Chapter 14: Quiet Birthday

I woke up to soft morning light through the curtains. For a moment, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, feeling the familiar weight of another day in this quiet mansion. Then it hit me. Today was my birthday. Twenty-two.

I sat up slowly and checked the date on the small clock by the bed. Yes. March 12th. Another year older, and somehow I felt smaller than ever. In my old life, birthdays were small things, Evelyn would bake a simple cake, Father might give me a quick hug and a “Happy birthday, sweetheart,” and Natalia would usually ignore it or make a mean comment. But at least there was something. Here? I didn’t expect anything. Lucian probably didn’t even know, and even if he did, I doubted it would matter.

I got dressed in comfortable clothes and went downstairs. The house was quiet as usual. Mrs. Hale greeted me with her usual kind but careful smile and served breakfast. Lucian wasn’t there this morning, which was a relief. I ate alone, the silence pressing in on me. Twenty-two years old. Married to a man who barely spoke to me. Living in a beautiful cage. Happy birthday to me.

After breakfast, I headed to the library. It had become my favorite place in the mansion. The smell of old books and the light from the windows made it feel almost peaceful. I picked out a novel I’d started a few days ago and curled up in the armchair by the window. I tried to lose myself in the story, but my mind kept drifting. Another birthday alone. No real family. No friends. Just this.

Hours passed. I didn’t keep track of time. Around noon, Mrs. Hale knocked gently on the library door.

“Miss Aurora? A delivery came for you.”

She carried a sleek black box tied with a silver ribbon. My heart gave a small, stupid flutter. I set the book down.

“Thank you,” I said, taking the box.

Mrs. Hale smiled softly and left me alone. I untied the ribbon carefully and opened the lid. Inside was a beautiful designer handbag, probably worth more than everything I owned before coming here. A small card rested on top. I picked it up.

No message. Just my name written in neat handwriting. Nothing from Lucian. No “Happy Birthday.” No signature. Just the expensive gift delivered like it was another business transaction.

I ran my fingers over the bag. It was stunning. The kind of thing I would have dreamed about owning one day. But the impersonal nature of it made my chest ache. He remembered my birthday… or at least someone reminded him. But he couldn’t even write a single word himself.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in the library, occasionally touching the bag like it might suddenly feel personal. It didn’t.

That evening, I dressed for dinner like usual. When I entered the dining room, Lucian was already there. He looked up as I sat down.

“Mrs. Hale said you received the bag,” he said, cutting straight to it. No hello. No birthday wish.

“Yes,” I replied quietly. “Thank you. It’s very beautiful. I… I really appreciate it.”

He shrugged, picking up his knife and fork. “It’s nothing. Just something appropriate for your position here.”

The words landed heavily. It’s nothing. I forced a small smile anyway. “Still… thank you. It was kind of you to think of me today.”

Lucian’s eyes flicked up to mine for a longer moment than usual. Something shifted in them. He watched me closely as I spoke, like he was studying my reaction. For a second, I thought he might say more. Instead, he looked away.

“Eat,” he said simply.

Dinner was quiet after that, but I caught him glancing at me several times. His gaze lingered on my face. There was something in his eyes that betrayed the cold words, a flicker of something deeper, almost regretful. Like he knew the gift was impersonal but couldn’t bring himself to make it mean more.

I wanted to ask him why. Why remember the day but make it feel so empty? But I stayed silent. Pushing him usually ended badly.

After dinner, I slipped out to the garden again. I found my usual bench and called Evelyn.

She answered quickly. “Aurora? How are you, sweetheart?”

I smiled even though she couldn’t see it. “It’s my birthday today.”

“Oh, my dear girl,” Evelyn said warmly. “Happy birthday. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there with you. I wish I could bake you that lemon cake you love.”

Tears pricked my eyes. “It’s okay. Lucian gave me a really nice designer handbag. It’s beautiful. But… it felt a little impersonal. No note or anything. He just said it was ‘nothing’ at dinner.”

Evelyn sighed softly. “That sounds like him. He’s not good with words or feelings. But the fact that he remembered at all… that means something, Aurora. Keep holding on. Be patient with him. And with yourself. You’re doing better than you think.”

We talked for a while longer. She told me stories from when I was little, wished me happiness, and reminded me I was loved. Her voice wrapped around me like a warm blanket. When we hung up, I felt a little lighter.

I stayed in the garden a few more minutes, breathing in the night air. When I finally walked back toward the house, I noticed a figure standing at one of the upper windows. Lucian. He was watching me, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable in the shadows.

Our eyes met for a long moment. He didn’t move. I couldn’t look away. There was something in the way he stared, intense, conflicted, almost hungry. Like he was fighting the urge to come down and say something real. To give me more than just an expensive bag with no note.

Then he turned away and disappeared from the window.

I went back inside and up to my room, heart beating a little faster. The day had been quiet. Lonely in many ways. But those small cracks in Lucian’s ice, the lingering looks, the way his eyes betrayed him at dinner, the way he watched me from the window made me wonder.

Maybe the devil wasn’t completely heartless after all.

Or maybe I was just starting to see what I wanted to see.

Either way, this birthday would stay with me. Not because of the beautiful bag, but because of the man who gave it to me while pretending it meant nothing.

And the way he couldn’t quite hide that it did.