Page 5

Lilith felt the warmth of the woman's hand before she fully realized what was happening.Valentina's fingers brushed over hers, barely a whisper of touch, before settling against the red, pale cuts on her fingertips.

As she traced them softly, her touch light but deliberate, a memory flashed in her mind—the girl on her knees, desperately trying to fix the mess she had made.

Lilith's breath caught in her throat, and warmth spread over her cheeks.

The woman exhaled quietly, something like guilt flashing in her eyes before she cleared her throat and let go.

She didn't say anything, simply dropping her hand and shifting her gaze towards the flowers in the vase.

She stared at her favorite red roses for a moment before murmuring, "They are indeed pretty. "

Then, glancing at Lilith's upturned face, she added, "I guess I can forgive you."

There was humor in her tone, teasing but composed, and it made Lilith bite back a wide smile.

Instead, she blurted out, almost randomly, "I embarrass myself pretty often."

She wasn't sure why she said it—maybe to explain herself, to justify the mess she had made. She often felt the need to explain her every action to people, even those who didn't know her, as if she owed them an understanding of her existence.

Valentinasighed softly, tilting her head slightly as she responded with a calm, "I see."

She felt the weight of the reaction she had given the girl that evening, a twinge of regret curling in her stomach. Walking over to her desk, she leaned against it, crossing her arms as she regarded Lilith with quiet curiosity.

"So, do you like the office?" she asked, her voice smooth, but there was a knowing gleam in her eyes. She remembered how curious the girl had been about how it looked—now, suddenly, she wanted to hear her opinion.

Lilith hesitated, thrown off by how confusing the woman was.

Just days ago, Valentina had completely unnerved her, yet now she was softer, calmer—almost as if nothing had happened.

She wondered if she should be mad at her for the humiliation she had caused or if this was her way of apologizing, in her own distant and complicated way.

Either way, she couldn't ignore the fact that, despite everything, she felt strangely flattered by woman's attention.

She decided not to overthink it. Instead, she let her gaze sweep over the office once more, nodding softly before teasing, "If I didn't, wouldn't that make you a bad architect?"

The truth was, the office was far from uninviting. If anything, it looked like a place she could easily curl up and take a nap in, its design both sophisticated and comforting. She wondered, for a fleeting second, what Valentina's home would look like.

Valentina's lips curved with quiet amusement. "Actually, your brother helped me design it a little."

Lilith blinked in surprise, but before she could ask more, Valentina added after a moment's pause, "Thankfully, he isn't as clumsy as you."

Lilith blushed softly, wondering if the woman had mentioned the situation to Oscar. Should she ask? The question hovered on her lips as she started, "Did you...?"

Valentina was quick to finish for her. "Tell your brother about it?" Her tone was light, almost teasing. "I might have said something."

Probably now Oscar knew why Lilith had seemed so off in the car that evening. She just prayed he wouldn't ask for details about the situation.

But what Lilith didn't know yet was that Valentina might have gathered more information about her from her brother.

Lilith rolled her eyes. "You really are mean." she murmured, chewing on her lip.

Valentina laughed softly, the sound smooth and effortless. "Mean? Sweetheart, you don't even know how mean I can be."

Lilith wanted to fire back, probably with something playfully insulting, but before she could, Valentina's phone rang. She felt an unexpected disappointment, wanting to talk to the attractive woman just a little longer.

Valentina sighed. "Work."

Lilith smiled softly, ready to turn around. "I'm sorry again." she said gently.

The woman nodded, not showing much emotion, but the last thing Lilith heard before stepping out of the office was, "Take care of the cuts, Lilith."

Outside the office, standing in the hall, she blushed at how her name sounded when the woman said it.

Had Oscar mentioned her name to Valentina?

Even though the woman was so confusing, Lilith had already forgotten about the embarrassing and humiliating situation.

The small, warm sentence—or more like a command—made by this attractive woman lingered in her mind.

She grinned to herself all the way home. She had fixed it. She had fixed a situation, and she was so happy about it. But that was what Lilith always did-worry and fix.

?

Lilith sat in her apartment, wrapped in a thick blanket, the dim glow of the streetlights filtering through the wide open windows.

The night air was crisp, carrying the faint scent of rain from earlier.

She exhaled slowly, a thin stream of cigarette smoke curling towards the ceiling, dissipating into the darkness.

The city outside was quiet, but inside her head, it never was.

Her phone buzzed against the wooden nightstand, the screen illuminating with a new text. She sighed before even looking at it, already knowing who it was from.

Mother: Call me.

The blonde haired girl stared at the message, her fingers hovering over the screen, but she didn't reply. She never did. She would call, eventually-when her overly empathic nature whispered that she couldn't be that cruel.

Her mother knew that. Knew exactly how to manipulate her with it. Lilith had figured her out a long time ago.

A manipulative, narcissistic, evil woman. That's what she would call her.

But no matter how much she acknowledged it, the weight of her mother's voice, her words, clung to her skin like smoke. The moment she acted even slightly similar, she felt like the worst person alive. And her father-still nursing wounds somewhere deep inside-would always point it out.

But Lilith knew she was better. She knew her kindness, her empathy, her sensitivity. But she hated it. Despised it. She saw it as pathetic.

And yet, sometimes, the soft girl wondered if it wouldn't be easier to be cruel-cold and unfeeling, just like her mother. Then she wouldn't have to deal with things the way she did every single day.

Some days, she was just a little sensitive Lilith, barely surviving, trying to keep her head above water. And other days, something darker crawled inside her, like a demon had entered her body-an actual Lilith, like the one from the Bible and mythology. A creature of chaos and disobedience.

But when she had been curious enough to read about the demon woman, she had almost admired her.

Refusing to obey Adam? She sounded like she was just a bad bitch.

Or maybe it was just her weakness for powerful women.

She laughed softly at the thought before stubbing out the cigarette.

Tonight, for once, she was surprisingly early to sleep-not hunched over her desk drowning in studies, not sprawled out somewhere drunk. But even as she lied down, her thoughts refused to quiet.

She thought of Valentina Salvatore.

Reaching for her phone again, she pulled up a search bar and typed in the name of woman's architecture company. Then, she searched for her name. There wasn't much. A few mentions here and there-formal, business-related. No pictures.

But she did find something. The woman was 30 years old.

Lilith stared at the number, letting it settle into her mind. Thirty.

She turned off her phone and let it rest on her chest, staring at the ceiling, wondering why that detail made something flutter deep inside her.