The next day, Adrian returned to the burned wing. He couldn't let it go—not after the photo, not after the look in Lucien's eyes.
He searched every inch of the scorched music room. Under broken floorboards. Behind charred piano remains.
That's when he found the hidden drawer. Inside, wrapped in velvet and half burnt, were dozens of letters. All addressed to someone named:
> Caelum, L.
His hands shook as he opened the first one.
---
> Lucien,
I waited for you under the stars again tonight.
You didn't come.
They say you're cursed, but I don't believe it. I never did. I know your heart. I know it still beats.
I love you.
—A
Adrian's heart raced.
Who was A?
And why did Lucien never mention them?
---
That night, Lucien wasn't in the tower.
Adrian waited until dawn.
On the third night, he found him again—on the rooftop, leaning over the edge, whispering things to the wind.
"I found your letters," Adrian said gently, stepping beside him.
Lucien stiffened. "You weren't supposed to."
"Who was A?" Adrian asked.
Lucien closed his eyes. "The only person who ever believed I wasn't a monster. Until you."
There was a long silence.
Then Lucien whispered, "I wasn't always like this. I was seventeen. Just like you."
Adrian's chest tightened.
"I loved someone," Lucien continued, "and the world couldn't accept it. We ran away. They tried to erase us. Burned our room, destroyed our letters… but I stayed. I kept waiting. Time forgot me, Adrian. But I never forgot him."
Adrian reached for his hand, hesitating just a moment—then laced their fingers together.
"You're not forgotten," Adrian said, voice trembling. "Not anymore."
Lucien turned to him. Their eyes met. And in that one moment, Adrian swore the stars above them pulsed brighter.
---
That night, under the moon's glow, neither of them said "I love you."
But they didn't need to.
The silence between them said everything.
---
To be continued…