For the next few days, even books couldn’t hold my interest. My thoughts kept drifting back to Hugo—his handsome face, the sarcastic quirk of his lips, those maddeningly perfect slacks he always wore, and the way his body fit so perfectly against mine, warm and solid.
We spent every spare moment together, hands interlocked, bodies pressed close, sharing stolen kisses wherever we could. The library, the garden, the kitchen—even the stable. It was as if we were trying to lose ourselves in each other, to drown out the weight of everything looming over us.
But, even in the haze of desire, I could see something darker creeping in. Hugo’s nightmares were growing worse. The warmth we shared during the day couldn’t keep the shadows at bay once the night came.
For the last two nights in a row, I’d fallen asleep beside him, only to wake and find the bed cold, empty. Each time, I found him in the library, staring into the fire, lost in his thoughts. His expression haunted, as if the house itself were whispering things only he could hear.
I tried to reach him, but there was a distance between us that no amount of closeness could bridge. Whatever was happening, whatever darkness still lingered within the walls of Vesper Estate, it wasn’t done with us yet.