Love In The Shadow Of Gilded Chains

d again. "Guess who as

ven though Emily couldn't s

as

d dramaticall

for your holiday. He said something like, 'Tell Claire I miss our lib

nto her pillow. "He misses gett

ou want, but the way he stares at you during thos

. "Jason's sweet, but I'm not ready for all that. I have

gasp. "So you ad

.. I'm not in that headspace. And honestly, I think he

with a soft tone, "i

just a bit. "Yeah... but I've go

e onto the bed and sank back against the pill

so

eason to be around her. Whether it was a group project, a study session, or just an excuse to borrow her pen, Jason

a way of making people feel see

he hadn't let herself fe

een two worlds - the bright, chaotic campus she loved, and thi

ed hedges and white roses, with the sun beginning to fall over it like gold lace. The Devereux Mansion loo

tense encounter still echoed in her mind - his sharp voice, the cold way he dismissed her. She hadn't seen him s

nt for a room tucked away behind the servant's wing. A small shelf beside it held the few bo

before her eyes, but her mind wasn't on Kant or ethics. It was on the silence of the mansion. The wa

ite nod. And Lila, of course - whose presence often filled th

being in a house full of p

soft curls pulled into a loose bun, tired eyes, and the faintest hint of confusion.

effortless, and captivating. She possessed a rare elegance that made head

le pink of her lips, which curved easily into a gentle smile. Her eyes were large and almond-shaped, a rich hazel flecked with amber, framed by thick las

hat gave her silhouette a balance of elegance and allure. She wasn't model-tall, but she had just the right height to carry herself with poise. He

ut this place felt like a

Jason, but to the strange tension in the mansion. The way Adrian looked at nothing. The strange hush that fell whenever the

he grabbed a shawl, draped it over her

ck of the grandfather clock in the distance and

as going exactly. Maybe jus

omething about it felt... unfinished. As if it, too,

g why, felt she was part o