I couldn’t stay there anymore. Not when I couldn’t even bring myself to promise him what he wanted.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand his concern, because I did. Deep down, I knew that his mansion was probably the safest place I could be right now. No one would dare reach me there. No one would even know where to look.
But the danger I felt wasn’t outside. It was inside me.
It was in the way my chest tightened when he looked at me. The way his voice stayed in my mind long after he stopped speaking. In the meantime, I kept searching for him in the silence.
I didn’t have the strength to face that at the moment.
So I didn’t say anything or try to explain myself. I just walked out of the mansion, hoping that silence would say what words couldn’t.
Thankfully, he’d already arranged for a driver. If he hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t even have known where to go. The area his mansion was in too far from the city, in a completely unfamiliar space that I didn’t even know existed in my previous life.
Just like I didn’t know he existed.
And as the car pulled away from the gates, I realized I wasn’t running from danger. I was running from the only person who made me feel safe, and that was the scariest part of all.
"Where should I drop you, Miss?"
The driver stepped out, opened the door for me with quiet courtesy, and waited patiently as his voice was soft and polite.
Where was I even going?
I hadn’t thought that far. My mind had been too full of Lucien, his words, his eyes and his voice full of concern for me.
I stood there for a moment, unable to move, staring at the open door like it I wanted it to tell me where should I go!
Should I go to school?
Should I really show up there—?
Was I ready to face Melissa already?
The thought made my stomach twist. I didn’t know if I was strong enough to stand in front of her without falling apart or losing control after what she had done to me in the past few days.
But if not school, then where?
I didn’t have a home anymore. I didn’t know where I belong!
I suddenly realized how lost I truly was.
"Just take me to school," I said softly as I settled into the seat. "But before that... please drop me at the dorms."
"Of course, Miss," the driver replied, then reached into the front seat and handed me a couple of boxes.
I looked at him in confusion. Why was he giving me a lunchbox all of a sudden?
"Master said you hadn’t eaten anything before leaving," he explained with a small smile. "So he had me bring you your breakfast and lunch."
I stared at the boxes in disbelief, my fingers brushing over the lid as I slowly took them from his hands.
"Young Miss, please make sure to finish it," he added in a serious tone this time. "Otherwise, I’ll be in trouble with my master."
His voice was earnest. It wasn’t forced. He genuinely meant it.
I gave a small nod and opened the box quietly. It was supposed to be breakfast. There were sandwiches inside, neatly packed and still warm.
But how... how did he know I liked these?
I didn’t remember telling anyone. Not even Adrian. It was such a small and ordinary thing that was easy to forget.
Yet somehow, Lucien had known.
There were so many things about him that didn’t make sense... so many questions I didn’t have the answers to. And maybe, a part of me wasn’t ready to know them yet.
Because the more I found out about Lucien... The harder it became to keep my distance.
Soon, the car began to move, and I sat back, chewing on my sandwiches in silence. A million thoughts kept circling in my mind about Lucien, about Melissa, and every other thing, but I pushed them aside for now.
I wanted to eat in peace just for a little while. The food was warm and comforting. It reminded me of something I hadn’t felt in a long time... being cared for without conditions.
"We’ve reached the dorms, Miss," the driver said after a while, pulling me gently out of my thoughts.
I blinked, quickly packed the remaining sandwiches back into the box, and stepped out of the car.
"I’ll be waiting here for you," he added, standing beside the door.
I gave a small nod, a half-hearted "hmm," not really sure what to say. My mind was already drifting again.
The school wasn’t far from here—I could’ve walked. But if someone was offering to drive me, I wasn’t going to say no today.
I didn’t have the energy to pretend I wasn’t tired. And right now, I didn’t feel like being strong either.
The second I reached near my room, Emma came running toward me. Without warning, she threw her arms around me in a tight hug.
"Where have you been all this time? Do you even know how worried I was? Her voice trembled with relief and frustration.
"Forgive me," I murmured, in a tone full of guilt.
I had meant to call her last night. But it was already too late by the time I had the chance, and I didn’t want to disturb her sleep.
"I waited for you," she went on, pulling back slightly to look me in the eye. "I kept waiting, thinking you’d walk through the door at any moment. And when you didn’t... I panicked."
She bit her lip, glancing down like she was confessing something unforgivable.
"I—I ended up going through your things. I found your brother’s number and... I called him. I’m sorry, Sera. I know I shouldn’t have done that, but I didn’t know what else to do."