Sera's Pov
The door shut behind him with a soft, almost respectful click—but his presence slammed into me like a punch to the chest.
Lucian.
His presence didn't just echo in my mind—it clawed through it. Loud, sharp, undeniable.
He looked the same and yet completely different from the last time I'd seen him. Same golden eyes, same commanding presence wrapped in a perfectly tailored black dress shirt that somehow made his shoulders look broader, his movements more lethal. His expression was a study in detachment. Sculpted jaw, eyes like twin flames locked in ice, and not a single muscle out of place.
Cold. Controlled. Calculated.
The distance in his stare was deliberate. Practiced. Like he'd built walls behind his irises and dared anyone to climb them.
And I knew I shouldn't care.
But gods, it hurt more than I'd ever admit.
