Seraphina's POV
I had just finished the meal Lucien gave me. It didn't just fill my stomach… it brought a strange warmth to my chest.
I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten like this, with peace and without fear tightening every muscle in my body.
"Do you need something more?" Lucien asked gently. "You can tell me."
"I…" I opened my mouth to speak, but my voice cracked. The warmth... it was too much. It broke something inside me that I had kept sealed for too long.
In my past life, there was no Lucien. There was only pain. I was locked inside that mental hospital, helpless, harassed, molested, and used by people who treated me like I wasn't even human. And I couldn't scream. I couldn't even speak.
I had no one to tell and no one who would understand me.
"What are you thinking?" Lucien's voice cut through my thoughts, pulling me back to the present.
"No," I said quickly. "I don't need anything."