Aurelian Vale;
I don't storm downstairs… neither do I shout her name or demand answers from halfway up the stairs.
She will not see me lose composure in my own space.
I take my time as I move.
With each step feeling heavier than it should be.
Her voice drifts through the house, light and sugary.
"Where are the workers?"
Her audacity almost makes me laugh.
I turn into the living room, and once I step in, I find her standing there, perfectly at ease, as though this is her house.
She's in a cream blouse, pearl earrings, and her hair is in soft curls resting neatly on her shoulders.
She smells faintly of jasmine and something sharper beneath it… something that always lingered long after she left a room.
When she sees me, her face brightens instantly.
"Lian!" She exclaims, calling me the nickname she gave me years ago and has refused to fucking drop.
The name sinks into my skin like a splinter, and rage makes its way into me.
