“She’s in depression,” I say through clenched teeth, “and she needs treatment.”
His frown deepens. “Why?”
“I don’t know.” My voice shakes with frustration. If I knew, I would have fixed it. I would have obliterated the reason she feels so helpless.
Grandma lets out a long sigh. “I’ve been watching her spiral for months, but she isn’t opening up. Not even with Wen.”
“Did you talk with Alex and Abi?” Grandpa asks.
I nod. “Before coming here, I told them.”
Grandma asks. “And how did you figure it out?”
All the drones. All the cameras. Every second of surveillance I have on her told me. But I can’t say that.
“I talked with her,” I answer instead, giving them the general truth.
She comes downstairs. Behind her, Grandpa’s service robot carries her luggage.
Wen instructs the robot to follow us outside.
We reach my chopper. The machine sets her luggage inside, and once she kisses Grandma, Grandpa, and Wen goodbye, I take her hand and guide her into the cabin.
After waving them one last goodbye, I signal the pilot to take off.
“I didn’t hear the sound of your chopper when you came,” she mutters.
I cup her cheek, my thumb brushing beneath her tired eye. She leans into my touch. “You’ll be fine,” I promise.
Her starry golden eyes lift to mine. “I’m fine.”
I keep watching her face for several long minutes. It’s still hard to believe she’s here, sitting beside me in flesh and blood, not just another flickering hologram on one of my screens.
Reluctantly, I pull my hand back, though every part of me aches to keep it against her skin.
She shifts closer, rests her head on my shoulder, and hugs my arm. The earthy fragrance of her shampoo fills my lungs. I lower my head, greedily inhaling more. I have a lifetime of hunger for her—her presence, her warmth, her scent.
When I was younger, deprived of food for years, I stole from the Bennett house after I first arrived there. But it didn’t take me long to realize I would never be deprived again, that food would always be in abundance, and so I stopped stealing.
Now I find myself in that state once more. But Avira Bennett is not food. She is my life. And I have been starved of life for so long that now, with her here, close enough to touch, I want to steal her and never let her go.
Avira
My sleep breaks when I feel myself being carried, cocooned in a hard embrace. Slowly, I open my eyes and find his face close to mine.
I’m really in Zoan’s arms. Everything that happened wasn’t a dream. He’s going to keep me with him. A smile spreads across my lips, and my heart swells with happiness after what feels like an eternity.
I tilt my head and take in the familiar surroundings—the mansion where I grew up. Every corner carries memories of mama, daddy, and him. All those moments rush back through me like sunlight after endless rain.
I look up at him again. “Put me down. I want to walk.”
He glances at me, then lowers me to the ground, but takes my hand. His fingers wrap around palm, I curl mine tightly around his palm, feeling the rough texture of his skin against my softer one. The rough texture against my skin, combined with his warmth, is oddly calming. With him beside me, reality becomes the only place I want to stay, my mind isn’t wandering into dreams or escape into imagination.
He leads me toward the dining room attached to the kitchen. A beautiful woman in her late twenties steps out and sets our plates on the table.
I glance between the woman and Zoan, my stomach tightening. They don’t look like they’re having an affair, but how could that even be possible? Zoan is so handsome that even men could fall for him, let alone women. Maybe I’m being unreasonable, but unless I confirm it, I won’t be able to sleep. From all the stories, scandals, and headlines I’ve seen about him over the years, I wouldn’t even besurprised if he had twenty or thirty children already. Not surprised, just furious. Very, very furious. Furious enough to kill a few of his lovers.
Once she sets the last plate down, Zoan speaks. “July, she is Avira, as you already know, the lady of this house.”
