Chapter 19 — The Storm Between Us
The sky cracked open just after midnight.Rain slammed against the windows in heavy, relentless waves, lightning flashing in quicksilver bursts across the marble floors. The wind howled like a warning.She should've gone to bed hours ago.But sleep had become harder since Lucien left… and harder still now that he was back.He was somewhere in the house. Not in his study. Not in the kitchen.But here.She felt him — the weight of his presence haunting every hallway, every room.
So when the lights flickered and dimmed, and thunder growled low across the estate, Aria found herself moving. Barefoot. Silent.Drawn like gravity toward the one place she didn't want to go.
She found him in the library.He was standing near the massive windows, sleeves rolled to the elbows again, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar. One hand rested on the glass, the other held a tumbler of something dark.He didn't turn when she entered.But he didn't need to."I was wondering how long it'd take you to find me," he said quietly.She stayed by the door."It's not hard. You leave a trail of silence."Lucien chuckled once, a low sound that settled somewhere deep in her chest.
"You should go to bed," he said, not unkindly."There's a storm."I couldn't sleep."Aria added.He finally turned to her."I couldn't either."
She was wearing silk again — a robe over a thin nightdress, hair loose, feet bare.She looked like temptation distilled into something quiet. Soft. Dangerous.But it wasn't lust that tugged at him now.It was ache.The kind he hadn't felt in years. Maybe ever."Come here," he said.Her eyes narrowed slightly."You trust me that much?" she asked."No," he said. "But I trust you enough not to lie to me when you're afraid."She walked toward him anyway.One step. Then another.Until she was standing beside him at the window.The storm outside was wild — trees bending, rain slashing sideways, thunder pounding like a second heartbeat.But the silence inside this room was worse.Because it wasn't empty.It was loud and charged.
Lucien handed her the glass.She took a sip without question.Whiskey.It burned, but not enough to chase away the heat growing under her skin."Did you think about me while you were gone?" she asked suddenly.Lucien looked down at her and said, "Yes."Her breath caught.
And she smiled lightly not letting him see the happiness in her eyes.
They didn't speak for a while.They just watched the storm, shoulder to shoulder, two people pretending not to tremble for entirely different reasons.Finally, Lucien said, "Do you want to know why I brought you here that night? Why I didn't just annul it when I realized who you were?"Aria nodded once."No." Looking up to him.He turned toward her.His voice was rough when he spoke again.
"Because the first time I looked at you… I didn't see weakness."She blinked."I saw control. Buried deep. Like something you were still afraid to touch.""And now?" she whispered.Lucien stepped closer ,just a breath between them."Now I see what happens when you stop hiding yourself up."
Her breath hitched.Her hand twitched at her side.But she didn't step away.Didn't deny it.Didn't run.He reached out slow, deliberate and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear."Tell me to leave," he said, voice barely audible.Aria's lips parted.But no words came out.He waited.Still, she said nothing.Because she couldn't.Because she didn't want to.And that silence said more than any confession ever could.
The storm raged outside.Lightning lit the room in flashes of silver and shadow and for one breathless moment, she thought he was going to kiss her,thoughshe wanted him to but instead Lucien stepped back,not because he didn't want her,but because he wanted more.
"Goodnight, Aria," he said softly and then he left.Aria stood looking at him as he turned his back and heaved a sigh.She thought he would but he didn't.She felt a little disappointed."Goodnight Lucien."She said back softly but he already gone far,far enough not to hear her.