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WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 9
Last Updated:
2025-01-23 02:14:40
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The cool night air nipped at Ina's skin as she stepped out of the bar, the beat of the music still throbbing in her veins. The night had been intoxicating—a whirlwind of freedom, boldness, and indulgence. Her heels clicked against the pavement as she glanced at her watch. The glowing numbers read 4:17 AM. A mischievous smile curled her lips. She had pulled it close, but responsibility tugged her back like a leash she reluctantly acknowledged.She raised her hand and hailed a cab, the yellow car screeching to the curb."Carlston Mansion," she said, climbing into the backseat. "And step on it. I need to be home by five."He glanced back at her in the rearview mirror, his eyes lingering on her hair all disheveled, lipstick smeared, and her dress provocatively cut. Still, he asked no questions. He nodded and plunged into the quiet morning traffic.Ina sat slumped in the cool leather, looking through the window where the city whizzed outside in a distorted blur. That cacophony of laughter,
Last Updated : 2025-01-24WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 11
These words struck Lily as if a hand had slapped her in the face. She was tearing up and trying not to; she would not cry. Frozen in place, Lily felt Vandaulf brush by her, and it was like a storm went sweeping through the room.Behind him, as the door closed, Helen set down her napkin and sighed. "He only wants the best for you, Lily," she said softly, though the guilt in her eyes betrayed her.Lily swallowed hard, her voice trembling as she spoke. “Does he? Or does he just enjoy making me feel small?”Helen looked at her for a long moment, her expression unreadable. “You’ll understand one day, dear. The world he comes from—it’s… ruthless. He’s only trying to prepare you.”And with that, Helen stood up from the chair, leaving Lily to sit alone in the cavernous dining room. The silence weighed on her, endless."See what happens when you keep quiet?" Ina's voice built inside her head with anger. "You let him get the better of you. You let him treat us like dirt.""What am I supposed to
Last Updated : 2025-01-25WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 12
She hauled herself up against the cold wall, her breaths shallow as she tried to calm her racing heart. Vandaulf's words haunted in her mind, sharp and venomous, but this time, something within her refused to give in. For the first time, she stood up to him, defied him, and though that sent her shaking, it left her with an unfamiliar flicker of power.She ran her fingers over the place on her arm where he had dug his fingers into her, leaving a dull ache. He had done this before; his dominance and reminder that she had her place in his world. But tonight, somehow it felt different. It was not pain; it was a reminder that she wasn't something to be owned. She was free now.She blew slowly, jerking her feet away from the corner to lead herself towards the bedroom. The dark passage stood out, so quiet aside from the slow movement of her shuffling pace. Then came Ina's voice ringing inside of Lily's mind sharp and electrified."That's the spirit," Ina declared with that triumphal gleam Li
Last Updated : 2025-01-25WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 13
It was quiet, with just a hum from the car's engine, which to me, was deafening against the weight of unspoken words.Ina kept her eyes on the window, the city lights passing by to paint fleeting patterns across her face. Her reflection stared back at her—a woman who had played the part of sweet, subservient Lily for too long. But in the quiet glow of her own defiance, this was something Ina saw a whole lot better: a flicker of liberation.A faint smile pulled at her lips, one that Vandaulf caught from the side of his eye. His jaw clenched and he shifted in his seat, the leather creaking beneath him."You think this funny?" he said, his voice low and cutting.Ina didn't look at him. "Funny? No," she replied softly, calm but edged with a subtle challenge. "Liberating? Maybe.His knuckles went white as he clasped the armrest. "Liberating?" he repeated, his voice vibrating with shadows. "Don't play games, Lily. This isn't liberation. This is you playing a very dangerous game.".She turne
Last Updated : 2025-01-26WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 14
