The Bride They Sacrificed: Reborn To Love And Kill
The table was filled with dishes-far more than necessary.
Delicate appetizers, arranged with care, richly plated entrées still steaming faintly, warm bread releasing heat into the air, and soup that smelled of great aroma and sumptuousness. It wasn't extravagant... It wasn't showy. It was intentional.
Lucien gestured toward the table with a subtle movement of his hand, his expression unreadable. "Eat," he said simply.
Elara hesitated for half a second before nodding. Hunger twisted in her stomach-not just physical hunger, but the kind that came from deprivation, from neglect, from having been denied basic kindness for far too long.