Chapter 16 Not Home, Just A House

• Isabella’s POV
• We all went home like nothing happened, none of us spoke to each other. The cold, marble floor was unforgiving beneath my bare feet as I opened my eyes to another day in this sprawling, hollow mansion. The sun barely peeked through the heavy curtains, casting a muted glow across my room. Now, the room felt like a beautiful, suffocating cage, one that I couldn’t escape, no matter how hard I tried.
• I sat up, running my fingers through my tangled hair, and took a moment to gather myself. The night had been too heavy, too full of unsaid words and the raw, volatile energy of the bond. The Slades, each of them; lingered in my mind. Their unspoken tensions, their cold stares, their refusal to face what had changed between us. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep pretending. Pretending that everything was okay when nothing felt right.