Once the wreath waspleted, I smiled sadly at my handiwork, running my fingers over the bright petals. "I''m sure he would have loved this one too," I whispered. He used to treasure every little silly craft I made him, no matter how ugly or lopsided I thought it looked.


    I sighed heavily and just sat there for several long seconds, the fragile wreath resting in my hands as I stared silently at the patch of disturbed earth that was his final resting ce. Then, so quiet I could barely hear my own voice, I murmured, "Lucas, I will definitely avenge your death. I swear it."


    With those words lingering in the still air, I ced the flower wreath on his makeshift tomb, gently pressing it into the sand so that it would remain in ce, a bright spot of color adorning his grave.


    After taking onest long look tomit this moment to memory, I retrieved the bicycle and slowly pedaled my way back in the direction of the mansion and its upants. An odd sense of mncholy hung over me, but also a reinvigorated sense of purpose.


    When I arrived back at the garish pce, the women who were milling about stopped what they were doing and just stared at me in surprise. They seemed utterly stunned to see that I had actually returned of my own free will to this gilded prison. The ones who had managed to forge some kind of alliance or friendship in the midst of all the petty drama and constant jockeying for position whispered amongst themselves, no doubt wondering what could have brought me back. But I simply ignored them all, keeping my face an inscrutable mask as I strode past without a word.


    That night, after ensuring the door to my room was locked, I drew myself a long, calming bath, dousing. my tired body with all the nice scented bath washes, oils, and scrubs I could find stocked in the opulent bathroom. Surprisingly, my private chambers were extremely well-appointed with luxuries. The other rooms were probably equipped simrly to keep Dn''s human pets cated.


    Once I was freshly bathed, I slipped into the fanciest, most preciously delicate lingerie set I could find in the massive wardrobe that came with the room. I squirmed a bit as I carefully pulled on eachce and satin piece, wondering with a twinge of disgust if these intimates had ever adorned the body of some other poor woman he had used and discarded before me, even though the tags andbels were still pristine.


    With my preparationsplete, Iid myself down on the plush bed, posing myself artfully among the mound of pillows, and calmly waited for his inevitable arrival. Perhaps adopting a mask of seductive vulnerability would help regain what little trust he still had in me after my solo outing.


    I was nearly starting to doze off, my eyelids growing heavier by the second, when the door to my room was abruptly pushed open from the outside, causing it to m into the wall with a resounding bang that made me jump.


    I sprang up from my half-asleep repose into a seated position, clutching the bed covers to my chest. It took a few moments for my eyes to readjust and process the figure standing in the now open doorway. There was a gloomy, almost pained expression on Dn''s face- unless I was mistaking it for something else? Hurt, maybe?


    Whatever


    stormy emotions were flickering across his features, I knew better than to show any outward


    satisfaction or gloating. I resisted there to smile triumphantly, instead keeping my expression one ofN?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    wary caution as I waited for him to make the first usation.


    "You said you loved me, didn''t you?" he growled in that low, menacing tone of his. "Then why did you go to him again?"