.I turned a sharp corner, cut through the side passage, and came out near the east staircase. I was almost at the servant's door that led to the outer garden. Twenty more steps and I would be outside. My friends were waiting on the other side of the garden wall. Lena had promised wine and Dara had promised gossip and for one evening I just wanted my

Diana's POVI sat in my apartment with my phone pressed to my ear and my heart hammering against my ribs. Felix paced nervously behind me, his footsteps wearing a path in the carpet. I had been watching the news coverage of Dave's accident and Katherine's sudden rise to billionaire wife with growing rage that threatened to consume me whole. My adopted sister somehow landed on her feet again just like she always does. But not this time. This time I had ammunition."What kind of information?" Penelope's voice came through sharp with interest.I smiled, savoring the moment before I dropped my bomb. "The kind that proves Katherine is not the innocent victim everyone thinks she is."Felix stopped pacing. He turned to look at me with worry etched across his face. "Diana, are you sure about this?"I waved him off impatiently without even looking at him. I was tired of Felix's constant second guessing. Ever since Dave entered Katherine's life, Felix had been having doubts about our plan. It w

Penelope's POVI sat in my car outside the hospital, engine off, windows cracked just enough to let the cool evening air in. My eyes stayed fixed on the building where Dave lay recovering and where that little nobody thought she had won something. The text I just sent to Katherine was only the beginning. It was time to remind her exactly who she was dealing with.I pulled out a cigarette and lit it slowly, taking a long drag. The smoke filled my lungs and I held it there for a moment before exhaling. My phone sat in my lap, screen glowing with photos I had been collecting for weeks. Pictures of Dave and Katherine at various locations. Timestamps showed I had been following them everywhere. Their favorite coffee shop. The restaurant where they had dinner last Tuesday. The park where Katherine liked to walk in the mornings.I had everything documented. Their routines, their vulnerabilities, their moments of weakness. Every single detail is cataloged and ready to use.Liam had been slopp

Katherine's POVThe hospital room became deathly silent after Liam's words. My heart stopped beating. My lungs stopped working. My mind struggled to process what I had just heard. He admitted it. He actually admitted to trying to kill me. He stood there in that hospital room and confessed to attempted murder like he was discussing what he had for breakfast.Dave exploded.Despite his injuries, despite the pain, despite everything, he tried to lunge from that bed. "YOU BASTARD!" The sound that came from him was pure animal rage, something primal and terrifying.The heart monitor went absolutely crazy. Alarms blared from every direction. I threw myself at Dave, using my full weight to hold him back. "Dave, stop! You will hurt yourself!"But he was beyond reason. His eyes were murderous as he strained against my hold and his own weakness. His face went red with effort and fury. "I am going to kill you," he snarled at Liam with such venom that I barely recognized him. "I am going to destr

Katherine's POVMy entire body went rigid the second Liam walked into that hospital room. He strolled in like he owned the place, carrying those flowers with that easy smile plastered across his face. A smile that now looked absolutely sinister knowing what I knew. Every instinct in my body screamed danger. I moved without thinking, positioning myself between him and Dave's bed like a human shield.The heart monitor erupted into frantic beeping. I glanced back and saw Dave's face contort with pure rage despite how weak he still was."Get out." Dave's voice came out like ice. Each word was clipped and dangerous in a way I had never heard before.Liam's smile did not falter. He set the flowers down on the side table with deliberate slowness, taking his time like he had every right to be there. "That is no way to greet your best friend who has been worried sick about you."His dark eyes slid to me. My stomach turned violently at the fake concern painted across his features."Katherine, y

Dave's POVPain radiated through every inch of Dave's body, but the rage burning in his chest was stronger than any physical agony. He watched Katherine's face drain of all color at his words. Her hand trembled in his. He should not be telling her this now. The doctor had ordered rest. He should play the obedient patient and keep his mouth shut. But the memory of that chandelier falling, of nearly losing her, made his blood boil hot enough to override every rational thought."Who?" Katherine demanded. Her voice shook but held firm. "Dave, who tried to kill me?"He hesitated. Once he told her, there was no going back. She would be pulled deeper into the darkness surrounding his family, into secrets he had kept buried for years. She would see the ugliness beneath the Winter name, the rot at the core of everything he came from."Dave." Her eyes burned into his, fear and determination mixing together. "Tell me."He had spent his whole life protecting people by keeping them at a distance.

Katherine's POV The moment Dave whispered my name, the entire hospital room erupted into chaos.Penelope gasped as someone had punched her. Aunt Vivian clutched her chest and nearly stumbled backward. The other relatives rushed toward the bed in a stampede of expensive shoes and designer perfume. But I was faster. My legs moved before my brain caught up, and suddenly I was at his side, gripping his hand like it was the only thing keeping me tethered to earth.Dave's eyelids fluttered. His blue eyes cracked open slowly, unfocused and glazed with pain. They swept across the room, taking in the chaos, the faces, the noise. Then they found me.Everything else disappeared.A weak smile tugged at his pale lips. "You're safe."The tears came hard and fast. I tried to speak but my throat closed up completely. All I could do was nod like an idiot while my vision blurred."You're such an idiot," I finally choked out. "You absolute idiot."His smile widened just a fraction. I saw recognition fl