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Chapter 9

Auteur: Liora Haven
last update Dernière mise à jour: 2026-02-15 04:43:42

Lilith’s POV

Lucian’s question hit me so sharply that for a moment, I forgot how to breathe. My whole body felt like it had been caught under a spotlight.

I knew better than to answer too fast, just as I knew better than to hesitate too long. Still, the silence stretched, and that was already dangerous.

Lucian didn’t always care about the words I spoke; he cared about how my heartbeat changed when I said them.

“So tell me, Lilith… who were you meeting?” he asked again, softly, like the calm before a blade settles at your throat.

I swallowed. My hands felt cold. I tried to steady my breathing, but the more I tried, the worse it got.

Finally, I forced the lie out, quietly but as evenly as I could manage. “I wasn’t meeting anyone. I just… needed air. I felt suffocated, so I left the estate early. I planned to visit the orphanage after, but I wanted a little space first.”

The moment the words left my mouth, I knew it wasn’t a perfect lie. It didn’t sound rehearsed or clever. It sounded tired, impulsive, messy. But maybe that was better. A woman hiding guilt would try too hard to be consistent. A woman falling apart would not.

Lucian took a slow step toward me, and my back tightened instinctively. He lifted his hand, and his fingers brushed the side of my neck.

It wasn’t affectionate. He was checking something, tracing the skin lightly. When his thumb reached the hollow between my collarbones, I felt my pulse slam against his touch. His eyes narrowed.

“Your heart is beating too fast for someone telling the truth,” he murmured.

I pressed my lips together, trying not to react, but I could feel the panic rising in my chest.

My mind flashed to Damien’s mouth on my skin, the way he held me, the feeling that still clung to my body no matter how hard I scrubbed. I prayed none of that lingered on me, not in a way Lucian could detect.

I stood perfectly still, refusing to let my voice tremble.

Before he could push further, his phone rang. The sound sliced through the air, tense and unwelcome. He didn’t remove his eyes from my face as he answered.

“Yes.”

A short pause.

“Handle it.”

Another pause.

“I said handle it. I will be there in fifteen.”

He ended the call, his gaze still fixed on me like he was trying to decide whether to drag the truth out of me now or later. His expression hardened just a little.

“I have business,” he said quietly. “We’re not finished.”

My stomach twisted as he turned and walked out of the room. He didn’t slam the door or raise his voice. He didn’t make any threat. And that was exactly what terrified me. Lucian calm was far more dangerous than Lucian angry.

When he walked away like that, it meant he wasn’t done… only delayed for bigger punishment.

As soon as he left, my legs weakened. I reached for the wall to steady myself. Before I could gather myself, Sophie appeared behind me, worry etched all over her face.

“Lilith,” she whispered. “Did he hurt you?”

I shook my head quickly. “No. He just asked questions.”

Sophie let out a tense breath. Her eyes scanned my face like she wanted to pick apart all the things she didn’t understand. She wasn’t stupid. She knew something had shaken me more than usual, but she didn’t press. She simply placed a hand on my arm, her touch soft and careful.

“You’re trembling,” she said. “Go upstairs for a minute. I’ll keep everyone away from your door.”

I nodded gratefully and went upstairs, walking fast so she wouldn’t see how close I was to losing control. When I reached my bedroom, I slipped inside and shut the door quietly, leaning against it as the air rushed out of my lungs in a shaky breath.

The moment I was finally alone, everything hit me at once. Damien’s mouth on mine, the heat of his hands, the way he whispered my name like he had been waiting years to say it. The sound of my own voice this morning, breathless and shamefully honest. And then Lucian’s fingers on my neck minutes ago, searching for something he hadn’t found yet only because luck was on my side. My heart hammered painfully in my chest.

I pushed myself off the door and walked to the mirror, almost afraid to look. When I finally lifted my gaze, the reflection staring back at me wasn’t the same woman who left this house this morning.

My cheeks were still flushed, my eyes bright in a way that didn’t belong here. The shower hadn’t washed the feeling off my skin. The memory clung too tightly.

I lifted the hem of my dress slightly, just enough to check.

The breath left my chest.

A faint bruise on my inner thigh. A mark Damien left. A mark Lucian could never see. I pulled the dress back down quickly, as if the bruise itself could betray me.

My legs shook under me for a moment, and I gripped the side of the vanity to stay standing. The memory of his hands gripping my hips hit me so sharply that I had to close my eyes.

My phone buzzed on the bed.

I tensed instantly, terrified it would be Lucian. When I reached for it and saw the unnamed number instead, my heart twisted in a new way.

Damien.

There was only one line.

“Did he hurt you?”

My breath caught. I sat down slowly on the edge of the bed, staring at the message, unable to answer. It wasn’t romantic or demanding. It wasn’t possessive. It was sharp, direct, and filled with something dangerously close to concern.

It hit deeper than I wanted it to. My hands trembled slightly, and I turned the phone over so I wouldn’t have to see the screen.

I couldn’t reply. Not now. Not ever, maybe. Lucian had already sensed too much. A single message could show everything. I pressed my palms to my eyes, trying to steady my breathing.

I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel anymore. Fear, guilt, desire, confusion. It all tangled inside me until I couldn’t separate one from the other.

Damien had pulled something to the surface in me that I hadn’t known still existed, and now I felt raw from it, exposed in a way I couldn’t hide.

A sudden, hard knock hit my door.

I jumped.

“Mrs. Verona.” The guard’s voice came through, flat and unfeeling. “Mr. Lucian wants you in his office. Now.”

My heart stopped for a moment. Lucian’s office was never a good sign. He never summoned me there unless something was deeply wrong. My fingers tightened around the edge of the bed as if it could hold me together.

I stood slowly, my legs unsteady beneath me. The room felt colder all of a sudden. I took one la

st breath that did nothing to help, then walked toward the door because I didn’t have another choice.

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