LILITH

For a second, I considered defying him. Pretend I didn't hear him and continue upstairs.

But I thought better of it.

Honestly, I’d been afraid of Julian since I was a kid. Maybe it was because he was older, or the way he always wore that calm, unreadable expression.

Even though I was now mentally older than him, that fear hadn’t faded. It was still there, not as as strong as before.

Knowing there was no escaping this, I groaned inwardly and looked around for any of the staff: the two shopping bags were for them.

While shopping, I suddenly realized that in my previous life, I’d never once...