The first thing that woke Liora was a knock at her door.
She groaned softly and buried her face deeper into her pillow.
Another knock followed.
More persistent this time.
“Miss Elara?”
Liora’s eyes opened.
For a moment she simply stared at the ceiling.
Then it hit her.
Miss Elara.
They were talking to her.
The realisation is still a little unsettling.
Slowly, she sat up.
“Come in.”
A young maid entered carrying several garment bags.
She smiled warmly.
“Good morning, Miss Elara.”
There it was again.
Not Miss Bennett anymore.
Not Liora.
Elara.
The maid didn’t hesitate.
Didn’t stumble over the name.
To everyone in this house, that was who she was now.
Liora forced a smile.
“Good morning.”
The maid set the garment bags down.
“Breakfast will be served shortly.”
Then she paused.
A bright smile appearing.
“Mr Valmere is already downstairs.”
Liora blinked.
Already?
The maid seemed delighted by that fact.
And after she left, Liora found herself wondering why.
Twenty minutes later she discovered the answer.
The dining room was alive.
Not loud.
Not chaotic.
But alive.
Staff moved with noticeably lighter expressions.
The atmosphere felt different.
Warmer.
As though the mansion itself had begun breathing again.
Mrs.
Davenport stood near the entrance, talking quietly with two staff members.
When she spotted Liora, her posture immediately straightened.
“Good morning, Miss El—”
She stopped herself.
A faint smile appearing.
“Good morning, ”
Liora smiled back.
“Morning.”
Then she entered the dining room.
And froze.
Cassian was already seated.
A newspaper rested beside him.
Coffee sat near his right hand.
Several reports had been neatly stacked nearby.
Yet despite the work surrounding him, he wasn’t reading any of it.
He looked up the moment she entered.
A genuine smile crossed his face.
“Good morning, Elara.”
The name landed heavily in her chest.
She hated how guilty it made her feel.
“Good morning.”
His smile widened slightly.
As though hearing her answer somehow mattered.
Mrs.
Davenport quietly approached.
“Would you like breakfast served now?”
Cassian nodded.
“Please.”
Liora watched the exchange.
Then leaned slightly toward Mrs.
Davenport.
“Does he always have breakfast here?”
The older woman looked surprised.
Then her expression softened.
“No.”
A pause.
“Not since…”
She didn’t finish the sentence.
She didn’t need to.
Liora understood immediately.
Not since Elara died.
Mrs Davenport lowered her voice.
“This is the first time he’s taken breakfast in the dining room in years.”
The words lingered long after she walked away.
Elara died not many years ago, but it must have felt like it to everyone in the estate.
Liora glanced toward Cassian.
He appeared unaware of the conversation.
Or perhaps he was pretending to be.
Either way, the guilt returned.
Stronger than before.
Adrian.
Coffee in hand.
Expression as welcoming as a thunderstorm.
His gaze swept across the room.
Landing briefly on Cassian.
Then Liora.
Then back to Cassian.
His eyebrow lifted slightly.
Apparently he hadn’t expected Cassian to arrive before everyone else either.
Cassian looked amused.
“Good morning.”
Adrian sat down.
“That remains to be seen.”
Liora laughed.
Cassian actually smiled.
The sight surprised her.
For a man who carried so much grief, his smile transformed him.
Made him seem younger.
Lighter.
For the next several minutes, breakfast proceeded peacefully.
Mostly.
Cassian asked about her studies.
Liora answered carefully.
Adrian corrected two minor details.
Cassian pretended not to notice.
And Mrs Davenport, silent, judged all of them from across the room.
At least that’s what it felt like.
When the main meal arrived, Liora reached her chair.
Then paused.
Without thinking, she’d stopped beside a particular seat.
A seat near Cassian.
A seat directly across from Adrian.
Which she had never done before.
She frowned slightly.
Something about it had simply felt right.
Natural.
Comfortable.
She pulled out the chair and sat down.
The silence that followed was immediate.
Liora blinked.
Slowly looking up.
Cassian had stopped speaking.
