The door opened.
No locks. No screaming. No gas.
Just a soft click, and light pouring into her room like morning.
She backed into the corner, trembling, ready to run—
But it wasn't a stranger standing there.
It was the man in the coat. The one from the café.
The man with the still eyes and the broken smile.
Roman.
And beside him…
That little girl.
Her yellow dress was replaced with a lavender one now. She held a plush rabbit in one arm and looked up at Serene like she was greeting a ghost she'd waited forever to see.
Roman spoke first.
"You've slept enough," he said calmly. "It's time to see your home."
---
She didn't speak.
Didn't move until Roman stepped aside and gestured to the hallway.
She followed slowly, bare feet pressing into a warm wooden floor that smelled faintly of citrus and polished stone.
The house was massive.
Too massive.
Walls painted in the exact color of her childhood room. Curtains that matched her university apartment. A clock that ticked in the same rhythm as the one in her family's sitting room.
> "How do you know these things?" she asked under her breath.
Roman didn't answer.
But the girl — Lelo — skipped ahead and pointed to a framed photo on the wall.
It was Serene. Alone. Studying on campus.
The photo had never been taken.
---
They showed her the kitchen.
The reading room.
The greenhouse with roses that had no scent.
She was told where she could walk. What time meals would be served. That she could request music, books, or bath oils by pressing a small silver button by her bed.
Then they stopped in front of a double door.
Roman opened it with a brass key.
Inside, a room too white. Too clean. A bed untouched. A wardrobe full of dresses — all her size. All in colors she didn't wear.
Lelo walked over to the mirror and twirled. "This is yours. You sleep here."
Roman nodded. "For now, we don't share a bed. That comes later, when you understand."
Serene swallowed hard. "Understand what?"
Roman didn't blink. "Your place."
He stepped closer, but not too close.
"You are not a prisoner, Serene. You're our beginning. My wife. Her mother. You belong to us now. And that means we will care for you — in every way."
She tried to speak. Couldn't.
Lelo reached for her hand. "And I've been waiting so long to meet you. I learned to braid hair and everything."
Serene pulled her hand away.
Roman's gaze sharpened, but only for a second.
Then softened again.
"You'll stay in this wing for now. You'll eat with us. Follow the rules. And in return, we'll keep you safe."
"From what?" Serene asked, heart pounding.
Roman smiled faintly. "From the world."
---
That night, she didn't try to run.
The hallways had no corners, only turns that led back to themselves.
And the windows?
They looked out at stars that never moved.
---