The mansion had been loud earlier— loud in a way Raya never saw before probably asked from the party.
The moment Dante appeared at the gates with Kaeló Voss beside him, the entire household had come alive like someone flung open the doors of a kingdom long starved of its queen.
Even now, hours later, Raya could still hear the echo of it in her mind.
Diana gasping first.
Lucas smirking in that subtle, quiet way he always did.
Derek's booming, joyful "Kaelo!" as if the sun had finally returned after months of rain.
Even the guards — men who never reacted to anything — straightened with barely masked excitement.
It was strange.
Beautiful, even.
Everyone seemed to love her— so easily, so naturally, as though their hearts had been waiting for her return.
Except Adrian…
whose face did not shift even half a millimeter.
He watched Kaelo walk toward him, elegant, confident, dangerous.
"Boss," Kaelo greeted, her voice dipped in near-respect.
