Diana didn't sleep well.
Again.
But this time, it wasn't anger keeping her awake.
It was confusion.
Victor's words lingered in her mind.
"Because you're not weak."
"It is."
She turned in bed, frustrated.
"This is stupid," she whispered.
Why did his opinion matter?
Why did anything about him matter?
Morning came too quickly.
By the time she stepped into the hallway, the mansion was already alive with quiet activity.
But something felt… off.
Different.
"Where is everyone?" she asked one of the maids.
The woman hesitated slightly. "Mr. Blackwood left early this morning."
Diana paused.
Left?
Without saying anything?
She ignored the strange feeling that followed.
"Where did he go?"
"I'm not sure, ma'am."
That should've been the end of it.
It wasn't.
By noon, Diana couldn't ignore it anymore.
She grabbed her phone.
Stared at it.
Then dropped it back on the table.
"This is ridiculous," she muttered.
She wasn't going to ask about him.
She didn't care.
An hour later
She was in the car.
The drive was longer than she expected.
Farther from the city.
Quieter.
"Are you sure this is the place?" she asked the driver.
"Yes, ma'am."
The gates opened slowly.
And what Diana saw
Wasn't what she expected.
It wasn't another mansion.
Wasn't a business building.
Wasn't anything like Victor.
It was a small foundation.
Simple.
Quiet.
Hidden.
Diana stepped out of the car slowly, her curiosity overriding everything else.
Voices echoed softly from inside.
Children.
She froze.
Victor stood in the middle of the room.
Surrounded by kids.
And he was…
Different.
There was no coldness in his expression.
No distance.
No control.
One little girl tugged at his sleeve. "You said you'd come back."
"I did," Victor replied calmly.
"But you were late."
A pause.
Then
"I apologize."
Diana blinked.
Victor…
Apologizing?
The girl crossed her arms. "You always say that."
Victor crouched slightly to meet her eye level.
"Then I'll do better," he said.
Diana's chest tightened.
Something about that moment
Didn't fit the version of him she knew.
"Are you going to stand there all day?"
Her breath caught.
Victor hadn't even turned.
"I didn't realize you noticed," she said.
"I notice everything."
Of course he did.
Diana stepped inside slowly.
The children glanced at her curiously.
"Who's she?" one of them asked.
Victor stood upright.
There was a brief pause.
A shift.
"My wife," he said.
The word landed differently here.
Softer.
Realer.
Diana felt it.
And she didn't know what to do with that.
The children seemed satisfied with the answer, quickly losing interest as they dragged Victor back into whatever game they were playing.
And just like that
He went back to being someone else entirely.
Diana watched him for a long moment.
The way he moved.
The way he spoke.
The way he listened.
This wasn't calculated.
This wasn't control.
This was…
Natural.
"You're staring."
She blinked.
Victor stood beside her now.
Quiet.
Composed again.
But not as cold.
"I didn't know you did this," she said.
"There's a lot you don't know."
That was true.
"Why?" she asked.
Victor's gaze shifted toward the children.
"For balance," he said.
Diana frowned slightly. "Balance?"
"Yes."
"That's vague."
Victor glanced at her. "It's intentional."
She studied him again.
"You're different here."
Victor didn't deny it.
"So which one is real?" she asked.
A pause.
Then
"Both."
Diana's breath slowed.
"That doesn't make sense."
"It doesn't need to."
There it was again.
That way of speaking that made everything sound simple…
Even when it wasn't.
A small boy ran up suddenly, grabbing Victor's hand. "Come back, you promised!"
Victor looked down at him.
Then back at Diana.
"I'll be a moment."
And he walked away.
Just like that.
Diana stood there, watching him.
Trying to understand something she couldn't quite reach.
He wasn't just cold.
He wasn't just dangerous.
He was…
Complicated.
And somehow
That made him even more dangerous.
Because now
She wanted to understand him.
And that was a mistake.