Rhea didn't sleep that night.
After Adrian left her in the protected room, she sat on the velvet chair, staring at the candle flames dancing restlessly—as if they were warning her. The mansion felt too silent, too watchful, like the walls were holding their breath.
When Adrian returned, she was still awake.
"You didn't rest," he said quietly.
Rhea gave a shaken laugh. "Would you? After everything you told me?"
Adrian didn't argue. He simply offered his hand.
"Come. I'll stay outside your room tonight."
Her chest tightened at the unexpected softness in his voice.
She nodded.
As they walked back through the hallway, Rhea couldn't help noticing how Adrian stayed close, eyes scanning every corner, every shadow.
"Is she here now?" Rhea whispered.
"Not yet," he replied. "But she will come."
His certainty terrified her more than any ghost.
Back in her room
Adrian stood at the doorway.
"If anything feels wrong—call me. I'll hear you."
Rhea nodded and stepped inside, closing the door gently.
The moment the lock clicked, the air shifted.
The warm lamplight dimmed.
A cold breeze brushed her cheek.
Her reflection in the mirror flickered—just for a second.
Rhea froze.
"Adrian…?" She whispered, even though she knew he couldn't hear her through the thick walls.
The air seemed to thicken around her. Shadows stretched unnaturally. The mirror on the far wall gleamed like water.
Rhea took a hesitant step toward it—
And her reflection smiled.
Her real face did not.
Rhea's heart lurched.
Her reflection's eyes darkened, the irises turning pitch black.
Then the reflection moved closer on its own—leaning forward against the glass.
Rhea stumbled back.
"No… no, no—"
Her reflection's mouth moved, but no sound came.
Until suddenly—
A whisper seeped out of the mirror, soft and poisoned.
"You don't belong here."
Rhea clutched her chest, her breath shaking. "Stay away from me!"
The reflection tilted its head.
Then slowly… painfully slowly… it changed.
Her face melted into another.
A woman's.
Long dark hair.
Pale skin.
Blood-red lips.
Eyes like dead, frozen water.
Lilith.
"You are trespassing in my place," Lilith whispered.
"My husband. My mansion. My bond."
Rhea backed into the wall, trembling. "Adrian is not yours. He doesn't want you!"
Lilith's smile widened cruelly.
"You think he chose you? He married you because you were desperate. Weak. Easy to break."
Rhea felt tears burn her eyes, but she refused to look away.
Lilith leaned closer to the glass.
"Do you know why I fear you?" she whispered.
Rhea's heart stuttered.
"Because…" Lilith's voice twisted into a hiss.
"Adrian looked at you the way he never looked at me."
Rhea's breath stopped.
And then—
The glass cracked.
A thin line snaked across the mirror like a wound opening.
Lilith's hand pressed against the inside of the mirror's surface, fingers long and sharp as if made of ice.
"Let me in," she whispered.
Rhea shook her head violently. "No!"
The lights burst—every lamp shattering one by one.
The room plunged into darkness.
Rhea screamed.
"ADRIAN!"
The door slammed open.
Adrian rushed inside, eyes blazing like fire.
He grabbed Rhea and pulled her behind him.
The mirror shook violently, cracks spreading like spiderwebs.
A pale hand pushed through the glass—real, tangible, reaching.
Adrian let out a furious roar unlike anything Rhea had heard before.
"LILITH! ENOUGH!"
The mirror exploded.
Shards flew across the room—but none touched Rhea.
When the dust settled, the mirror was gone, shattered to nothing.
Lilith's voice echoed faintly through the walls—
"She will not survive you, Adrian…"
Silence fell.
Adrian turned to Rhea, breathing hard, eyes storm-dark.
"Are you hurt?"
Rhea shook her head, tears spilling. "She—she tried to come out—Adrian, she touched the glass—she almost—"
He cupped her face, surprisingly gentle.
"I won't let her take you."
Rhea gripped his shirt, trembling. "Why is she so angry at me?"
Adrian's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Because Lilith only haunts women who threaten her."
Rhea blinked.
"Threaten… her?"
Adrian brushed a tear from her cheek.
"You're the first woman she's ever seen me protect."
Her breath caught.
And for the first time since entering the mansion, Rhea realized something terrifyingly powerful:
Lilith wasn't just angry.
She was jealous.