Chapter 102

• The door slammed shut behind Lucas, the sound echoing through the chamber like a gavel striking down on silence. Alone now, I allowed myself a moment to breathe—to actually look around the room without the weight of his watchful gaze.
• It was hideous.
• The furniture was outdated, sagging in the wrong places, and covered in faded fabrics that had long since lost their original colors. A dull, dusty smell clung to the air, as if time itself had grown weary and decided to settle here. My nose wrinkled. It was a far cry from the improvements being made to the slave quarters—furnished with pieces I’d picked out myself, simple but new. There was a part of me that longed to switch them, to offer comfort where it was needed most, and return this decaying display of status to its rightful resting place: the past.