The room still smelled of him.
The heavy, metallic scent of his skin and the lingering heat of the sheets were a constant reminder of how easily I had crumbled under his touch. I sat up against the headboard, staring at the tray of food Cyprian had left on the nightstand. It was expensive, perfectly prepared, and looked entirely unappetizing.
I was staring at the steam rising from the tea when Claire pushed the door open.
She didn't come in at first. She just leaned against the frame, her eyes scanning the room, then me. Her gaze lingered on my messy hair and the way the gown was bunched around my shoulders.
"The room feels different," she said, her voice careful.
"Cyprian was just here," I replied, my voice sounding raspy even to my own ears.
Claire walked in, sitting on the edge of the bed. She looked at the tray, then back at me, a knowing look crossing her face. She didn't say it, but the way she raised an eyebrow told me she knew exactly what had happened. She knew how he worked, and she knew my weaknesses.
"You're glowing, Raven. And not in a 'healthy pregnancy' kind of way," she whispered.
I looked away, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks. "It doesn't change anything, Claire. He's still a monster. And there's a woman in this house."
Claire's expression shifted instantly. "The blonde one? I saw her in the hall. Who is she?"
"She came in here. Her name is Elara," I said, the name feeling like poison on my tongue. "She told me he'd never let her go. That I'm just... manageable."
Claire's jaw tightened. She reached out and grabbed my hand, squeezing it hard.
"Listen to me," she said, her voice dropping to a low, fierce hiss. "You are his wife. Whether you wanted to be or not, you are the one with the ring and the one carrying the heir to this entire mess. Being the 'victim' is going to get you killed in this house."
I looked at her, seeing the fire in her eyes.
"We need a plan," I said. "I can't keep hiding in this bed while they decide what to do with me."
"Exactly," Claire nodded. "Stop being the bird in the cage. Start being the reason the cage stays locked. You have the leverage, Raven. Use it."
I took a deep breath, the pain in my stomach feeling more like a fuel than a burden now. We spent the next hour talking, whispering, mapping out the players in the house. If I was going to survive this, I had to stop being afraid of the shadows.
By the time I stood up to get dressed, I felt different.
I chose a dress that was simple but structured. I did my hair, hiding the exhaustion behind a mask of makeup. When I walked out of that room, I wasn't the girl who had been crying on the floor.
I found his mother in the solarium.
She was sitting by the window, a cup of tea in her hand, looking out at the gardens. She didn't turn when I entered. She just sat there, the very air around her feeling heavy and cold.
"You're out of bed," she said, her voice like a blade.
"The doctor said I needed stability," I replied, walking toward her. "And I won't find it hiding in a room."
She turned then, her eyes sharp and unforgiving. She looked at me for a long time, evaluating every inch of my posture. "Stability is not something you find, Raven. It is something you impose. My son is a man of many distractions. Do not become one of them."
"I am his wife," I said, keeping my voice steady. "And the mother of his child. I think that makes me the priority, not a distraction."
His mother's lips thinned into a ghost of a smile. It wasn't friendly. "We shall see."
I left the solarium, my heart thudding, but I didn't stop. I needed air. But as I turned the corner toward the library, a hand shot out and gripped my arm, pulling me into a side alcove.
It was Elara.
She pinned me against the wall, her face inches from mine. She looked different in the light….sharper, more desperate.
"You think a dress and a little confidence changes things?" she hissed. "I've been in his blood since before you knew his name. You're just a temporary vessel, Raven."
I didn't flinch. I looked her right in the eyes. "Then why are you the one hiding in the hallways, Elara? If you're so important, why am I the one with the keys to the front door?"
Her grip tightened, her nails digging into my skin. "Because he's protecting you. For now. But once that baby is born, you're nothing. You're a footnote."
"We'll see about that," I said, wrenching my arm away from her.
She laughed, a jagged sound. "You don't even know, do you? You don't know why he really married you. Ask him about the 'agreement' from five years ago. Ask him what happened to the girl before me."
She leaned in closer, her voice a terrifying whisper. "We share more than just a past, Raven. We share a secret that would burn this entire house to the ground if it ever got out."
She pulled back, smoothed her silk dress, and walked away, leaving me standing in the shadows.
My skin went cold. The confidence I had built with Claire started to crack at the edges.
Five years ago. An agreement.
I realized then that the war wasn't just about who was in his bed. It was about what was buried under the floorboards of this house.
And I was the only one standing on top of them.