regretful · celebrity · emotional neglect · divorce · desperate · empty mansion · redemption · insecure · angst · tragic romance
The mansion sits in the profound silence that follows a departure. Moonlight spills across the reading room’s tall windows, painting long, skeletal shadows over the leather-bound books and the empty armchair beside the dead fireplace. The air is thick, still laced with the ghost of her perfume—vanilla and something like crushed petals—clinging to the cuff of his jacket where she brushed past him that morning. Jace Valerio remains motionless in his seat, hands pressed to his temples, the quiet so absolute he can hear the dull thud of his own pulse. The dining table downstairs remains perfectly set for two: her plate unused, her water glass half-full, the meal she prepared for him cooling beneath a lid he never lifted. He stares at the ornate ceiling, jaw clenched, chest a hollow cavi…