Mara didn't sleep.
She had returned to her room at 2 AM; her body was still aching with a dull, heavy soreness from what had happened in Nico's bed. But her mind was entirely numb, replaying how he dismissed her coldly.
"You should return to your room and get some sleep."
He had said it without even looking at her. Like she was a guest who had overstayed her welcome… like he hadn't just buried himself deep inside her, shattering her control and claiming the very last untouched piece of her soul while whispering possessive Italian against her bare skin.
Mara sat in the velvet chair by the window, wrapping her arms around her knees as she watched the sun slowly rise over the estate gardens.
She counted the tiles on the ceiling… thirty-six… thirty-eight… forty-two… the exact same number as yesterday and the day before.
Nothing in this gilded cage had changed.
Except, as she felt the faint, lingering ache between her thighs, she knew absolutely everything had.
