"Is that all that you wanted to talk about?"
A few minutes passed in silence before Lia finally spoke.
"No…"
Lucian kept his eyes on the road.
"You know that I usually went out to meet someone, right?"
"Yes. You told me she was like a mo—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
"…Ah."
Her lips parted slightly as the realisation struck.
The fragments she had ignored until now slowly aligned.
Her brother would occasionally go out without much explanation to meet a woman.
A woman she didn't know.
Seraphina.
That was her name.
At first, Lia had been suspicious—worried that he might like her, but then he told her that he only saw the woman as a mother figure.
It was still odd, still unsettling—but she hadn't questioned him.
Now—
Now she understood.
"She's your mother," Lia said softly.
Lucian nodded.
And then, without holding back, he told her everything.
That he remembered everything.
His past.
His childhood.
All of it.
Lia listened quietly.
She was surprised—but not as much as she thought she should have been.
She had noticed things over time.
The way he talked in his sleep. The way certain words or places made him distant.
She had suspected something… but she had never pushed him.
Her brother had been changing—slowly, steadily—becoming more self-reliant.
More independent.
She was proud and happy about that.
But yet… at the same time, there had always been a quiet sadness mixed with that pride.
A fear that one day, he wouldn't need to rely on her at all.
Lucian didn't leave anything out.
By the time he finished speaking, the car was already pulling into their driveway.
The engine cut off.
A heavy silence settled inside the car.
Lia remained frozen in her seat, her hands clutching tightly in her lap. Her breathing was shallow, uneven.
Lucian parked the car quietly and didn't rush her.
He simply sat there beside her, giving her the time to process everything.
A few minutes passed.
Then she turned to look at him.
Carefully.
As if he were something fragile.
She had known that he was abused.
But not like this.
This wasn't just beatings.
This wasn't just neglect.
And his father—
She couldn't even believe that his father was Damian Cross, one of the most influential men in the country.
Her eyes burned.
"I–I didn't k–know…" Her voice trembled.
"I didn't know you suffered this much."
Lucian sighed.
Flick!
She yelped, immediately covering her forehead and staring at him in disbelief.
"Why did you hit me?!"
"Don't look at me like that." He said before sighing again.
"It all happened years ago. I am not the same kid anymore."
She froze.
Then, slowly, she nodded.
Right.
Her brother hated being pitied.
He hated sympathy that treated him like he was broken.
'Idiot.' She cursed him silently at his stubbornness
They got out of the car not long after and entered the house together.
In the living room, a woman sat quietly on the couch, blankly staring at the television that wasn't even on.
Hearing the footsteps, she turned her head.
The moment her eyes found Lucian, her expression softened. A small, gentle smile bloomed on her face.
Then her gaze shifted.
To Lia.
Lia stiffened.
'That's… his mother?'
The woman must've been in her forties—but it was hard to believe at first glance. Her face bore barely any wrinkles. Her features were sharp yet elegant, her icy blue eyes intense and clear, and her skin slightly pale.
For a brief second, even Lia felt a sting of jealousy.
The way Seraphina carried herself, the way she sat, the way she rose—
Everything about her radiated quiet nobility.
Seraphina rose slowly.
"You must be Lia."
Her voice was soft, careful.
Lia straightened instinctively without realising it, suddenly feeling like a child being evaluated by someone far above her.
"Yes… I'm Lia," she replied quickly.
"His sister."
"Lucian talks about you a lot." Seraphina said gently.
Lia blinked.
"…Oh."
Before she realised it, a smile crept onto her face.
Lucian noticed—and smiled faintly too.
Soon, all three of them sat on the couch together.
They talked after that.
Lucian formally introduced his mother to Lia, though it felt unnecessary. Lia quickly learned that her brother had spoken about her more than anything else during his visits to the facility.
Hearing about how Seraphina had lived there shocked her.
She couldn't understand how someone could endure that place… and still remain sane.
What Lia didn't know—
Was that there wasn't a single sane person in the entire house.
Talking to Seraphina stirred memories she hadn't touched in years.
'If my mother were still here…'
Without realising it, Lia's fingers brushed against the ring on her finger.
A simple, plain ring.
The one her mother had given her.