Chapter 4
The Stranger at the Table
I stood at the entrance of the dining hall, staring at the man seated at the head of the table.
Nobody had told me to sit.
Nobody had told me to leave.
And, apparently, nobody had remembered to explain why I was being treated like royalty in a house I had never seen before.
I glanced at the maids moving around the room.
They were everywhere.
One placed a glass beside a plate. Another adjusted a chair. Someone else carefully straightened the tablecloth.
Not one of them looked at me.
Not one of them looked surprised to see me standing there.
It was almost as though this was completely normal.
I swallowed.
Okay, Bella.
You can do this.
Walk.
Just walk toward the table like a normal person.
Except there was one small problem.
I wasn't normal.
At least, not anymore.
I had woken up in a stranger's mansion, been treated by a maid who refused to tell me anything, and was now apparently expected to have breakfast with a man whose face I hadn't even properly seen.
Perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
I took a slow breath and stepped forward.
My ankle protested immediately.
I winced.
Right.
That too.
I carefully limped toward the table, trying not to make it obvious how much my ankle hurt.
The closer I got, the more intimidating the man became.
He hadn't moved.
Not once.
He sat at the head of the table with one arm resting against the armrest of his chair, his entire figure dressed in black.
The light from the chandelier touched one side of him, but somehow never reached his face completely.
It was almost deliberate.
I narrowed my eyes.
Was he doing that on purpose?
I stopped a few feet away.
He didn't look at me.
Or at least, I couldn't tell if he did.
"Good morning," I said cautiously.
Silence.
I waited.
Nothing.
I glanced around.
Maybe I had somehow spoken too quietly.
"Good morning?"
Still nothing.
I stared at him.
He stared ahead.
Okay.
Interesting.
I slowly pulled out the chair nearest to me and sat down.
The moment I did, one of the maids stepped forward.
"Young Miss, would you like tea?"
I blinked.
"Uh…"
I looked at the table.
There were enough dishes in front of me to feed an entire wedding party.
"Do I look like I need more?"
The maid remained perfectly expressionless.
I immediately regretted asking.
"Tea would be fine."
"Yes, Young Miss."
She bowed and walked away.
I watched her leave.
Then I looked back at the man.
Nothing.
Not even a reaction.
"Okay," I muttered under my breath.
This was getting ridiculous.
I picked up a piece of toast.
My stomach growled almost immediately.
I hadn't realized how hungry I was until that moment.
I took a bite.
Then another.
For a few seconds, I forgot everything.
The food was ridiculously good.
I swallowed and stared at the plate.
"Whoever made this deserves a raise."
A maid standing several feet away lowered her head slightly.
I smiled.
At least someone appreciated my compliment.
I reached for my glass.
Then stopped.
Something on the table caught my eye.
It was a small silver object lying beside the fruit bowl.
At first, I thought it was some kind of ornament.
But as I looked closer, I realized it was a pendant.
It was old.
Very old.
The silver was slightly darkened with age, and hanging from its centre was a tiny stone that looked almost black beneath the chandelier's light.
I don't know why I was drawn to it.
I simply was.
My fingers moved toward it.
The moment they touched the pendant—
A child's laughter filled my mind.
I froze.
The dining hall disappeared.
I wasn't there anymore.
I saw sunlight.
Warm sunlight.
A garden.
Flowers.
A tiny hand wrapped around two of my fingers.
I heard laughter.
Someone was running toward me.
I couldn't see the face.
But I knew that voice.
"Mommy!"
My heart stopped.
The image changed.
A little girl—
Or was it a boy?
I couldn't tell.
Someone was standing behind me.
A man.
Tall.
His face was blurred.
I turned toward him.
And—
The image shattered.
I gasped and pulled my hand away from the pendant.
The silver object fell against the table with a sharp clink.
My breathing became uneven.
What…
What was that?
I stared at the pendant.
My fingers were trembling.
No.
That wasn't possible.
I had never seen that garden.
I had never—
"Are you alright, Young Miss?"
I looked up.
Every maid in the room had stopped moving.
Every single one.
My eyes darted around the room.
"What just happened?"
Nobody answered.
Then I looked toward the head of the table.
And for the first time since I had entered the room—
he was looking directly at me.
His expression hadn't changed.
But something in his eyes had.
It was subtle.
Almost impossible to notice.
