Chapter 12 - The Night of the StormThat night, a violent storm struck Newport.
Rain hammered the mansion windows.
The ocean disappeared beneath darkness.
Clara sat alone in the kitchen, staring at a cup of untouched tea.
Marcus entered quietly.
“You should sleep.”
“I don't think I can.”
He sat across from her.
“You're safe.”
Clara smiled sadly.
“I don't know what safe feels like anymore.”
Marcus didn't immediately answer.
Then he said:
“It will.”
Clara looked at him.
“Why did you help me?”
Marcus stared through the window.
“Because once, someone helped me.”
“Who?”
“My sister.”
Clara waited.
“She was afraid of someone powerful.”
Marcus's voice became quieter.
“I was too young to stop it.”
Clara understood.
The silence between them changed.
It wasn't romantic.
Not yet.
May you like
It was something deeper.
Two people who had survived different kinds of fear recognizing the same wound.
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