Chapter 5: Lila's Return

Amelia stared intently at the indentation on her bed; her breath became thin as uneasiness filled her veins. Her room was loudly quiet, but the stillness had all shades of wrong attached to it.

She looked around while scanning all corners for sound or movement, but there was nothing, just solid silence and shadows decorating the walls.

Lying on the nightstand was the rose, and the petals glowed fantastically under the not-so-bright light.

This was supposed to be a pleasing gesture, but it wasn’t because she couldn't be sure who had left it there. She quietly walked closer to the bed while her fingers tightened into fists.

“Is someone here?” she said in a demanding tone.

But there was no response; the following silence was deafening, stretching long enough to cause panic in her nerves. She quickly grabbed her phone from the nightstand, her two thumbs hovering over Lucien’s name in her contacts.

Calling him meant she was scared. She didn't know him that well, and though he had promised her safety, she really knew she was just a payment of her dad's debt to him and she felt helpless enough.

She wouldn't let him know that whatever game he was playing affected her, which meant allowing him to see her vulnerability, and she didn’t want to give him that satisfaction that control he so desired.

She locked the door instead and slid the latch into place with shaky hands. She had one last eye spin around the room before calmly climbing into bed, the rose still on the nightstand, sleep was delayed but eventually came.

The next morning, the sunlight walking through the windows did a huge favor by dispelling the lingering panic and unease. She quickly dressed in simple jeans and a flowery blouse and then made her way downstairs.

Camille was waiting in the foyer with a clipboard in her hand as her gaze landed on Amelia the moment she showed up.

“Mrs. Voss,” she said, “Mr. Voss just left for a meeting and instructed me to show you around the estate today, ma'am."

Amelia felt rage rise in her; she was confined to an estate that felt nothing like home, and he even had to plan her day without her consent.

Realizing once again her helplessness in this situation and how slowly she was no longer in control of her life, she blinked back the tears that stung her eyes. The last thing she wanted was for anyone connected to Lucien to see her being weak, especially not Camille.

Amelia nodded unenthusiastically because she wasn't in any way thrilled with the idea of spending more time under Camille’s watchful eye. “That's fine. Let's go.”

The tour was tiring and exhausting. Camille led her through lengthy hallways while pointing out various rooms with clinical efficiency and a library larger than her entire apartment, a private gym, and a sunroom facing the blooming gardens.

"This house is so confusing," Amelia muttered under her breath, earning a rare smirk from Camille.

"You don't have to worry; you'll adjust with time," Camille said.

The tour ended in the garden, where neatly trimmed hedges, competitive flowers, and timid trees were scattered. Camille pointed towards a stone bench beneath an oak tree and said in a softening tone,

"If you ever need a moment to yourself, or even now, this is a good place for that." Grateful for the suggestion, Amelia said, "Thanks," with a convincing look towards Camille indicating that now was the time for that moment.

Camille left her alone and returned to the house while Amelia sat on the comforting cold stone bench. The garden was indeed beautiful, a stark contrast to the grandeur of the mansion.

For the first time since she arrived, she felt at peace and let her mind wander to the woman who had just given her a tour.

No matter how many questions she had asked about Lucien, she made sure not to give out any information. Amelia understood that the woman wouldn't provide her with any information that Lucien didn't and it made her wonder again who Lucien really was.

As her thoughts wandered towards him, her phone buzzed in her pocket, making her jump a bit. She pulled it out, her stomach tightening as soon as she saw the name of the caller on her screen: Lila. Amelia stared at her phone for quite some time.

Lila was once her best friend, someone she wholly trusted. But they hadn’t spoken for quite some time, like a long time, it had been months, not since Amelia’s life had swiftly turned upside-down. She finally answered,

"Hi, Lila?"

"Amelia," Lila’s voice came through; it wasn’t cold but not warm either. There was something about it that Amelia couldn’t quite place.

"Are you good?" Lila said.

"What do you mean?" Amelia asked, her chest tightening as she tried to steady her breathing.

"I heard," Lila said. "I saw the news, Amelia. About you and Lucien Voss." Amelia stiffened.

"What about it?"

"I just wanted to check on you," Lila quickly said.

"You vanished, Amelia, and now I find out you’re married to one of the most powerful and most dangerous men in the city. Are you really okay?" Amelia’s grip tightened into a fist on the phone.

