Chapter 8: She had no idea who she was touching.

Chapter 8: She had no idea who she was touching. Lucien’s POV I had brought a girl home—someone I didn’t even know. And yet, I stood there, finding out she had stabbed someone. That part... caught me off guard. She was like a terrified bunny in front of me when we met. She looked fragile, quiet, and barely able to speak. But to think she had the guts to stab someone? That was unexpected. And strangely enough... I wasn’t disappointed. No, in fact, I was impressed. I don’t care if she is Adrian’s sister. That makes no difference to me. What bothered me was something else entirely. This possessiveness. This strange pull I felt toward her from the start. Especially after that dream, the one that kept haunting me. The girl who had hollow eyes and a soft, trembling voice that never left me, night after night. I used to wake up annoyed whenever I saw her face. I didn’t even know who she was, so why the hell was I dreaming of her? But now that I have seen her—Seraphina Lancaster—standing in front of me, not as a dream, but as something real... She was not what I imagined. She was far more than that. After she left with Asher, I turned on my staff. My voice stayed calm, but it was cold enough to freeze the air. "Who gave Mr. Lan permission to enter the house?" The maid trembled as she lowered her gaze. "S-Sir, we thought since he was a familiar guest..." "You thought?" I repeated sharply. "Since when do you start thinking for me?" Silence fell in around the hall. I didn’t yell. I didn’t need to. My voice alone was enough to remind them that no one crossed boundaries in this house, not even if they wore the last name ’Lan.’ "Next time, no one enters without my say," I said flatly. "Familiar or not." I dismissed them without another word. I wasn’t in the mood to hear apologies. The damage was already done. Seraphina had left this place thinking she had no one. And that bothered me more than it should have. I should have stayed out of it. I knew better than to interfere in messy family affairs. But watching her walk into that station—blood on her hands, fear in her eyes, and not a single person by her side—it did something to me. So I followed them to the police station—uninvited and unannounced, but very much aware that if anything went wrong, I wouldn’t stay silent. She was already all alone, and then there was Asher. He looked at her like she was a problem he couldn’t wait to discard. Like she had already been weighed, judged, and found guilty without a damn word. He didn’t even try to understand what she went through. Not once. Tch. Family. That word meant nothing if it didn’t protect you. I lit a cigarette outside the station, but the smoke did little to clear my head. My patience was wearing thin. Not because of the delay, but because of the silence. I hated not knowing what was going on behind those doors. Was she still shaking? Was she breaking all over again? I glanced at my watch, jaw clenched. If she wasn’t out in five minutes, I’d go in and make sure the entire department knew who exactly they were talking to. She might have stabbed that bastard, but they should be thanking her for it. I was still debating whether to barge in or wait when my eyes fell on the figure strolling out of the police station. Seraphina finally stepped out—but she wasn’t alone. Melissa trailed behind her, and Asher appeared moments later. I wasn’t far from them, so I could hear every word—but from where I stood, they couldn’t see me. "Do you think just because of your lecture, the police wouldn’t summon you?" Melissa gritted her teeth. It was clear she was barely holding her anger in check. "They can summon me," Seraphina replied. I could hear the weakness in her voice. She hadn’t even sipped water since she had met me. We had just gotten home earlier, and she’d been too wary to take anything from me. That’s why I’d asked one of the maids to come in early—it was already past five in the morning. "However, Melissa, who are you to question me? I don’t remember you joining the police force," Seraphina scoffed and turned to leave—until Melissa grabbed her wrist, halting her in place. I clenched my fists at the sight. That girl—Melissa—had no idea who she was touching. Seraphina flinched slightly, but she didn’t pull back. She just looked at the hand on her wrist, and then back at Melissa with a kind of stillness that felt far too quiet. As if she had done it quite a lot. "What do you want now?" she asked, voice low and tired, as if even wasting anger on Melissa wasn’t worth it anymore. Melissa scoffed. "You think everyone will pity you just because you’re good at acting helpless? You stabbed my brother—" "No," Seraphina cut her off sharply. "I defended myself. If you’re so desperate to protect him, maybe ask him what he was doing to me in the ambulance before I grabbed the knife