Chapter Three_Storm Night

By the end of the week, Serena had started getting used to the mansion. 

Not the size of it. She was pretty sure nobody could ever fully get used to living somewhere with three staircases and a dining room bigger than her entire apartment. 

But she was getting used to the feeling of it of the house. Vale Manor was beautiful, but it carried a kind of quiet that never really felt peaceful. It felt like the house was holding its breath all the time.

Especially at night when Kael was home ,Serena noticed it most during dinner. The way Kael sat at the far end while Lia sat closer to Serena instead. 

The first night she noticed it, she thought maybe he just liked space. By the third night, she realized something else.

The man genuinely did not know how to be around people anymore but not in a normal way. He was just distant.

Like every conversation cost him energy. Still… there were moments. Small moments Serena kept catching herself thinking about later.

Like how he always thanked the kitchen staff quietly before leaving the dining room. Or how he stopped whatever he was doing whenever Lia spoke to him.

Or the way his eyes unconsciously searched for Serena the second he walked into a room. That one bothered her the most.

Because she noticed herself doing the same thing.

----

That evening, rain poured endlessly outside. The weather report had warned about a storm earlier, but Serena hadn’t expected it to get this bad.

Thunder cracked loudly across the sky while lightning flashed through the windows every few minutes. Lia sat beside Serena on the floor of her bedroom wearing pink pajamas and fuzzy socks while carefully stacking blocks into what was supposed to be a castle.

“It keeps falling,” Lia complained.

Serena tried not to laugh. “Because you’re putting the big blocks on top of the tiny ones.”

“But it looks prettier that way.”

“Pretty and practical are enemies sometimes.”

Lia giggled softly.

Serena smiled without realizing it. She had grown attached to the little girl faster than she expected.

Another loud thunderclap echoed outside. This time Lia jumped slightly. Serena noticed immediately.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Lia answered quickly.

Which usually meant she wasn’t.

Serena pretended not to notice right away. “Mhm.”

Lia focused harder on the blocks in front of her. Then another crack of thunder shook the room harder than before.

The blocks collapsed instantly. Lia flinched.

Serena gently moved closer on the rug. “You really hate storms, huh?”

Lia stayed quiet for a few seconds.

Then finally—

“My mommy died when it was raining.”

The words hit Serena so suddenly she didn’t know what to say at first. Lia kept her eyes down while picking at the sleeve of her pajama shirt.

“Everybody was crying that day,” she whispered. “And after that, Daddy stopped smiling.”

God.

Serena felt her chest ache painfully. No child should go through sadness that deeply.

She reached out carefully and brushed a curl away from Lia’s face.

“You miss her a lot.”

Lia nodded immediately.

“I forget things about her sometimes.” Her voice shook slightly now. “I forgot what her perfume smelled like.”Serena swallowed hard.

Children remembered loss in the smallest way like they talked and the way someone laughed. Another flash of lightning brightened the room.

Lia moved closer to Serena automatically.

“You know what I think?” Serena said softly.

“What?”

“I think when someone loves you enough, parts of them stay with you forever.”

Lia frowned a little. “How?”

“In habits ,In memories,In things they taught you.” Serena smiled gently. “Maybe your mom still exists in the way you laugh. Or the way you draw. Or the way you love people.”

Lia looked down quietly.

“My daddy says I have her eyes.”

Serena’s heart softened immediately.

“I think that means she’s impossible to forget.”

Lia looked like she wanted to cry. Before Serena could say anything else, the lights suddenly went out.

The room dropped into darkness instantly. Lia gasped and grabbed Serena’s arm.

“It’s okay,” Serena soothed quickly, even though the darkness startled her too. “The power probably went out because of the storm.”

The emergency lights in the hallway flickered dimly.

Rain slammed against the windows harder now.

Honestly, the entire mansion suddenly felt creepy.

Lia pressed closer to her. “Can you stay?”

“Of course.”

Serena stood and reached for the flashlight Mrs. Rowan had shown her earlier in the week.

“Come on,” she said softly. “Let’s go downstairs and find candles.”

Lia held Serena’s hand tightly the entire way.

The mansion felt unusually cold without proper lighting. Their footsteps echoed through the hallways while thunder rumbled outside.

As they reached the staircase, the front door downstairs suddenly opened. Kael stepped inside.

Rainwater darkened the shoulders of his black coat, and his hair looked slightly damp from the weather. He loosened his tie tiredly while shutting the door behind him.

Then he saw both of them.

His eyes immediately went to Lia.

“What happened?”

“She got scared during the storm,” Serena answered gently.

Lia ran straight into his arms without hesitation.

Kael caught her easily, one hand rubbing her back automatically.

And Serena saw the exhaustion on his face soften instantly.

“Hey, bug,” he murmured quietly against Lia’s hair.

Another loud thunderclap sounded outside. Lia buried her face against his chest.

Kael looked up at Serena over Lia’s head.

“She used to love storms,” he said quietly.

Serena didn’t know why, but the sadness in his voice affected her more than it should have.

“What changed?”

The question slipped out before she could stop herself. Kael’s eyes held hers for a second.

Then he answered simply.

“The accident happened during one.”

Silence settled heavily between them. Serena suddenly understood why the mansion felt so lifeless whenever it rained. Storms reminded both of them of the worst day of their lives.

Kael looked down at Lia again.

“She won’t sleep tonight,” he said quietly.

“She will,” Serena answered softly. “She just needs comfort.”

For some reason, those words made him look at her differently.

Like she had said something important.

Mrs. Rowan appeared from the hallway carrying candles.

“The backup generator should be working soon,” she explained.

Kael nodded before looking back at Serena.

“Can you stay with Lia tonight until she falls asleep?”

The question sounded casual 

But something about the way he asked it felt strangely personal.

“Of course.”

An hour later, Serena sat beside Lia’s bed reading one of her favorite storybooks while soft rain continued outside.

The storm had calmed a little now. Lia lay curled beneath blankets hugging Moon tightly. 

Halfway through the story, her eyes slowly drifted shut. Serena smiled softly and carefully closed the book once she was fully asleep.

She looked so peaceful sleeping.

Serena quietly stood from the bed and walked toward the door. But when she opened it—

Kael was standing there. She jumped slightly.

“You scared me.”

“Sorry.”

His voice was low, rough with exhaustion. He looked like he hadn’t rested properly .

Serena stepped into the hallway carefully, closing the bedroom door behind her halfway.

“She’s asleep.”

Kael nodded quietly.

For a few seconds, they just stared at eachother.

The hallway lights were dim now, casting soft shadows across his face.

Without the sharp suits and cold expression he wore during the day, he looked different tonight.

He looked really handsome.

“She talks more with you around,” he said suddenly.

Serena leaned lightly against the wall. “She’s lonely.”

“So am I.”

The words came out quietly and honestly.

And Serena wasn’t sure he even meant to say them out loud. Kael seemed to realize it too because his jaw tightened slightly afterward.

But Serena didn’t laugh at all. Because for the first time since meeting him, she saw the man beneath the calm and controlled attitude.

A man who is exhausted and grieving too. The silence between them changed after that.

Not bad but better that before. Kael looked at her for a long moment before speaking again.

“She likes you more than anyone who’s been here.”

Serena smiled faintly. “I like her too.”

“No,” he said quietly.

His eyes stayed on hers.

“You care about her.”

Something about the way he said it made Serena’s heartbeat slow strangely.

Then his gaze dropped briefly to her mouth. Just for a second.

Long enough for warmth to spread through her chest unexpectedly.

And when his eyes lifted back to

hers again—

the air between them felt completely different. Not because he touched her.

Because he looked like he wanted to.