"I'm fine. I'm fine, Lila."

"You don't sound fine to me," and of course, Lila knows when Amelia is fine and when she isn't. There was utter silence before Lila added,

"Amelia, do you know who this man really is?" Amelia frowned.

"I know enough, and that's okay."

"No, it's not okay, and you clearly do not know him," Lila said, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"There are things about this man, Lucien Voss, that you do not know, things that can put you in trouble or even harm you."

Amelia’s heart sank.

“Lila, what are you talking about?" Before Lila could answer, the call cut off abruptly.

"Lila, are you there?" She lowered her hand and stared at her screen; the call had truly ended. She tried calling Lila back, but it went straight to voicemail.

Amelia spent the rest of the day on edge; she kept thinking about Lila's words. What had she meant? What didn’t Amelia know about Lucien? Was she even okay? She hadn't been able to reach her since the call ended abruptly.

"There are things about this man, Lucien Voss, that you do not know, things that can put you in trouble or even harm you." Lila's words couldn't leave her head even though she somehow felt safe when she was around Lucien.

By the time Lucien returned that evening, Amelia was super ready to confront him. She needed to unravel the words of Lila, and the best way known to her was to confront Lucien.

She walked around the massive house looking for him and found him in his office; he was seated behind a huge desk with papers and files spread out.

Without looking up, he said “Hey wife” , his tone calm but distracted. The way he said those words so casually was so infuriating, she felt caged and those words only reminded her of her helpless situation. “We need to talk. Husband” There was a sarcastic stretch on the last word.He looked at her with an unreadable expression, his face emotionless as usual and a corner of his lips moved slightly in a smirk. She stepped into the room and slowly closed the door behind her. He leaned back in his chair gesturing for her to continue “what's on your mind?” “I got a call from Lila today,” she said, watching his reaction carefully. His facial expression didn’t change, but there was a spark in his eyes, a spark like annoyance or irritation,maybe, but she couldn’t decipher it. “Your friend from before?” “She said there are things about you that I don't know, things that could hurt or even harm me.” Lucien’s eyes narrowed, he stood and walked around the office with his face facing down and then towards her, he stood in front of her “What do you think? Do you believe her?”

"I don’t know what to think or believe either," Amelia admitted. "That’s the problem; you keep everything to yourself. I don't even know who I'm married to, Lucien."

He was silent for a moment, his stare quite unreadable and confusing as always.

Then he said calmly, "Amelia, Lila doesn’t know me, and everything she said to you is either based on assumptions, rumors, or her own bias, or all three."

She pressed, "What if those rumors are true, Lucien?" Lucien stepped closer, so close that she could feel his breath on her neckline, which caused her spine to shiver.

"Do you, in any way, feel unsafe around here or around me?" It felt as though she couldn’t breathe; she felt suffocated, and at the same time, it seemed pleasurable.

The intensity of his gaze filled her throat with a lump that she managed to push away, trying to force out her words. She softly said,

"I, I... don't know," still maintaining her gaze. His lips tightened, and he exhaled deeply. He looked into her eyes intently, and at this point, Amelia felt every vocabulary leave her mind without permission; he was so intimidating. Then softly and slowly, in a reassuring way, he said,

"You're safe here," still gazing into her, as if he were searching for something.

"I told you, I'm a man of my word. You have to trust me." She nodded gently while still staring at him. She raised her hand up to her arms where his hands were hanging and gently placed her palm on it.

"Lucien," she looked intently and softly, reciprocating his search, and continued,

"If I'm going to stay, I need to know the truth."

He chuckled lightly. "Of course you're going to stay; you signed a contract, remember?"

"I’ll tell you whatever I feel you should know," he said matter-of-factly and with a dismissive tone. It wasn’t the answer she wanted, but it was all she was going to get because, looking right at him, she could tell he was exhausted, and she could also feel his walls rising again.

Just as quickly as it had come, the tenderness in his eyes disappeared. "Goodnight, wife." She walked out of the office slowly without saying more words. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Lila’s words were more than just a warning; they indicated serious danger.

When she opened her room door that night, the first thing her eyes rested on was another rose waiting for her on her pillow. This time there was a note.

"Trust no one." Her heart pounded as she stared at the words on the paper with a shaky hands. Who had left it? And what did it mean?