It had barely been an hour. Vanessa was already on the sofa, one hand resting on her stomach, completely at ease, like she had been sitting in that spot for years. And that was when I heard her voice carry in from the sitting room, warm and unhurried, the tone of someone who had already decided this was her home.“Claire, could you take my bags up to the master bedroom? Just set them inside the door, thank you.”I put the glass down.I walked to the kitchen doorway. Vanessa was at the foot of the stairs, one hand on the banister, already turning to go up. Claire, our housekeeper, was reaching for the bags. Damien was standing right there. Right there, three feet away, and he was looking at his phone.“Damien,” I said.He looked up.I held his gaze for a moment. Waiting. Giving him the chance to say something, anything, to tell Claire to leave the bags, to tell Vanessa that was not how things worked here, to remember, just for one second, that I existed in this house.He looked back do
Last Updated : 2026-05-12 Read more