The silence of the mansion at night was deafening. Shadows crept along the candlelit hallways, as if listening to every breath and unspoken word. Riley sat on her bed, hugging a pillow tightly to her chest. Her eyes were red, not from sleep, but from the weight of memories she couldn't escape. The media had declared her dead. The world believed she'd perished in a fire she caused.
—
Riley frowned at Ryder's question. All day, she had tried to forget the chaos in her life, to breathe past the storm of guilt crashing against her chest. But now, this man...this infuriating, arrogant man had just reminded her all over again.
"Tomorrow," she said flatly.
The word alone weighed on her shoulders like stone. Tomorrow they would bury her parents. And she would be the ghost standing outside the grave, carrying a secret she couldn't bury with them.
"You should've taken the easier way out," Ryder said without looking at her.
"I don't want to forget the good memories...or the bad ones," she whispered, almost to herself. "I have to live with this."
Ryder said nothing, only nodded as he steered the car toward the mansion. The silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable.
When they pulled into the grand entrance, a man was already standing by the gates.
"Who's this damsel?" the man asked with a wide grin, eyes scanning Riley with too much ease.
Riley narrowed her eyes in response, instantly put off by his forwardness.
"Henry," Ryder called, stepping out of the car and moving to retrieve Riley's bags.
Henry's gaze shifted, surprise flickering across his features when he saw the legendary Ryder...cold, violent, untouchable,carrying shopping bags for a girl.
"She's the human's best friend," Ryder said coolly, handing him a bag.
Henry blinked, then turned back to Riley with a slight smirk. "She's pretty."
"Keep your eyes to yourself," Ryder said flatly.
He returned to Riley's side and leaned closer. "Won't you go in, love?"
Riley gave him a long, unreadable glance but nodded. The mansion's doors opened, and a maid guided her inside to a room prepared just for her.
It was beautiful. Spacious, quiet, and unfamiliar. Just like her new life.
She sat on the edge of the bed and hugged her knees. The silence of the room was deafening. For a moment, she imagined the sound of her mother humming in the kitchen or her father calling out from the hallway.
But they were gone.
⸻
Meanwhile, in another wing of the mansion, Emily was fast asleep in Ethan's arms. She had curled into him, mistaking his solid chest for a warm pillow. Ethan watched her in silence, his fingers gently brushing strands of hair from her face. Her soft breathing, the way her brow furrowed slightly in her sleep...everything about her made something ancient inside him soften.
She looked fragile, like a glass lamp glowing faintly in the dark.
A knock interrupted the stillness.
Ethan sighed, reluctant to wake his lamp. He carefully laid her hand aside and moved to the door in a blur.
Riley stood outside, looking like a nervous wreck.
"Is Emily in there?" she asked, trying to peer around him.
"She's sleeping," came Ethan's deep, nonchalant reply.
"Oh. I'll leave, then—"
"The witch who'll tutor you arrives tomorrow," he said before she could turn away.
Riley nodded, swallowing hard. The door closed gently behind her.
She let out a shaky breath.
Ethan was terrifying. Beautiful, but terrifying.
"Do you fancy my brother?" came a voice behind her.
Riley jumped, turning to see Ryder leaning against the wall like he'd been there all along.
"What?" she scowled. "I don't fancy your brother...or you!"
Ryder tilted his head with a slow, smug smirk. In one movement, he had her pinned to the wall, his body dangerously close.
"Really? Because you look like you're about to melt every time I get near."
Riley's heart thudded. His hand slid to her waist, firm but not painful. Then his other hand rose slowly toward her chest.
She stiffened, bracing herself until he simply traced a line just above her collarbone, deliberately avoiding anything intimate.
Her breath hitched. Her face flamed.
"You shouldn't have stayed here," he whispered, lips near her ear, "not when you clearly can't keep your hands...or your eyes off me."
Then he stepped back with a cocky smile and sauntered down the hallway.
Riley glared daggers into his back. "I didn't choose to stay here! You were the one all over me!"
He chuckled but didn't turn around.
Once she was safely in her room, she slammed the door and slumped against it. Her pulse still raced. Her skin tingled where he'd touched her.
What kind of twisted game was Ryder playing?
⸻
Night fell properly, and the skies darkened as if in mourning.
Riley couldn't stop thinking about the outside world. The guilt twisted in her chest like a knife. She reached for her phone and opened the news app.
Her house was everywhere.
The headlines screamed:
"Family Burned Alive in Mysterious Fire...Daughter Presumed Dead."
There was her picture. Her name. Her death.
Tears welled up in her eyes. She knew it was bound to happen, but seeing it on the screen made it real.
Another knock. This time it was Emily.
"Your mom called you?" Riley asked, voice hoarse.
Emily nodded and stepped in before embracing her tightly. Riley didn't hesitate to hug her back.
"Do you want to go outside?" Emily asked gently.
Riley's tears slipped freely now. Her face was puffy and pale. "I don't want the world to know I killed my parents."
"You didn't kill them," Emily said firmly, pulling her to sit on the bed.
"But I can't keep pretending I'm dead," Riley whispered, eyes full of pain. "It's wrong."
"We'll go to the cops tomorrow," Emily promised. "We'll tell them everything that won't get you as a suspect."
Riley sniffled, then buried her face in her friend's shoulder. "Thank you."
Emily held her tighter. "You don't have to carry this alone."
"I don't want to be alone," Riley admitted quietly.
"You're not. I'm staying here tonight."
Riley pulled back. "But your mom—"
Emily grinned. "Don't worry. I turned off my phone. Too many calls anyway. I'll make up something tomorrow."
For the first time in days, Riley smiled.
And for the first time in days, she slept beside someone who reminded her she wasn't a monster.
She was just a girl who'd lost too much.
And tomorrow, she'd bury the only people who'd ever truly known her name.