Inside the room, his eyes lingered on her like chains, sharp and unrelenting. But she wasn’t looking at him anymore. Her gaze was fixed on the window—the same window that now carried the weight of something… different.

He noticed. Of course, he noticed. His voice was low, dangerous.

“What are you staring at?”

Her lips parted, but no words came out. She shook her head quickly, forcing herself to look away. “N–nothing…”

But it wasn’t nothing. She knew it. Something had been out there. A shadow too deliberate to be the wind.

He stepped closer, his fingers tilting her chin back toward him. “You’re lying,” he murmured, his tone softer now, but no less terrifying. “And when you lie… it only makes me want to break you more.”

Her body trembled, but deep inside, the flicker of defiance from earlier still burned. She had seen something. Someone. And if she was right… maybe fate wasn’t as cruel as it seemed.

The night dragged on, each second sharper than glass. And then—

A knock.

Three soft taps against the iron door of the mansion echoed through the halls. His head snapped up, eyes narrowing. No one dared to come here at night. Not unless they had a death wish.

She felt her pulse quicken. Whoever it was, whatever it meant—this could be her only chance.

He growled, the sound low and vicious. “Stay here,” he ordered, his grip leaving marks on her wrist before he stalked toward the door.

But she didn’t listen. She couldn’t. As soon as his back turned, she moved to the window again, her heart pounding. In the moonlight, just beyond the wall, she saw it clearly this time—

A figure cloaked in shadows, waiting. Watching.

Her breath caught. A stranger… or a savior?

And for the first time since the night began, hope trembled inside her chest.

Who is the figure beyond the walls? Friend, enemy, or something far more dangerous?