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CHAPTER TEN: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN BREATHS

Penulis: Echoes of Gold
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-12-30 23:38:54

LATER THAT NIGHT

Evelyn’s new room is quite close to his, close enough that she hears the faint click of his door. It is so close enough that the hallway lights spill under her doorway like molten gold and close enough that she feels him.

She lies in bed, staring at the ceiling, sheets pulled up to her chest and then…Footsteps, slow, measured and unhurried. They stop outside her door. Her pulse trips. He’s there.

He’s right there. He was not entering, not knocking, just… existing on the other side of the door like a storm waiting for a reason.

Minutes pass. Then more. He stays.

EVELYN

My breath is shallow. Why is he there?

Was he watching her or trying to guide her? Was he deciding on whether to kill her tonight or another day?Does he know she’s awake? closes her eyes.

Her chest rises and falls with nervous, careful breaths.

Another moment passes.

The air shifts.

And then…A soft sound, barely a whisper of fabric. A slow exhale through the door.

He’s still there.What was stopping h
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  • THE BIDDING ROOM   CHAPTER FOURTEEN

    Lucien didn’t sleep.He dismissed the house, silenced the corridors, and stood by the tall windows of his private wing like a carved statue—hands behind his back, jaw clenched so tight the muscle throbbed. The lights of the estate threw sharp patterns on the marble, slicing across him in cold, restless stripes.He replayed every second of the envoy’s intrusion.The way Matteo had looked at her.The way she had looked back.And the memory burned more than he cared to admit.Kali.He hated how easily the new name rolled in his mind.Hated how naturally it fit her when he spoke it aloud.He hated even more that someone else—another man—had spoken it first.He checked his watch. 2:11 a.m.He should leave her alone.He didn’t.Lucien moved through the dark halls with silent steps, passing guards who straightened instantly and vanished from sight. He stopped in front of her door—the place he kept finding himself drawn to in the dead hours of the night.And because he despised weakness, he f

  • THE BIDDING ROOM   CHAPTER THIRTEEN

    Evelyn woke with her heart pounding. Not from a nightmare…not exactly. But from a whisper she could’ve sworn was real. “Nana…” A voice she had buried with her childhood. A voice she had mourned until the grief swallowed whole pieces of her. Her eyes opened to the soft spill of moonlight, her breath catching in her throat. The room was empty. Still, she pushed herself upright slowly, scanning the shadows as if memory itself might step forward and become a man. Impossible. It was impossible. He was dead. He had to be. Her fingers trembled as she touched her throat—cold, damp with sweat. I must have been dreaming, it can’t be real. I’m losing my mind. That’s all. The mansion was silent around her, the kind of silence that didn’t feel restful— it felt watched. Then she heard it. A soft footfall outside her door. Measured, slow and heavy. Lucien. She knew it instantly. He had a way of moving that made her nerve endings stand on edge even through walls. He paused directly outside

  • THE BIDDING ROOM   CHAPTER THIRTEEN

    Evelyn woke with her heart pounding. Not from a nightmare…not exactly. But from a whisper she could’ve sworn was real. “Nana…” A voice she had buried with her childhood. A voice she had mourned until the grief swallowed whole pieces of her. Her eyes opened to the soft spill of moonlight, her breath catching in her throat. The room was empty. Still, she pushed herself upright slowly, scanning the shadows as if memory itself might step forward and become a man. Impossible. It was impossible. He was dead. He had to be. Her fingers trembled as she touched her throat—cold, damp with sweat. I must have been dreaming, it can’t be real. I’m losing my mind. That’s all. The mansion was silent around her, the kind of silence that didn’t feel restful— it felt watched. Then she heard it. A soft footfall outside her door. Measured, slow and heavy. Lucien. She knew it instantly. He had a way of moving that made her nerve endings stand on edge even through walls. He paused directly outside

  • THE BIDDING ROOM   CHAPTER TWELVE:

    She woke to warmth. Softness and shadows. Kali blinked, the haze slowly lifting. This wasn’t her room. This wasn’t the wing he had confined her to. This was a darker space, massive and masculine. A room that hummed with authority. Her eyes swept the room and it fell on the huge portrait. Lucien. It registered slowly in her head. Lucien’s bedroom.Her heart skipped a bit. The portrait was beautiful, she couldn’t see it clearly because it was a bit far from the bedside but she knew he looked really handsome in it. It looked like he had just stepped out of a shower, the visible shape of water drops falling on his face from his wet hair. The look in his eyes that terrified her but made her stomach turn at the same time. She bit her lower lip, it should be a crime to look that good and be cruel at the same time. She tore her gaze from it.The sheets under her were black silk, cool and expensive. A low fire crackled in the hearth across the room. Soft lamplight pooled golden across the wa

  • THE BIDDING ROOM   CHAPTER ELEVEN: THE STRANGE ENVOY

    The day Makoto Yori arrived, the mansion felt wrong, not louder and not quiet. Just calm, like the house itself sensed a shift in its balance, bracing for impact.Evelyn felt it at first.She stood in the new wing’s sitting room, fingertips grazing the cool glass of the window, pretending the morning sunlight eased the remnants of last night. It didn’t. Her skin still burned from Lucien’s near touch. Her pulse still jittered from his voice—low, lethal, close enough to taste.Quiet footsteps echoed down the corridor, not Lucien’s and not Damien’s. It was quiet and precise. A sound she hadn’t heard in years.Evelyn stiffened, turning just as Damien appeared in the doorway. His expression was the same carved-stone neutrality he always wore, but something in his posture was sharper than usual. Like every muscle in his body was waiting.“Lucien has a guest,” Damien said.“Another arms dealer?” she asked, trying for lightness. It fell flat.“No.” A pause. “A representative.”He didn’t n

  • THE BIDDING ROOM   CHAPTER TEN: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN BREATHS

    LATER THAT NIGHTEvelyn’s new room is quite close to his, close enough that she hears the faint click of his door. It is so close enough that the hallway lights spill under her doorway like molten gold and close enough that she feels him.She lies in bed, staring at the ceiling, sheets pulled up to her chest and then…Footsteps, slow, measured and unhurried. They stop outside her door. Her pulse trips. He’s there. He’s right there. He was not entering, not knocking, just… existing on the other side of the door like a storm waiting for a reason.Minutes pass. Then more. He stays.EVELYNMy breath is shallow. Why is he there?Was he watching her or trying to guide her? Was he deciding on whether to kill her tonight or another day?Does he know she’s awake? closes her eyes. Her chest rises and falls with nervous, careful breaths.Another moment passes. The air shifts.And then…A soft sound, barely a whisper of fabric. A slow exhale through the door.He’s still there.What was stopping h

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