Chapter 10 — Between the Lines
The storm rolled in after midnight.Aria watched it from the second-story balcony outside the guest library, the one no one ever used. Rain tapped against the iron railing, soft and rhythmic. Thunder rumbled over the hills like a distant war drum.She wasn't afraid of storms.She liked them.They made the house feel alive, like the walls could finally breathe.
Wrapped in a blanket, her tea gone cold beside her, Aria sat with her knees tucked to her chest and let the silence keep her company.
Until it didn't.
Lucien hadn't meant to find her.He was restless, another sleepless night, another failed attempt to drown his thoughts in scotch and silence.He was walking past the guest library when he saw the soft flicker of light spilling through the cracked door.He almost kept walking but curiosity had a cruel grip.So he stepped in and found her sitting in the open air, barefoot and small, watching the storm like it was telling her secrets.She turned slightly when she sensed him."I thought you'd be in bed," he said."I thought you'd be at work."
That made him smile ,just a twitch of it.
"I came back early."He said.
"Did something go wrong?"Aria asked.
"No. That's the problem. I left to clear my head." He paused. "It didn't work."She shifted, tucking her blanket tighter.He didn't ask why she was out here.He just stepped forward and leaned against the opposite pillar and for a long moment, they both stared out at the rain.
He didn't try to interrogate her and didn't ask what she was doing or why she hadn't gone to bed.He just stood there, arms folded, gaze distant and in that stillness, something cracked open between them.So she spoke, not to test him or to provoke but just to speak.
"I used to watch storms through my bedroom window when I was little," she said softly. "Isla hated them. She thought thunder meant the world was angry. But I liked the chaos."
Lucien glanced sideways. "Why?""It made me feel less alone."He was silent but his expression changed. Slightly.
"I used to sneak onto the roof when I was a kid," he said. "During storms. My mother thought I was crazy. But up there, everything else disappeared. No voices. No orders. Just noise."
Aria smiled faintly. "That's the first thing we have in common."Lucien looked at her,really looked at her and something unspoken passed between them.
She wasn't supposed to be like this.Soft-spoken. Steady. Observant and somehow more dangerous than all the men who had ever tried to kill him but she wasn't trying to kill him now.She was just… there,honest and present.Lucien stepped closer.Not touching her or looming. Just closing the distance so the rain became louder, and the air between them warmer."I don't know what game you're playing," he said quietly. "But you're not what I expected.""I'm not playing anything," she replied.He tilted his head. "Everyone's playing something.""I'm surviving. There's a difference."Lucien looked down at her bare feet, the soft tremble of her shoulders under the blanket, the fire in her eyes even in the dark."You shouldn't feel safe here," he said. "Not with me."
"I don't," she said simply.Then: "But I don't feel scared either."That did something to him,ywisted something inside because fear was control, distance and kept people manageable.
She didn't fear him.Not even now.
His eyes didn't soften but his voice did."You're not what I wanted.""I know."Aria replied."But maybe…" He exhaled slowly. "You're what I need."The silence cracked like thunder but she didn't answer because what could she say to that?she just whispered, "You should go inside. It's late."Lucien didn't move right away but when he finally did, he brushed past her, not touching, not looking.Just enough closeness to make her skin burn and when he reached the door, he said without turning,
"I'll see you in the morning."It was not a command or a warning but just a promise and then he left.
Leaving her heartbeat loud enough to drown the storm.