The first week passed like a test Lila did not know she was taking. Adrian Wolfe did not believe in conversation.He believed in necessity.
"Water."
"Book."
"Leave it."
Nothing more.
Nothing extra.
Lila learned quickly that words, to him, were not meant to fill space. They were tools used only when needed.
And yet, the silence between those words said more than anything else.It said'Do not come closer.'
But Lila had never been good at staying distant.
On the fifth day, it rained.
Not lightly. Not gently.It poured.
The sound filled the house, crashing against the windows, echoing through the empty halls.
Lila stood by the doorway, unsure whether to speak.
Adrian sat in his usual place, unmoving.
"Do you like the rain?" she asked before she could stop herself.No answer.
She hesitated, then tried again."It sounds… louder here."
Still nothing.
Lila sighed softly. "Sorry. I talk when I'm nervous."
"Why?"
The word caught her off guard.
"Why what?"
"Why are you nervous?"
She blinked. "Because I don't know what you're thinking."
Then, quietly.
"I'm not thinking anything."
Lila frowned slightly. "That can't be true."
"It is."
The certainty in his voice made her chest tighten.
Not because she believed him.
But because she realized…He wanted to.