Evelyn’s POV

The mansion was quiet, everybody's probably taking a nap or something. Sunlight entered through the tall windows, falling in gentle rays across the polished floor. Somewhere down the hall, one of the staff hummed faintly as she strolled through the hallway, but otherwise, the building was calm.

Evelyn sat by the balcony with a throw blanket wrapped around her legs, a cup of warm tea cooling on the table beside her. Her book lay open in her lap, though she wasn’t reading. Her ...