Lily’s pov

Lucian stood in front of me as the morning light

sharpened around us. The official vehicle that had taken Mia was long gone, yet the weight of everything that had just happened still pressed against my chest. His eyes never left my face.

“You regained your memory,” he said quietly, “and you didn’t tell me.”

It wasn’t an accusation shouted in anger. It was worse soft, wounded, and honest.

“I needed time,” I answered. “I needed to handle things my way. If I had told you everything too early, you would have tried to protect me from it. And I couldn’t let anyone protect me anymore.”

Lucian let...