All Chapters of Under His Roof, Her Game : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

ELARAI was still thinking about Bianca’s face, the way she tried to pretend she wasn’t terrified, when I turned the corner——and saw Luna.She was leaning against the wall like she’d been waiting a long time. One leg crossed over the other. Arms folded. Perfect makeup, but… her jaw was too sharp. Too tight. Like she’d been holding anger between her teeth. Or maybe tears. Hard to tell with her. She always tried to look perfect.Her eyes flicked over me, from my hair to my shoes, slow and judgmental.Dario stiffened immediately beside me. His hand subtly moved near his belt—instinct, not threat. He was preparing for trouble.“Don’t,” I whispered without turning.He stilled.Luna pushed off the wall and walked toward me with a lazy kind of confidence. Her heels clicked like she wanted an audience.“Well,” she said softly, voice dipped in sugar she didn’t feel, “how sweet of you to go comfort Bianca. You’re always so… involved.”Ah. So it was going to be that kind of conversation.I gave

ELARAI woke up to screaming.Not the kind that fades quickly.Not a bad dream that turns into quiet crying.This was sharp. High. Raw.It sliced through the walls and pulled me out of sleep like fingers around my throat.For a second, I stayed very still in my bed. I listened. Counted my breaths. One. Two. Three. Then the scream came again, louder this time, broken by sobbing.Bianca.I sat up slowly, like someone afraid to spook a wild animal. The house was already awake. Footsteps rushed down the hallway. A door slammed open. A guard shouted her name.I wrapped a robe around myself, hands shaking just enough to look real. My heart was calm. Steady. But I let my shoulders hunch. Let fear touch my face.By the time I reached Bianca’s door, the hallway was crowded.Two guards stood inside her room. A maid pressed her hands to her mouth. Another whispered prayers under her breath. Bianca sat on the edge of her bed, knees pulled tight to her chest, hair tangled, eyes wide and empty like

ELARAI was awake already. Sitting on the edge of my bed. The light was still off. Morning hadn’t fully arrived yet, but night had loosened its grip. That thin, grey hour where everything feels unsure.Then Bianca screamed.It tore through the house like glass breaking.I stood slowly. Didn’t rush. Pulled my robe tighter around myself. Took a breath. One. Two.Another scream. Louder this time.Footsteps followed. Guards. Doors opening. A maid crying out.I walked last. Always last.When I reached the hallway, Bianca was there. Barefoot on the cold marble. Hair wild. Eyes wide and red like she hadn’t slept at all. Her hands were shaking so badly she couldn’t keep them still.She was crying, but not like before. This was worse. Broken. Desperate.“It’s gone again,” she sobbed. “It was there. I swear it was there.”A guard crouched in front of her, speaking calmly. “Miss, no one entered your room.”“I know,” she cried. “I know that’s what you keep saying, but it was there. Hanging on my

ELARAI sit at the breakfast table alone, my fingers wrapped around a cup of tea that has already gone cold. I don’t remember when the heat left it. Or when the sun came up. The light spills through the tall windows, pale and thin, touching the marble floor like it doesn’t belong here either.The chair across from me is empty.It has always been empty.But now it feels different.I hear footsteps behind me.Slow. Heavy.I don’t turn immediately. I already know who it is.Mateo.He walks past me, his presence filling the room before he even sits down. His shirt is slightly wrinkled. His hair isn’t styled the way it usually is. He looks… tired.Not angry.Not cold.Just tired.He pulls out the chair across from me and sits.For a while, neither of us speaks.I keep my eyes on the surface of my tea. The reflection trembles slightly from the movement of my hands. I try to still them.He exhales.It’s quiet. But I hear it.Then he says, very softly,“It’s strange without her here.”He does

MATTEO I cannot sleep.I’ve tried.I’ve turned off the lights. Turned them back on. Poured myself a drink. Left it untouched. Opened my laptop. Closed it again.It is past midnight. The house is quiet. Too quiet. Even the guards outside move like ghosts. The clock on the wall makes this slow, stupid ticking sound that feels louder than it should.I sit at the edge of my bed and stare at the floor.This is ridiculous.I say it out loud.“This is ridiculous.”My voice sounds strange in the dark.I try to work. I open a report about shipments coming in tomorrow. I read the first line five times and I still don’t understand what it says. My eyes move across the screen, but my mind… my mind is somewhere else.With her.Elara.I close the laptop harder than I mean to.Why am I thinking about her?She didn’t do anything tonight. She barely even spoke at dinner. She sat there quietly, listening to Luna complain about the new guest list for the charity event. Luna talked for almost an hour. A