Mrs Davenport had frozen.
Even Adrian’s attention lifted from his coffee.
“What?”
Nobody answered immediately.
Mrs Davenport recovered first.
“Nothing.”
Yet her voice sounded strangely emotional.
Liora looked between them.
Confused.
Had she done something wrong?
Cassian’s gaze remained fixed on the chair.
Then a small smile appeared.
A sad one.
A fond one.
Finally he said quietly,
“That was always your seat.”
The realisation hit instantly
Elara’s seat.
Heat rushed into Liora’s face.
“I didn’t know.”
“I know.”
Cassian’s answer came gently.
The strange silence faded.
Conversation resumed.
Yet Adrian remained unusually quiet.
Watching.
Thinking.
Liora noticed.
But chose not to ask.
Several minutes later, tea was served.
Cassian reached for a document while absentmindedly searching the table for sugar.
Without looking.
Without thinking.
Liora grabbed the sugar bowl.
And slid it toward him.
“Two cubes.”
The words left her mouth automatically.
The second they did, she froze.
The room froze with her.
Cassian slowly looked up.
Mrs Davenport nearly dropped the teapot.
Adrian’s eyes lifted immediately.
Sharp.
Focused.
Dangerously attentive.
Liora stared at the sugar bowl.
Her heartbeat quickens.
Why had she said that?
How did she know that?
Nobody had told her.
Nobody.
Cassian continued staring.
Not suspicious.
Not doubtful.
Almost painfully hopeful.
A smile touched his face.
Small.
Fragile.
“You remembered.”
Liora swallowed.
“What?”
“The tea.”
His voice had become softer.
“You always remembered.”
The guilt hit her again.
Harder this time.
Because she hadn’t remembered.
At least she didn’t think she had.
She simply… knew.
And she couldn’t explain why.
Mrs Davenport discreetly turned away.
Though not before Liora noticed the moisture gathering in the older woman’s eyes.
Across the table, Adrian said nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Yet she could practically feel him thinking.
The moment stayed with her long after breakfast ended.
Especially because everyone else seemed happy about it.
Cassian looked lighter.
Mrs Davenport looked hopeful.
The staff seemed quietly delighted.
Only Adrian appeared troubled.
She found out why later that afternoon.
Liora was leaving the library when she nearly collided with him.
Adrian stepped aside.
Barely.
“You should pay attention.”
“You were standing in the doorway.”
“You walked into me.”
“You were blocking the door.”
Neither moved.
Neither blinked.
Finally, Adrian sighed.
“The conversation we’re having is ridiculous.”
Liora smiled.
“A little.”
A brief silence followed.
Then Adrian’s expression shifted.
Becoming thoughtful.
More serious.
For a moment she thought he was about to ask something.
Perhaps about breakfast.
About the sugar.
About the chair.
His gaze lingered on her.
Then—
Nothing.
Whatever question he’d intended to ask never came.
Instead he stepped aside.
“Your lesson starts in twenty minutes.”
Liora frowned.
“That’s it?”
“What were you expecting?”
“I don’t know.”
Adrian’s mouth twitched.
Almost a smile.
Again.
“Exactly.”
Then he walked away.
Leaving her standing there.
More confused than before.
That night, lying in bed, sleep refused to come.
The events of breakfast replayed endlessly.
The chair.
The sugar.
Cassian’s expression.
Mrs.
Davenport’s residence.
Adrian’s silence.
Everything.
She rolled onto her side.
Staring toward the darkened ceiling.
Trying to make sense of it all.
Eventually, her exhaustion began pulling her toward sleep.
And just before she drifted off, another realisation struck her.
That morning.
When the staff member knocked on her door.
When she’d called out—
“Miss Elara?”
Liora hadn’t hesitated.
Hadn’t questioned it.
Hadn’t even thought about it.
She had responded automatically.
As though the name belonged to her.
The thought should have been comforting.
Instead it left her strangely unsettled.
Because for the first time since arriving at the Valmere estate…
Liora couldn’t tell whether she was pretending to be Elara.
Or slowly becoming her.