Marielle whipped her head around to glare at Julian, her voice sharp with fury.
“Keep this up and you can get out of this house—don’t ever come back.”
Then she turned back to me, her tone softening instantly. “Aria, we don’t need to pay him any attention.”
She reached out to take my hand, but I shifted aside and avoided her.
Her hand froze midair before slowly retracting.
I didn’t respond. I walked straight into the study.
She followed me in and shut the door.
“Aria, are you thirsty?” she asked cautiously. “What would you like to drink? I’ll get it for you.”
I sat down, my tone indifferent. “No need.”
After a brief pause, I lifted my eyes to look at her.
“In this house, I was never allowed to touch anything anyway.”
Her face went pale in an instant.
“I’m sorry…”
“If you really
