Chapter 26 — Like It Was Always Meant to Be
She didn't remember falling asleep.One moment she was wrapped in Lucien's kiss the kind that unspooled something tightly wound inside her,then next, she was waking in a warm bed, tangled in sheets that still smelled faintly like him.
The soft morning light spilled through the tall windows, casting golden streaks across the marble floors.
She stretched slowly feeling sore.She tried to strengthen up, took her bath and for the first time since she entered this house, she felt... calm.
Lucien wasn't in the room when she got up,she had expected that,he was still Lucien Moretti, early mornings, precise movements, control but she could feel that he'd been there.The second pillow was dented and the shower still held traces of steam, there was a note, written in clean and confident strokes:
> "Join me downstairs. —L"
She stroked the letter and smiled before heading downstairs and there he saw him,he sat at the end of the long dining table, a mug of black coffee in front of him, the morning paper folded beside a plate of barely touched toast but his eyes weren't on any of it but the on the sound of her footsteps approaching.He didn't look up immediately,not because he wasn't eager to see her but because he didn't want to ruin the illusion that he could be patient.
When he did look up, Aria was wearing one of her soft knit sweaters, hair pulled into a loose braid, face fresh, glowing and his heart softened.
"You found the note," he said.
She slid into the seat across from him. "You wrote it like I had a choice."
Lucien poured her tea without asking.
"You always have a choice with me," he said.She blinked, surprised.
They ate slowly, there was no tension or cold stares, just the two of them learning each other without masks.
Lucien didn't try to dominate the conversation,he asked her about books, about her favorite music, about whether she preferred coffee or tea in the morning and all other small things being insignificant but to Aria, they were everything because no one had ever asked her before.
Not Isla. Not her father.Not her stepmom,and Lucien… he remembered the answers.
When she mentioned liking apricot jam once, it appeared on the table.
He listened and made all she liked real.
After breakfast,they walked the garden paths in slow steps.Her hand brushed his once and ge caught it gently, without force and didn't let go.Aria didn't look at him but she didn't pull away and that small, quiet victory felt larger than any empire.
Later that afternoon,she stood by the piano in the music room, fingers lightly pressing a single key.He watched her from the doorway.
"Did you ever play?" he asked.
Aria looked over her shoulder, a small smile on her lips.
"I did. When I was little before the lessons became performances and everything became a stage."
Lucien stepped closer. "Play something."
"I'm rusty."Aria said
"I don't care."
She sat.
Her fingers moved, hesitant at first, then flowing into a simple melody haunting and sweet. Lucien recognized none of the notes, but every emotion inside it felt familiar.
She finished softly but he didn't clap,he just looked at her like she'd just peeled back her skin and let him see her soul.
Aria stood, dusting invisible lint from her sweater.
"I didn't kiss you last night because I was confused," she said. "I kissed you because I finally stopped being afraid of what I felt."
Lucien didn't speak and just walked to her, slow and quiet.
He cupped her jaw, thumb brushing her cheek.
"I kissed you back because I've never wanted anything more."
They lips touched, igniting fire between them.