Chapter 11
The next morning, Lily woke up to a new kind of silence. The emptiness of the apartment was still there, but it no longer felt hostile. The kitchen, with the lingering scent of her sauce, felt less like a museum and more like a shared space.
She was surprised to find Alexander still at the breakfast island, not in his usual sharp suit, but in a simple dark t-shirt, a newspaper spread out in front of him. He was nursing a mug of coffee, a rare moment of stillness.
He gestured to the mug. "This is... better. The stuff the chef makes is too bitter."
Lily smiled. "It's my grandfather's recipe. I can show you how to make it."
"No," he said, too quickly. "That's not... It's fine." The walls were already back up, but for a moment, she had seen him without the armor.
He cleared his throat and looked at the paper, then gestured to a small tablet next to his plate. "I've enrolled you in a few advanced placement courses. And the school mentioned you were interested in the drama club. You can do that if you want."
Lily was stunned. She hadn't told him about the drama club. She had seen the flyer on her first day, but hadn't mentioned it to him, assuming he'd dismiss it as a frivolous waste of time. He had taken the time to not only listen to her, but also to act on it.
"I... thank you," she said, genuinely touched.
He waved a dismissive hand. "It's part of the agreement. You will engage in extracurricular activities. It's good for your résumé." He returned to his newspaper, the facade of indifference firmly in place. But she knew better. He hadn't done this for her résumé. He had done it because he had seen a part of her that was more than just a responsibility, and he had made a small, silent concession to it.
As she was leaving, a notification buzzed on his tablet. He glanced at it, and the stillness in his demeanor was instantly shattered. His jaw tightened, and his knuckles went white as he gripped the newspaper.
"No," he muttered, his voice a low, furious whisper. "Not now."
He picked up his phone and began to make a call, his voice low and intense. Lily, standing in the doorway, couldn't hear the words, but she could hear the tone. It was a familiar tone. A man under pressure.
"I don't care what he said," Alexander snarled into the phone. "This is a direct violation of our agreement. Get him on the phone. Now."
He hung up, his frustration palpable. He looked up, his gaze meeting hers, and for the first time, she saw a flicker of something she hadn't seen before. It wasn't anger or indifference, but a deep, unshakeable worry.
"Everything alright?" she asked, her voice quiet.
He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "It's nothing you need to be concerned with. Just a problem that needs to be... contained."
He was back in his world, a world of deals and betrayals, a world she was now, inexplicably, a part of. The man who had shown her his past, the man who had tasted her sauce, was gone. The fortress was sealed shut, but for a moment, Lily had seen a crack in the stone. And she knew, with a certainty that chilled her, that the world outside was closing in.