Chapter 38 — The Beginning of Something Hers

The following morning, sunlight streamed through Liana’s window, painting soft gold across her sheets. For once, she didn’t wake to chaos, or roses, or the sound of Dante’s ridiculous playlists echoing down the hall. The mansion was quiet. Peaceful.

After the dinner disaster, she needed that peace.

She rose from bed and padded to the window, pulling the curtains open fully. The gardens below glowed in the early light, fountains glittering like glass. For years, she had dreamed of mornings like this — no rushing to meet someone else’s expectations, no pretending she belonged in a world that didn’t want her.

Now, she did belong. But it was time to prove she wasn’t just Leo Carver’s sister.

She was Liana. The designer. The dreamer. The woman who would build her own empire.

Her phone buzzed on the bedside table. She smiled faintly when she saw the name.

Cassian: “Car waiting in fifteen minutes. Don’t be late.”

Of course. Her brother never slept past six, never smiled before coffee, and ne