Chapter 17 Unexpected Touches

• The next morning, the storm had passed, but the aftermath still lingered in the air—everything was quieter, heavier, as if the world itself was holding its breath. The mansion seemed to hum with a different kind of energy now, more intense, more charged. Celia couldn’t shake the memory of the previous night, the near kiss, the way Alexander had pulled away at the last moment. It played on a loop in her mind, her heart racing each time she thought about it.
• She didn’t know how to act around him. Was everything back to normal now? Or was something unspoken between them lingering, too fragile to touch yet too powerful to ignore?
• The answer came sooner than she expected.