4

Lilith woke up with a start in the silence of the unfamiliar room she was staying in for the first time. The silence Lilith felt when she woke up also felt heavy. For a moment, Lilith couldn't remember where she was. The ceiling above her was too high. The blanket was too soft. The room was too cold. Then her memory returned. The auction. The car. And Lucas.

Lilith immediately sat up straight. Sunlight filtered through the tall curtains, pale and distant. The mansion felt different in the morning, less threatening, but not even warmer. Lilith got out of bed and walked to the balcony. The gate below was still tightly closed. But the black Rolls Royce was gone.

Lilith's heart was beating fast. Lucas had left without telling her or waking her up. Lilith then quickly walked to the bedroom door and found that it was also unlocked. Last night, when she was too tired, Lilith had forgotten to lock it, and this morning, Lucas had not locked it either.

Lilith opened the bedroom door and peeked her head out. The hallway outside the room looked quiet and deserted. Carefully, Lilith walked out. The mansion in daylight looked almost normal. Expensive. Elegant. Immaculate. But too clean. And too untouched. It was as if no one really lived in the magnificent mansion.

Lilith walked slowly down the corridor, observing the various items displayed on the walls. Scenery. Old men. Cats. And other animal paintings. Lilith's fingers brushed the carved wood panels as she moved further down. Then Lilith saw it. A door located right at the end of the corridor. A door that looked different from the other room doors.

The door was darker in color. There was no handle visible from a distance, only a keyhole. There were also no decorative carvings on the door. It was just a sturdy-looking door. Lilith's stomach tightened instantly. Slowly, Lilith walked closer to the door.

The closer she got to the door, the colder the air around her felt. Then, before long, Lilith stopped right in front of it. It turned out there was a handle on the door. It was simple in shape and made of metal, which was why it wasn't clearly visible from a distance.

Lilith reached out with her right hand, grabbed the handle, and turned it. But it was locked. “Of course it would be,” Lilith muttered with a sigh.

Lilith gently moved her right ear closer to the surface of the door. She tried to listen for anything that might be hidden inside the locked room. But it was silent. She couldn't hear any sounds coming from inside. But Lilith felt that something was wrong with the door. Something was hidden deep inside it. Lilith stepped back and examined the door frame.

“What's in this room? Why is it locked?” she whispered softly.

Lilith's curiosity was growing stronger than her fear from last night. Lilith tried the door handle again, much harder than before. But still, the door didn't budge. Lilith looked around the hallway. It was empty and quiet. Lilith narrowed her eyes.

“There must be a way to open this door, right? There's a keyhole. There must be a duplicate key around here somewhere.”

Lilith tried to find something under the doormat in front of the room, but there was nothing. Disappointment welled up in her chest. "What is actually hidden in this room? What is that man hiding?" she whispered.

A few seconds later, Lilith heard a sound from downstairs. The slow rumbling of an engine was getting closer. Lilith's blood ran cold. Lucas' Rolls Royce was back. Lilith growled softly in annoyance. Lucas shouldn't have returned to the mansion so quickly, right? Footsteps could be heard faintly from the foyer below.

Steady and calm footsteps, distinctly Lucas’s. Lilith recognized them even though they had only met the night before. Remembering how the man’s calmness had almost made it difficult for Lilith to breathe easily. Lilith quickly moved away from the door of the room, trying to look relaxed, as if she had never done anything there.

Even so, Lilith's heartbeat continued to betray her. With each step Lucas took closer, climbing the stairs and crossing the corridor. And Lucas finally appeared right in front of Lilith, who stood stiffly there. Lucas stood a few meters away, still wearing a shirt that looked casual this morning. The sharp gaze of Lucas's eyes was not easy for Lilith to read now.

Lucas glanced briefly at Lilith, then at the door, and back at her, both of them still silent. “You're awake,” he said calmly.

“Yes, just now.” Lilith tried to sound normal, but her voice trembled. Lilith even clenched her fists.

“Exploring, huh?” Lucas' lips lifted slightly.

Lilith lifted her head a little, trying to look more courageous. “Is that still forbidden in the morning?”

“Not forbidden.” His gaze darkened almost imperceptibly. “Discouraged.”

Lilith swallowed her saliva with difficulty. She forced herself to hold his deep stare. “What's in this room?”

Lucas walked slowly toward her. When he reached her, he stopped close, but still didn't touch her. “Things that have nothing to do with you at all.”

“That sounds even more suspicious to me.”

A faint smile appeared on Lucas's lips. “It is.”

Lilith's breath caught at Lucas's honesty. “Then why not leave it open?”

“Because a locked door reveals more about a person than one that is deliberately left open,” he said.

Lilith furrowed her brow deeply. “What does that mean?”

“It means,” he added, his voice lowering slightly, “I wanted to see how hard and long it would take before you tried.”

Lilith's stomach tightened. “You knew I would try?”

“Yes, of course I knew.” Lucas' gaze hardened. “You must be very curious.”

Lucas' hand rose, then slowly pinned Lilith there. Right between himself and the wall behind Lilith. Standing close enough and in a position that was dangerous for Lilith. He pinned Lilith very closely, even though he wasn't actually touching her.

“You've only been here one night and you're already quite curious. That curiosity is your strength and also your weakness, Lilith,” he murmured.

Lilith slowly regulated her breathing, between the beats of her rapidly pounding heart. “If it's so dangerous, then why are you still keeping me here?”

Lucas's expression changed. There was something very possessive there. “Because, I have waited too long to let you go.”

“Wait? For what?” Lilith asked urgently.

Lucas' gaze shifted to Lilith's lips, which seemed to invite him to taste them immediately. Lucas continued to restrain himself until he had difficulty swallowing his own saliva. Before Lucas' gaze returned to Lilith's eyes.

“For the right time.”

Her cheeks burned. “But you already bought me last night.”

“Yes, that's true.” Lucas nodded.

“Then why haven't you...” Lilith stopped herself. Unable to actually say what had been on her mind since last night.

His eyes darkened even more, his brow furrowing deeply. “I told you, I prefer you conscious, and untouched.” He interrupted. The air between them felt increasingly thin and intense.

Lilith's heart was beating wildly, completely unsure of how to respond. “You said you don't buy people.”

“I don't.”

“Then what am I?”

Lucas leaned closer to her. Just close enough for her to feel that cold presence again. “You...” He whispered, “Are not something that can be enjoyed carelessly.”

A second later, neither of them spoke. Then Lucas stepped back, away from Lilith, who was still frozen against the wall behind him. “Stay away from that door.” Lucas' voice was calm and controlled again.

But Lilith was beginning to realize the meaning behind Lucas's words to her just now. It wasn't just a request, but a stern warning to her. To truly stay away from that door and stop the curiosity that had been filling her head since earlier. Lucas then turned and walked away from the corridor.

Leaving Lilith alone, breathing heavily. Still trying to calm herself from the tension left by Lucas' intimidation. With all kinds of questions filling her mind, as well as a burning curiosity.

"If I want to stay safe here, until the right time comes... then I have to control my curiosity. Stay away from this door, or I might meet a bad end at Lucas's hands. But if I stay in this mansion, how can I live? What will happen to me while I'm here? Sooner or later, I have to make a plan to escape from this place. Or more accurately, escape from Lucas." Lilith's heart felt heavy.

Slowly, Lilith walked back to her room and entered it. Lilith was determined to find a way to escape from Lucas after this. No matter what it took, Lilith had to get far away, so she wouldn't end up as a prisoner in this mansion.