Chapter 124 - Whisper of Something More

The garden had quickly become a place where silence turned soft, where tension dissolved into something gentler—something nearly peaceful.

It started with breakfast.

Lucian had never joined her before. For weeks, Ayra had eaten in the eastern wing’s solarium, a place soaked in morning light and perfumed with citrus trees. The table was always set. A guard always stationed at the door. She would sit with her tea, her fruit, her silence.

Then one morning, he was there.

Seated already, sipping dark coffee, poring over an old dossier. He looked up when she entered, his gaze unreadable.

"You’re late," he said. Not coldly. Not mockingly. Just… speaking.

Ayra raised an eyebrow but took her seat across from him. She said nothing.

They ate in silence.

But the next day, he was there again. And the next.

Eventually, they spoke—little things. The weather. A passing comment about the guards. A rare joke from Lucian that left her blinking, then chuckling softly. And he would smirk, looking away lik