The question was innocent enough, but Ina felt the shift in the room. Helen and Vandaulf exchanged brief glances, curiosity flickering across their features. Ina's hands tightened on her napkin under the table, but her smile didn't waver. "Of course, Grandmother," she replied, her voice light and agreeable.The board members, too, must have felt the shift in the atmosphere; Helen was quick on her feet in refocusing them on what they were there for. Brenna stood, smiling, signaling for Ina to go before her out onto the balcony over the gardens.She straightened her spine and lifted her chin as the night air snapped crisp in the doorway as Ina moved out. Waiting for Brenna to say something, she wouldn't give her that advantage of being weak."Do you feel alright, my dear?" Brenna said softly. She leaned over the railing on the balcony with sharp features made softer by moonlight. "Living here. With them."Ina blinked at the shock, momentarily speechless. "What do you mean?Exactly what
Last Updated : 2025-01-27WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 15
The ride home was heavy with silence, punctuated only by the occasional hum of the car engine. Vandaulf sat beside Ina, his jaw tight and his eyes fixed out the window as though trying to find solace in the passing scenery. Ina, however, was at ease, her head lightly resting against the car seat. The dinner had been a small victory—not in the words exchanged but in the subtle power she had claimed for herself. Brenna's quiet support gave her the strength to weather the tension that seemed to hang over the evening like a storm cloud. As they pulled into the driveway of the grand estate, Vandaulf finally broke his silence, speaking low but dripping with warning:. "Whatever games you think you're playing, I'd advise you to stop. My patience isn't infinite, Lily."Ina turned to him, her face soft but her eyes unyielding and steady. "I wasn't aware I was playing any games, Vandaulf. Maybe you're just imagining things." He snorted, his sharp eyes narrowing as the car stopped. "Don't test me
Last Updated : 2025-01-28WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 16
He nodded, taking a sip of his drink. "Sort of. I just moved back to the city, and Alicia's been introducing me around. She mentioned you might be someone worth meeting."Ina raised a brow, intrigued. "Moved back? So, you're not new to this scene after all."Jeff shrugged, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Let's just say I've been gone long enough to feel like a stranger,Ina."There was something in his tone - an undertone of mystery that Ina couldn't quite put her finger on. She leaned in slightly, interested. "And now you're back. Why?"Jeff met her gaze, unreadable. "Maybe I missed the chaos.Jeff's lips twisted into an asymmetrical smile, one of hints of mysteries and tales still locked away in them. His glass leaned against Ina with an almost inaudible salute as he tilted it, but still never withdrew his gaze while slowly drinking its contents."Chaos suits you," he said after a moment, his tone light but his eyes probing, as if he were trying to piece her together. "But you do
Last Updated : 2025-01-29WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 17
The estate loomed dark and silent, with only the first hints of dawn brushing against the horizon. The heavy iron gates looked bigger in early morning stillness, almost menacing. Ina glanced round hastily, checking that no guards or staff were to be seen; she knew the routine of the house inside and out. Everyone would be asleep-or so she hoped.She walked fast; the sound of heels clicking soft on stone announced her approach, then she paused. A pressure was on her chest. That wasn't quite right. The house belonged not to her but to another: she was slipping into a lover's bed as one not desired.Ina shook off the thoughts and slid toward the servants' entrance. It had become her secret gateway, a lifeline to moments of freedom that were fleeting but necessary. Tonight had been exhilarating, and she wasn't ready to let the weight of the estate smother that feeling just yet.She opened the door with a faint creak. Her breath caught, but she moved inside, the heels now muffled against t
Last Updated : 2025-01-29