Surprise.
No.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
My heart began pounding.
"You know this?"
My voice came out quieter than I intended.
His eyes shifted toward the pendant.
Then back to me.
I waited.
Nothing.
"You do, don't you?"
Still nothing.
I leaned forward.
"Who are you?"
Silence.
"Why am I here?"
Nothing.
"Why do your maids keep calling me Young Miss?"
Nothing.
I could feel my patience disappearing.
"And why was I brought here?"
His gaze remained fixed on me.
I folded my arms.
"You know, you're not exactly making this whole situation less suspicious."
Still nothing.
I stared at him.
He stared back.
This man had to be doing this on purpose.
"Do you even speak?"
One of the maids looked horrified.
I glanced at her.
"What?"
She quickly lowered her head.
I turned back toward him.
"Fine."
I pushed my chair back slightly.
"If you don't want to answer, that's your choice."
I stood.
Pain shot through my ankle.
I grabbed the edge of the table before I could fall.
"Ow."
I looked down at my ankle.
Then back at him.
"This is also your fault, by the way."
Nothing.
"Well, technically it's the fault of the men who chased me."
I paused.
"But you could have at least carried me."
I don't know why I said it.
Maybe I was nervous.
Maybe I was trying to get a reaction.
Maybe I had simply lost my mind.
But for the first time—
His expression changed.
Barely.
The corner of his mouth moved.
Not quite a smile.
More like the faintest acknowledgement that I had spoken.
I froze.
I saw that.
"You almost smiled."
The expression disappeared immediately.
I narrowed my eyes.
"You're annoying."
Silence.
"Very annoying."
Still nothing.
I sighed.
Then my eyes fell back on the pendant.
The strange memory was still lingering in the back of my mind.
The child's voice.
The garden.
The man.
And that word.
Mommy.
My stomach twisted.
I picked up the pendant again.
This time, nothing happened.
I turned it over in my hand.
There was something engraved on the back.
A symbol.
I traced it with my thumb.
For some reason, it felt familiar.
Too familiar.
My forehead creased.
"Why do I feel like I've seen this before?"
The room went completely still.
I looked up.
The mysterious man had straightened in his chair.
His eyes were now fixed on the pendant.
Something had changed.
I couldn't explain it.
But suddenly, I wasn't the only one who was afraid of what that little piece of silver might reveal.
I slowly looked between him and the pendant.
"You know what this is."
It wasn't a question anymore.
He remained silent.
Then—
His voice finally broke through the silence.
Low.
Cold.
Commanding.
"Leave."
I blinked.
For a moment, I honestly thought I had imagined it.
"What?"
His eyes hardened.
"Leave."
The maids immediately moved.
Every single one of them turned toward the doors.
I looked around in confusion.
"Wait—what?"
Nobody answered.
I looked back at him.
He had already turned his attention away from me.
As though the conversation had ended.
As though he hadn't just spoken for the first time since I arrived.
I stared at him.
Then at the pendant in my hand.
Then back at him.
"You've got to be kidding me."
No response.
I slipped the pendant into my pocket.
If he didn't want to explain what it was—
Fine.
I'd find out myself.
I limped toward the door.
But just before I stepped outside, I stopped.
Something about that voice bothered me.
Not because it was frightening.
Because it felt familiar.
Far too familiar.
I turned around.
The chair at the head of the table was empty.
I froze.
My eyes scanned the room.
Nothing.
No mysterious man.
No maids.
No movement.
Just an empty dining hall.
My heart began pounding.
For a moment, I simply stood there, staring at the empty space where he had been sitting.
Had I imagined all of it?
The man.
His voice.
The way he had looked at me.
The pendant.
My breathing became uneven.
Maybe I was losing my mind.
Maybe everything that had happened since last night had finally pushed me over the edge.
I glanced back at the dining table.
The breakfast was still there.
The half-eaten food.
The untouched glass of juice.
The chair I had been sitting in.
And, most importantly, the pendant was still inside my pocket.
I reached into my pocket and pulled it out.
The small silver pendant rested in my palm.
Cold.
Real.
I stared at it.
So no.
I hadn't imagined everything.
At least, I didn't think I had.
I slowly closed my fingers around the pendant.
Whatever had just happened in that dining hall, one thing was certain.
I was not imagining everything.
I just had no idea what was real anymore.