Semua Bab WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK: Bab 101 - Bab 110

The post-engagement days were a fantasy woven out of strands of golden sunlight and gentle laughter. The Carlston Estate, foreboding and dark, was now radiant. It pulsed with purpose—florists dashing along hallways with arms loaded with ivory roses, tailors darting to and from with packages of silk draped over their arms, and cooks darting back and forth with taste-test plates that sent fragrant odors wafting through the air. There was laughter once more. There was music. There was hope.And in the midst of it all—Lily and Vandaulf.“You’re breathing too loud,” Lily muttered without looking up from her sketchpad, a pencil tucked behind her ear, the other in her hand, tapping against the paper.“I’m literally just existing,” Vandaulf replied from the couch, watching her from over a stack of fabric swatches. “You’re the one judging ribbon samples like they hold state secrets.”"Yes, they do keep state secrets," she told him sternly, holding two very similar champagne-colored swatches in

"Seriously," Helena said with a wicked grin, "we were just checking if you two had passed out hugging each other or eloped early."Brenna, stifling her giggles behind a silk handkerchief, contributed, "But this is better. You two are adorably sweet."Lily gently groaned and buried her face in Vandaulf's chest. "They were watching us?"Helena sauntered in, her hand waving. "Not watching. Observing. Appreciating. Lightly judging.""You two are impossible," Vandaulf grumbled, but his lips lifted into a helpless grin.Brenna advanced, wiping a thumb under Lily's tear-stained eye. "Darling, don't cry so much. You'll dehydrate before the ceremony even begins.""I wasn't crying," Lily whispered, obviously lying.Oh, sweetheart," Helena said, chuckling as she stood on her cane. "Don't lie to women who've cried in wedding dresses. We know the blotchy glow.""I should have locked the door," Lily growled."But then we would've missed this perfect little scene," Brenna winked. "The pendant… the v

The officiant smiled at the best man, who produced the rings."Those rings serve as a symbol of the unending circle of love. Let them always symbolize the pledge you have given here today."Vandaulf put the ring on Lily's finger."With this ring, I thee wed."Lily mimicked the gesture, putting the ring on Vandaulf's finger."With this ring, I thee wed."The golden ring shone as Lily's trembling fingers forced it onto Vandaulf's palm. It shone like a promise not sworn in gold but in fire, in tears, in forgiveness. In love that had clawed its way out of devastation.Their palms stayed—his bigger, balancing hers, their fingers intertwining in a grasp that felt the world narrowing to them alone.The officiant smiled, voice rich with fervor."Lily and Vandaulf, before your family and friends, before the spirits which watch over you, you have said the words and performed the rituals that are binding your hearts to each other in marriage. By virtue residing in me—" she smiled lovingly at the

The evening air cooled the heat of the sun-baked ceremony. Fireflies flashed in the garden like shooting stars, twinkling between champagne glasses and dying flower petals. People had dispersed and laughter diminished into the soft buzz of music still resonating from the big tent.Within a quieter corner of the estate—a candlelit parlor with velvet armchairs and portraits too heavy for their frames—Lily and Vandaulf rested on an old embroidered couch, fingers still intertwined like they feared letting go.The door groaned.Two women entered the room—neither in need of an introduction. They bore no fanfare, no entourage. Only presence.Brenna James, clad in rich navy, her silver hair styled into a regal twist, stood proudly upright. Her eyes, so much like Lily's, were brimming with tears, but her back was straight.Aside from her, in a fitted emerald shawl that complemented the emerald pin at her neck, Helena Carlston walked with measured poise. Her cane tapped softly on the floor, a s

The fire had long since fallen silent, its ashes a warm, golden glow bathing the room in amber. Beyond the windows, the world was asleep, blissfully unaware of war that brewed beneath silk and satin. The rose perfume from the reception still hung in the air, a bitter reminder to the fear that had come back like an uninvited guest.Lily sat on the edge of the bed, the wedding dress now gone, replaced by a satin robe, the white veil draped neatly on the chair like a marker for something simpler. She gazed at the fire, arms folded around herself, the quiet heavy and dense.Behind her, the faint click of the door closing resonated louder than it ought to have.She didn't move.But she knew it was him.Vandaulf.She sensed him like a change in gravity, the way he made a room fill not with his body but with his will—gently gnawing strength shrouded in painful tenderly."Hey," he murmured.She blinked at the flames, her voice low. "Hey."Vandaulf moved across the room slowly. He didn't attem