Chapter 3 - Bianca’s Message
That evening, a nurse brought flowers to my room.
Blue hydrangeas.
My favorite.
There was no sender listed.
But a card rested between the petals.
Serena,
Lucian is telling you only the part of the truth that makes him look least guilty.
Meet me tomorrow.
Come without him.
— Bianca
Elena read the note over my shoulder.
“No.”
“I need to know what she knows.”
“She could be setting a trap.”
“She might be.”
“And you still want to go?”
I looked down at Nico sleeping in the bassinet beside my bed.
“I will not bring him.”
Lucian, who had returned to wait outside the room, entered when he heard our voices.
He saw the card.
His face went cold.
“You are not meeting her.”
I looked at him.
“That sounded like an order.”
“It is.”
“No.”
“Serena, Bianca is dangerous.”
“So are you.”
The room went silent.
Lucian’s expression did not change, but something in his eyes did.
Pain.
Not anger.
Not this time.
“You are right,” he said.
I had expected a fight.
Instead, he looked at the flowers and spoke quietly.
“I will not stop you.”
Elena narrowed her eyes.
“What is the catch?”
“There is no catch.”
I folded the card and placed it inside my bag.
“There will be no Moretti guards following me.”
Lucian’s jaw tightened.
“No guards in sight.”
“No guards at all.”
He looked toward Nico.
Then back at me.
“I cannot agree to that.”
“I am not asking permission.”
Lucian stood still for a long moment.
Then he nodded once.
“You are not.”
It was the first time in years that he had said those words to me.
You are not asking permission.
May you like
And somehow, it felt like the beginning of the end.
Or maybe the beginning of something honest.
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