Lucien stood in front of the mirror in his walk-in wardrobe, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt, but his mind wasn't on his reflection.
It was on her.
The maid with the storm behind her eyes.
He'd caught himself replaying their conversations over and over, the tone in her voice, the way her lips trembled when she was angry, the subtle way she avoided looking at him too long.
Every time she walked into the room, something inside him shifted.
He couldn't explain it.
But he knew her.
Somewhere… somehow.
He stepped into the hallway and passed one of the guest bedrooms, only to stop suddenly.
Inside, Ava was making the bed, unaware he was there.
She bent slightly to tuck in the corners, her sleeves rolled up. The sunlight hit her face just right. Her profile… so soft. So painfully familiar.
His chest tightened.
"Ava," he said quietly.
She startled, hand going to her chest. "Sir."
Lucien stepped inside the room.
"I've been watching you," he said, voice calm, but laced with something heavier.
Ava straightened. "I know."
"I don't mean to make you uncomfortable."
She looked at him carefully. "Then why do you?"
His jaw ticked. "Because I look at you and I feel like I'm going crazy. Every time you speak… my mind echoes with something I can't grasp. It's like standing on the edge of a memory."
Ava's throat tightened. "Maybe it's just your imagination."
"No," he said firmly. "It's not. You feel… familiar. Not just your face. The way you move. The sound of your laugh. I've dreamed it."
Ava's eyes glistened. "Dreams can lie."
He stepped closer. "Have we met before? Before the accident?"
She froze.
This was it.
The question she feared most, and longed for.
But before she could speak,
"Lucien?" Celeste's voice called down the hallway. "Are you ready for the meeting?"
His eyes flicked toward the door, annoyed.
Ava used the moment.
"I should get back to work," she said quickly, brushing past him.
He caught her wrist.
Her breath hitched.
Lucien's eyes locked on hers. "Don't lie to me. If you know something… tell me."
Ava pulled her hand away. "I'm just a maid, sir."
Then she left.
Lucien stood there, unmoving.
His heart hammered.
A maid?
No.
She was someone else.
And he was going to find out who.