Livia's POV…..
The room felt colder the moment she stepped in, It wasn't the air it was her.
Helen Kingsley carried something with her—something sharp, something suffocating. It settled into the space like an invisible weight, pressing down on everything and everyone.
I stood near the doorway waiting for her to come in
She didn't look at me her eyes went straight to Lucian or rather to the version of him sitting in that wheelchair.
Her gaze swept over him slowly as if she was assessing something beneath her.
"You're awake," she said.
Her voice was smooth and cold.
"Mother " Lucian said
She sneered at him and he simply sat there, his eyes unfocused, his posture slightly slouched—perfectly playing the role the world expected.
The silence stretched, it was uncomfortable .
Helen exhaled softly, almost impatiently.
"I suppose that's something," she added, her tone carrying the faintest hint of mockery.
My chest tightened.Something about the way she spoke to him It didn't sit right with me
It didn't feel like a mother speaking to her son.
It felt like a superior addressing someone beneath her.
I swallowed, forcing myself to stay quiet this wasn't my place not yet.
Helen took a step further into the room, her heels clicking softly against the polished floor.
"There's a board meeting tomorrow," she said casually
Still no response from Lucian, her lips curved slightly.
"You don't need to attend."
"Given your… condition," she continued, her gaze flicking briefly over his still form,
"it would only be a waste of time."
What the hell?
I turned toward Lucian instinctively, waiting for some kind of reaction or anything at all but he remained exactly the same.
Something in my chest twisted uncomfortably and Helen shifted her attention to me.
The change was immediate.
Her eyes landed on me, sharp and assessing, as if she were seeing me for the first time—and already finding me lacking in so many ways.
"So," she said slowly, her gaze dragging over me from head to toe, "you're the replacement."
The word stung, I straightened slightly, forcing myself not to shrink under her scrutiny.
"My name is Livia," I said quietly.
Her brow lifted just slightly as if amused by my response.
"I didn't ask for your name."
Heat crept up my neck, but I held my ground.
"I thought it would be polite to introduce myself."
Her lips curved faintly she was getting irritated, good.
"Politeness is not what you're here for," she said.
"And what am I here for?" I asked before I could stop myself.
And that was a huge mistake
I realized it the second the words left my mouth.
Helen's gaze sharpened.
"Be careful," she said softly. "You're not in a position to ask questions."
Everywhere went silent again
I lowered my gaze slightly, not out of submission—but control.
I couldn't afford to push her we literally just met.
"Understand your role," she continued, her voice calm but filled with malice
"You were brought into this family for convenience. Nothing more."
The words echoed in my chest.
Convenience.
just like Lucian had said, I clenched my hands at my sides.
"I understand," I replied quietly.
Her eyes lingered on me for a moment longer, as if trying to decide whether I was worth any further attention.
Then she looked away.
My chest tightened again, but I forced myself to stay still.
Helen turned back toward Lucian, her expression still filled with disdain.
"I'll be at the meeting tomorrow," she said. "Victor will be there as well."
She went quiet for a while and then said
"You should rest."
The words sounded almost caring but they weren't.
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked toward the door.
The moment she reached it, she stopped briefly just long enough to speak one last time.
"Don't cause unnecessary trouble."
Then she left, the door closed behind her with a soft click.
For a moment, I just stood there, staring at the door she had walked through, trying to process everything that had just happened.
My heart was still beating a little too fast and my thoughts were too loud and scattered in my brain.
Slowly, I turned back toward Lucian, he still hadn't moved yet.
A few seconds passed then he stood up slowly.
I watched him, still not fully used to the transformation.
It was… unsettling.
How easily he could switch between two completely different versions of himself.
"How long?" I asked quietly.
The question slipped out before I could stop it Lucian didn't look at me immediately.
"How long what?" he replied.
I hesitated then I asked plainly.
"How long have she treated you like that?"
Silence.
He turned slowly, his gaze meeting mine.
"Long enough," he said.
Something in my chest tightened i wasn't sure why.
Maybe it was the way he said it like it didn't matter, like he had already accepted it.
Or maybe…
It was because I hadn't expected it I hadn't expected someone like him to be treated like that.
"I'm sorry," I said softly.
Lucian's expression didn't change.
"I don't need your sympathy."
"I know," I said quickly. "I just—"
I stopped because I didn't know how to finish that sentence.
"You should get used to it," he said after a moment.
"To what?"
"This house," he replied. "And the people in it."
My chest tightened again.
"Because it doesn't change."
The finality in his voice made something inside me twing in pain, i nodded slowly.
"I understand."
Lucian glanced toward the door briefly then back at me.
"You should go," he said.
I blinked slightly, surprised
"What?"
"I need a moment."
"…Okay," I said softly.
I turned toward the door, when I reached it, I paused briefly just for a moment.
Then I opened it and stepped out into the hallway the door closed behind me with a soft click.
And just like that i was alone again In a house that didn't feel like mine. In a life I hadn't chosen surrounded by people I didn't know.
I exhaled slowly, leaning back against the wall for a second as I closed my eyes.
This wasn't going to be easy not the marriage or the house.
Not any of it.
But as I stood there, one thought lingered in my mind clear as day.
Lucian Kingsley wasn't the only one hiding something in this house.
*****