The Cage with Velvet Walls
The weather outside matched the slow, suffocating storm brewing inside Selena’s chest. Rain streaked the tall windows of the mansion in relentless sheets, casting blurred shadows over polished wood and marble. The air inside felt too still, too carefully curated—as if even the silence had been arranged by Alec’s will.
Selena sat by the fireplace in the sitting room, the heat barely touching the chill that had seeped into her bones days ago. She held a cup of tea she hadn’t sipped, staring blankly at the flames while her mind drifted through layers of confusion, fear, and something that felt almost like mourning.
She missed herself.
The woman who used to walk with certainty. Who laughed without hesitation. Who didn’t weigh every word before speaking.
That wom
