Chapter 011

The days had been long and weary, each one blending into the next like an unending gray blur. The mansion, which had once seemed like a place of possibility, now felt more like an elaborate cage. The grandeur of the place only highlighted my isolation. The halls were echoing with emptiness, and the opulent rooms seemed to mock my attempts to fit in. I spent more time than I cared to admit trying to avoid interactions that always seemed to end in disappointment or judgment.

Today, I had found solace in the library. It was a room filled with a comforting silence, but even here, I couldn't escape the gnawing feeling of being out of place. The vast shelves of books offered a temporary distraction, but the quiet whispers of loneliness were louder than any words on the pages. I traced my fingers over the spine of an old volume, trying to lose myself in its history, but my thoughts kept drifting back to the strained interactions I had with Sky’s family.

Sky had been working late again, his a