Elara's POV
The storm came quickly.
By evening, thunder shook the villa, lightning clawed across the sky, and rain battered the windows like fists. Most of the staff had gone home early, leaving the hallways eerily empty.
I stayed in the kitchen, scrubbing dishes to distract myself. Anything to avoid Isabella's shadow, anything to quiet the echo of Lucian's words from earlier: Don't run from me.
But when the lights flickered, plunging the villa into sudden darkness, my heart jumped. I set the dish down, wiping my wet hands on my apron. The silence was suffocating, broken only by the growl of thunder.
"Scared?"
His voice came from the doorway. Low, steady, unmistakable.
I turned. Lucian stood there, the storm's light catching on his sharp features. Without the usual perfection of his office or the distraction of Isabella, he looked different — less untouchable, more… real.
"I—no," I stammered, though my trembling hands betrayed me.
He stepped closer, his presence filling the small kitchen. The air seemed to hum between us, charged like the storm outside.
"Liar," he said softly.
I looked away, my chest tight. "I'm not supposed to be here. Not like this."
His hand brushed the counter near mine, so close that the heat of him seeped into my skin. "And yet… here you are."
I swallowed hard. Every instinct screamed at me to step back, to put space between us, but my feet wouldn't move. His nearness was magnetic, pulling me into a gravity I couldn't resist.
"Lucian," I whispered, daring to say his name, tasting the danger of it.
His gaze locked onto mine, dark and intense. For a heartbeat, the world fell away — no Isabella, no villa, no difference between us. Just him, and me, and the thunder echoing the wild rhythm of my pulse.
He leaned in, his breath brushing against my cheek. The distance between us narrowed to nothing. My lips parted—
And then the lights snapped back on.
I jumped, stumbling back, breaking the spell.
Lucian froze, his jaw tight, his eyes burning with something unspoken. He turned away first, his hands curling into fists as if restraining himself.
"Go to your room, Elara," he said, his voice rougher than I'd ever heard it.
I nodded quickly, my heart racing, and fled before I could do something reckless.
Lucian's POV
When the door shut behind her, I pressed my palms to the counter, forcing the storm inside me back into its cage.
I had almost kissed her.
Almost.
And the terrifying truth was — I wanted to. More than I had wanted anything in years.
But wanting her was dangerous. For her. For me. For everything I had built.
And yet, as the storm raged on outside, I knew one thing with absolute certainty.
This was only the beginning.