From that moment on, they belonged to each other.
The car passed winding roads, cafés, scenic overlooks. Lena remembered afternoons at the park, feeding birds while Aria laughed uncontrollably as sparrows fought over crumbs.
Sometimes Sebastian joined them unexpectedly, escaping meetings, sitting quietly beside them with melting ice cream cones.
Rare moments.
Gentle moments.
Moments where he seemed less like a titan of industry and more like a tired father trying his best.
Lena’s tears fell silently.
Not from anger.
But from loss.
She would miss everything—
The scent of clean laundry.
The morning coffee.
Aria’s laughter echoing through the halls.
She would even miss—though she shouldn’t—the quiet way Sebastian lingered at doorways, watching the two of them together before announcing his presence.
And she always pretended not to notice.
Even though her heart betrayed her every time.
It was wrong.
She knew it.
But feelings don’t ask permission.
And in recent months, Lena had been fighting something growing quietly inside her.
Maybe that was why it hurt so deeply.
Back at the mansion, silence settled like dust.