Chapter 6

I did have some confidence.. thinking about the little show I’d just pulled off.

Watching Johanna’s face twist at the gala had done something to me.

It gave me a tiny hit of power. Just enough to feel like I hadn’t been swallowed whole by this world yet.

But what I couldn’t really wrap my head around was what happened… with Ryan.

I sat beside him in the car, hands folded neatly over my clutch. He hadn’t said a word since we left the venue.

The same man who had just held my hand like it meant something in front of a hundred people was now sitting with his face turned to the window, jaw tight, arms resting on his lap.

The silence wasn’t peaceful. It hummed. Tense. Awkward. I shifted slightly in my seat, then stilled again.

My skin prickled from the weight of what he’d said.

‘She’s stunning. And very much mine.’

He didn’t have to say that. Not like that. Not with that look in his eyes.

I swallowed, trying to focus on the city lights flickering past the window. It didn’t help.

“Why did you do that?” I finally let out, asking quietly.

Ryan didn’t move. Didn’t blink.

“Do what?”

I looked over at him. “At the gala. What you said to Johanna.”

He glanced my way, then turned back toward the glass. “It needed to be said.”

“That’s not an answer,” I said, a little sharper than I meant.

Another pause.

Then, still looking away, he said, “She was trying to get under your skin. I didn’t want her to win.”

I frowned. “So it was strategy.”

He didn’t reply.

That made it worse. Not knowing if he meant any of it… or if I was just another chess piece on his board.

Most likely, I was.

I shifted again, crossing my arms. “You’re good at saying just enough to shut people up.”

He finally looked at me. Not angry. Just… tired.

“Lucia,” he said, voice lower now, “I don’t have the energy to explain things twice.”

That caught me off guard.

I turned away again. We stayed like that the rest of the ride.. him quiet, me overthinking.

When we pulled up to the mansion, Isla, his househelp, was already waiting near the door. The car stopped, and a second later, the driver opened my side.

I stepped out, legs still stiff from the tension. Isla gave me a polite smile and reached for the small bag I’d carried with me.

“Welcome back, ma’am,” she said.

I nodded, murmured a thank you, then turned as Ryan stepped out on his side.

He didn’t even glance at me.

“See you tomorrow,” he said simply, already heading for the front steps.

That was it.

Not “Goodnight.”

Not even a look.

Just… tomorrow.

And then he was gone, his figure disappearing into the shadows of the hallway like the evening hadn’t happened at all.

I stood there for a second, staring at the closed door behind him.

The breeze tugged lightly at my dress.

My hand still felt the weight of his fingers, even though they weren’t there anymore.

I followed Isla inside. She walked ahead without saying much, only glancing back to make sure I was still behind her.

At my room, she set my bag gently on the edge of the dresser.

“Everything you need should be here,” she said. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

I gave a small nod. “Thanks.”

She left without another word.

The silence in the room was heavier than usual.

I kicked off my heels, shrugged out of the dress, and changed into a soft cotton robe.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the closed curtains. My head was buzzing again.

I didn’t know if Ryan was protecting me or playing me. He was impossible to read.

Calm one second. Cutting the next.

Then saying things like “She’s mine” with a grip on my hand that felt too real to be fake.

I stood up.

The water dispenser in the corner blinked red. Empty.

Of course.

I grabbed the glass from the bedside table and stepped into the hallway. It was quiet.. too late for staff to be wandering. I remembered a dispenser downstairs, near the library.

But my feet stopped halfway there.

Instead, I turned left.. toward the study.. the one I had seen that file in.. that date.

I didn’t plan to. Not exactly.

But once I was moving, I couldn’t stop myself.

The same hallway. The same soft scent of cedar and faint polish. When I reached the door, I paused.

Locked.

I hadn’t expected that. I pushed gently again just to be sure, but the knob didn’t turn.

My fingers dropped from it slowly.

Then a voice behind me.

“Do you need something?”

I flinched.

Isla stood at the end of the hallway, dressed in a navy robe, barefoot. Her expression was unreadable.

“I… I was just looking for water,” I said, voice quiet. “The one in my room is empty.”

Her gaze lingered on the locked door for a moment, then back at me. “The kitchen’s down the other hall.”

I nodded. “Right. Sorry.”

She stepped forward, walking past the door without stopping.

“You won’t find what you’re looking for in there,” she said casually.

I turned to her. “What?”

She stopped. Turned her head slightly.

“The study,” she said. “It’s not the only place secrets are kept.”

Her words were calm. Almost too casual.

But they hit something in me.

She gave me a small nod. Then walked off without another word.

I stood there for a long moment, my fingers still brushing the seam of the door. My heart beat faster.

Not the only place.

That meant there was more.

And if I wanted answers..about my mother, about Ryan, about everything.. I’d have to start digging deeper.

Quietly.

Carefully.

Because if this house held secrets…

Then so did the people inside it.