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The sunlight seeped gradually through the half-closed drapes, creating delicate patterns of light on the hotel suite floor. It was quiet—stunned, complete quiet.Lily sat up from the bed, her breath stuck in a catch.No voice in her head.No mocking insults. No laughter taunt. No Ina.Somewhere close by, Lily's knuckles went white with the sheet-clutching. She lay out flat, waiting for that same curl, shiver of chill, take-over—but nothing stirred.Nothing but her. Lily James. Alone in her own head."Arm."Vandaulf's voice was low in the kitchenette. "You're awake?"She nodded, forgetting he could not see her. "Yeah. I… I think I'm okay."Vandaulf bowed his head against the doorframe, crooked smile twisting across his lips, hair still disheveled. "Coffee? Tea? Or… quiet?"Lily's eyes widened in shock. "Quiet?"He smiled. "I thought it would be something of a luxury for the time."Her lips shook. "Really… yes. Quiet would fit perfectly."Vandaulf vanished once more, and the scent of fr
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 88
The rain beating on the hospital window had the cadence of a slowly building bomb, slow and steady and coiled, ready to explode. The lights in the room were only partially on, the weak light of the lamplight sitting beside the bed. Lily was huddled at the edge of the bed, panting at the border, with her wet hands bunched around the thin blanket. She could again sense the presence. Ina.Not in some remote corner of her mind, not like a ghost—no. Ina was near. On her back. Whispers on her nerve endings."You can't erase what you needed to live."The voice curled around her ear, too close. Too close."Lily, Lily—you can't erase me. You are me."No, Lily breathed, staring into the mirror in the next room. Her face met her, but it was wrong. Her eyes—Ina's eyes, no—smiled and not one muscle in her mouth moved."I made you strong," Ina asserted, her voice unyielding. "I protected you when they abandoned you. When they died. When he wedded you and told you it was duty. I was the one who stol
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 87
The therapist's office was a sanctuary of gentle light, calming grays, and muffled throbs—faux quiet that wrapped itself around broken pieces. Lily sat stiffly on the couch, too plush, too lenient, to sit on. Across from her, Dr. Mariel Kaine jotted something into her notebook before looking up."Lily," she answered softly, "how have you been since that experience in the warehouse?"Lily curled her fingers over the cuff of her sleeve, voice trembling. "I had her in check. I thought… it was over."Dr. Kaine did not respond at once. She let the silence linger between them—tense, awkward. Then, "When did you last feel her?"Lily looked away. Her own face was captured in the lip of a mirrored sculpture on the shelf. She couldn't look at it. "Last night," she whispered.Flashback: The Night BeforeThe bathroom light flickered above her as Lily stared at her reflection, breasts straining. Her fingers clenched the cold porcelain sink, knuckles white. Something had triggered it—maybe the manne
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The room's walls, though just too white, made Lily feel like she was spilling shadows into a picture that was never ever going to hold her. The throb behind her eyes was echoed in the slow and steady tick of the clock. The faintest hum of the heater was the only warmth she felt, and even that was at a distance—something recalled.Dr. Anselm sat across from her, crossed legs, notebook shut. He wasn't writing. He wasn't talking. He was waiting. Observing.Lily's fingers tapped the bracelet Helena had left behind—a grounding tool, she'd explained, silver with a red jasper bead for clarity. But clarity never arrived in the way people wanted. Not when your brain was a house haunted by someone else in your skin.She's still here," Lily whispered, a mere sound like the hiss of the heater."Who?" Dr. Anselm drew in a gentle breath, her voice as soft as snowflakes falling."Ina."Fluorescent lights above appeared to quiver, or not quiver, out of the need for a vision spinning on the tip of gras
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 85
The patter of rain had reduced to a murmur. Dawn had come to the city, dark and wintry, the sky still sodden with grays. Down in the streets outside the hospital, people crawled like ants—busy, directed—but in Lily's room, time stood still.She was curled on the bed, knees wrapped to her chest, Vandaulf's sweatshirt over the skimpy hospital gown. Her hair clung damp, in tangles to her face. She was younger than she had looked before, fragile in a way that Vandaulf hurt just to gaze at.Vandaulf leaned against the door, arms crossed firmly. Not with anger. With restraint.Trauma psychologist Dr. Alan Reyes had pulled over a chair. No white coat for him, just a serene demeanor and a pad of paper. Helena was in the corner, motionless, watching each flicker on Lily's face. Brenna waited in the hall outside, not able to sit more than a few minutes before she collapsed in tears.Dr. Reyes looked at Lily with kindness. "When did you first realize you knew Ina?Lily's voice was gentle, brittl
