Morning didn't feel like morning.
It felt like something pretending to be morning.
Light seeped through the curtains in soft, careless lines—warm, golden, almost beautiful. The kind of light that used to mean new beginnings.
Now it just felt wrong.
I lay still on the sofa.
I didn't remember falling asleep in a normal way. There was no clear moment of surrender, no peaceful drift into rest. Just exhaustion winning over everything else.
My body felt heavy, like it didn't fully belong to me.
For a few seconds, I just stared at the ceiling.
Blank.
Quiet.
Safe.
Then memory returned.
Not all at once.
It came in pieces—like broken glass slowly pushing through water.
Adrian.
Lily.
That room.
That smile.
My breath stopped before my mind could even finish the thought.
I sat up quickly.
Too quickly.
The room tilted for a second, and I had to press my hand against the sofa to steady myself.
My heart was already racing.
Like it had been waiting for me to wake up just so it could hurt again.
"Luna?"
Alex's voice came from somewhere nearby.
I turned my head.
He was sitting in a chair across the room, still dressed from last night, like he hadn't really left my side. There was a cup of coffee in his hand, untouched.
He looked like he had been awake longer than he should have been.
"How are you feeling?" he asked carefully.
That question.
So simple.
So impossible.
"I don't know," I said honestly.
Because I didn't.
My body was here.
But everything else felt… delayed.
Like my emotions hadn't caught up yet.
Alex nodded slightly, as if that answer made perfect sense to him.
"That's normal," he said.
Normal.
The word almost made me laugh.
Almost.
I lowered my gaze.
My hands were resting in my lap. Still. Quiet.
Too quiet.
Because the storm wasn't gone.
It was just waiting.
"I need to go home," I said suddenly.
Alex didn't react immediately.
He just studied me for a moment.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
I nodded.
I didn't trust my voice enough to repeat it.
There was a pause.
Then he stood up.
"Okay," he said simply. "I'll take you."
I didn't argue.
I should have.
But I didn't have the energy to pretend I could do this alone.
The drive back felt longer than it should have.
Neither of us spoke much.
The city moved outside the window like nothing had happened. People walking. Cars passing. Life continuing without permission.
It annoyed me.
How could everything still be normal?
How could the world still function when mine had stopped?
When we reached the mansion, my stomach tightened immediately.
The gates opened slowly.
Like they knew.
Like they were letting me walk back into something I shouldn't have returned to.
I stepped out of the car.
Cold air hit my face again.
Same air.
Different me.
Alex stayed behind for a moment.
"You don't have to go in alone," he said quietly.
I looked at the doors.
Tall. Familiar. Heavy with history I used to feel safe inside.
Now they looked like they were waiting to swallow me whole.
"I do," I said.
And I walked.
Each step felt louder than it should have.
The guards opened the door without greeting me properly.
Or maybe they did.
I didn't hear it.
Inside, everything was too polished.
Too clean.
Too unchanged.
That was the worst part.
Nothing here looked like my life had been destroyed.
I walked through the hall slowly.
My heels made small sounds against the floor, but they didn't feel connected to me.
It was like watching someone else move.
I reached the corridor leading to Adrian's wing.
My steps slowed.
My chest tightened.
I didn't want to go there.
But I did anyway.
Because some part of me needed to know if last night had been real.
Or if I had imagined my own ruin.
The door was slightly open.
That detail alone made my stomach twist.
I pushed it gently.
The room was empty.
The bed was made.
Clean.
Perfect.
No sign of anything.
No sign of her.
No sign of him.
For a moment, I just stood there.
Breathing unevenly.
Then I laughed.
One short, broken sound.
Because of course.
Of course it was like this.
Not even proof left behind.
Not even the dignity of truth staying visible.
Just silence pretending nothing had happened.
I stepped back slowly.
My hand brushed the doorframe as I turned—
And froze.
A voice came from behind me.
"My love…"
Adrian.
I didn't turn immediately.
My body went still before my mind caught up.
That voice.
Warm. Familiar. Controlled.
Like nothing in the world had gone wrong.
Like I hadn't seen everything.
I finally turned.
He was standing a few steps away.
Perfectly dressed.
Calm.
Looking at me like I was something precious.
Like I hadn't been breaking apart somewhere else just hours ago.
His eyes softened slightly.
"You're back early," he said, smiling faintly. "You should've told me."
For a second—
Just one second—
My mind almost tried to believe him.
Almost tried to step back into the version of reality where I hadn't seen anything.
Where I was still safe.
Where I was still his.
But then—
Memory struck again.
Lily's smile.
That same smile.
My fingers curled tightly.
And something inside me went very still.
Too still.
Adrian took a step closer.
"I missed you," he said gently.
I looked at him.
Really looked.
And for the first time…
I didn't feel love.
I didn't feel longing.
I didn't feel confusion.
I felt nothing warm at all.
Just clarity.
Cold. Sharp. Final.
"You missed me?" I repeated quietly.
He nodded, still smiling.
I held his gaze.
And then I asked the question that changed everything.
"Or did you miss the version of me who didn't know the truth?"
The smile on his face didn't fully disappear.
But something behind it… shifted.
Just slightly.
And I knew.
He knew I knew.
The air between us stopped moving.
And for the first time in my life…
I wasn't the one breaking.
I was the one beginning to see.