Chapter 5
Upstairs, far away from the heavy atmosphere of the study, Lily and Chloe were tentatively exploring a side of their home they had rarely seen during Elena’s reign. Without the constant threat of a harsh reprimand hanging over their heads, the twins wandered down the sunlit corridor toward the east wing, where a large bay window overlooked the sprawling manicured gardens.
Chloe wore a soft yellow cotton dress that Julian had hurriedly purchased online the night before—a stark, cheerful contrast to the restrictive blue and white maid costumes they had been forced to wear for two years. She spun around once, the skirt billowing lightly around her knees. "Do you think she's really gone, Lily? For good?"
Lily, older by two minutes and carrying the weight of that responsibility on her small shoulders, looked out through the glass toward the iron gates at the end of the long driveway. "Daddy said so. And Daddy doesn't lie to us."
"I missed him so much," Chloe murmured, her voice dropping to a small, vulnerable whisper. "Even when he was in the house, he was always working in the study. Mommy—Elena—said he didn't care about us anymore, that we were just an embarrassment to his new life."
"She was lying to make us compliant," Lily replied, her tone fiercely defensive as she echoed the words she had overheard Julian say to Marcus earlier that morning. "She wanted us to feel alone so we wouldn't tell him what she was doing when he was away."
A soft knock at the open doorway made both girls jump. Julian stood there, leaning against the doorframe, his grey suit jacket discarded and his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows. He looked softer, more approachable than he had in years. A gentle smile touched the corners of his mouth as he looked at his daughters bathed in the morning light.
"How are my favorite girls doing?" Julian asked softly, stepping into the room and kneeling down to their eye level.
"We're exploring, Daddy," Chloe said, rushing over to throw her arms around his neck. "This room is so bright. Why didn't we ever come in here before?"
Julian’s heart ached. "Because things were... complicated, sweetheart. But we are going to change how we live. No more rules that don't make sense. No more uniforms. Today, I thought we might go into town, get some proper clothes that actually fit, and maybe stop by the bakery for those giant chocolate pastries you both love."
May you like
Lily’s eyes lit up, a genuine, radiant smile finally breaking through the residual shadows of her trauma. "Can we get sprinkles on them, Daddy? Big colorful ones?"
"As many sprinkles as the baker has," Julian promised, pulling both girls into a warm, encompassing hug. He closed his eyes, silently vowing that no matter what legal storms Elena unleashed in the coming days, his daughters would never experience that kind of fear in their own home again.