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 84
The sterile antiseptic smell wafting heavy in the air suffocated, seeming poisonous against the moral hurricane seeping into the hospital room. Lily lay stiff in bed, trembling hands clasped over a thin, almost invisible blanket covering her lap. Something had happened within the last few hours, roaming on and on in her mind-hurting, humiliating, and absolutely perplexing. Vandaulf stood by the windowpane, his silhouette cut into the city's soft light. His arms were crossed, muscles knotted with hidden control. The normally serene mask he wore as armor was now broken, and the storm within was revealed. Brenna opened the door, its hinges creaking an ominous sound that indicated its impending death. She furrowed her brows, walked straight past Vandaulf with a quick glance, then made her way straight to Lily. Brenna's feet were stubborn, but they finally moved her closer to Lily.Brenna: "Lily, honey. how are you?"Lily's eyes were glued to the floor, and her voice was so low; it was li
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 83
The evening was heavy with stillness, except for the distant thrum of the city outside the estate. A storm gathered on the horizon, churning dark clouds piled beyond the reach of sight, reflecting the turmoil that stormed within.In the grand hall of the Carlston estate, Vandaulf leaned in his chair, tight, his mind in an uproar. Wounds ached, but naught, naught to that tempest of emotion that ravaged within his brain.Lily—no, Ina—fell further into perdition.And he did not have a clue to how to extricate her from it.A door slammed behind her, and there was the quiet, introspective step upon the marble floor.Helena Carlston.His grandmother.The only one who ever truly loved him.She came to him with quiet, steady pace, and yet tonight Vandaulf sensed an edge of urgency in her stride."Vandaulf," she breathed, scanning him with her cold-eyed stare. Her gaze relaxed as she looked at the puffing of bruise down the curve of his jaw. "My dear boy."She sat down next to him, holding his
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 82
Ina didn’t flinch.She simply leaned in closer, her breath ghosting over his ear.“Then I’ll burn them all.”Brigs’ body trembled beneath her touch. His vision blurred.And yet—he still smiled.The cry of sirens sliced through night, red and blue lights slicing through darkness. There was a cloud of blood and smoke suspended in the air, tension tight and strained. Vandaulf's hold on Lily's wrist was firm: firm but controlled. "Don't, Lily! Let someone else. Get out of it."Lily did not stir.She stood above Brigs' body, her crimson fingers, her twisting acid. All the pain of it—the years' misery, the pursuit of truth, the battle she had fought so long—hit her with crushing force beneath its choking wave.Helena, still holding the gun in her hand, gulped a ragged breath."Come on, Grandma."Vandaulf waited in the doorway, his voice drawn tight with horror.The lights became brighter and brighter. The sirens approached.Helena did not grumble. She shoved the gun into her greatcoat and t
WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK WHERE LIGHT MEETS DARK CHAPTER 81
The house towered over her like a predator slouching, ready to jump down on its prey.Lily—no.Ina.She pulled on the gloved fingers covering her hands, her heart beat steady despite the battle warring within her.This was not madness.This was revenge.Brenna had cautioned her. Had reminded her to bide patiently.But patience never saved anyone.The doors creaked open, and there stood Brigs Carlston at the top of the marble staircase.The devil himself.His face was un readable, but a curve of humor pulled the corners of his mouth up."Well," Brigs gasped. "You certainly do have your father's foolishness."Ina edged closer, the gun hidden under her jacket keeping her steady."I have something else of his too," she said flatly.Brigs' brow furrowed. "And what would that be?"She smiled. "A reason to kill you."Brigs emitted a low chuckle. "My, my. Such temerity."Ina didn't blink."I take it you're here for my son," he went on.Ina clenched her fists into fists. "Where is he?"Brigs h
