21- Lines in the Sand

It had been two days since the confrontation in Aiden's study, and I hadn’t seen him since. The mansion, which had once felt suffocating with Aiden’s presence, now felt eerily empty without him. His absence was a constant reminder of the tension between us, the unresolved pull of the bond that hung over everything like a storm cloud waiting to break.

I hadn’t left my room much, not because I was afraid, but because I didn’t know what to do next. The weight of what Marcus had told me—about the bond, about Aiden’s past, and about the enemies who were watching—had kept me awake at night, tossing and turning in bed, trying to make sense of it all.

There was a part of me that wanted to confront Aiden again, to force him to explain what was happening to us. But there was another part of me, the quieter, more fearful part, that didn’t want to poke the bear. Aiden was dangerous, and pushing him too far could have consequences I wasn’t prepared to face.

Still, I couldn’t stay hidden away in th