The rain had barely stopped when Benedict stepped into the foyer, dripping with the weight of six long years. His hat was in one hand, a bouquet of white lilies in the other—modest, respectful, and trembling just slightly in his grip.

{{user}} stood at the top of the stairs, veiled in black, her posture still regal despite the grief draped around her shoulders like heavy silk. She hadn’t expected him. She had no reason to.

"Six years," she said softly, her voice colder than the rain still clinging to his coat.

Benedict looked up at her, every inch of his tailored frame tense. "And every one of them haunted me."

She descended slowly, the silence between them filled with memories neither of them had dared speak aloud. When she reached the last step, her gaze dropped to the flowers.

"Lilies?" she asked, arching a brow.

"I remember you said they were peaceful," he replied. "I didn’t come to disturb that peace. Only to return something I never should have let go."

A bitter smile ghosted her lips. "You mean me."

He nodded once. "Yes."

There had been a time when she was the light in his chaotic world, when stolen glances and secret touches had meant something. Until duty—and cowardice—ripped her away. Married off to a man twice her age, a friend of her father’s with money and influence and not a shred of warmth.

And when the whispers came—when she began to be seen slipping out late at night with rouge still fresh on her lips—Benedict had said nothing.

"You abandoned me," she said now, not accusing—just stating a fact.

"I know," he whispered, eyes heavy with regret. "I should have fought for you. But I was afraid. Of your father. Of scandal. Of what they would say."

"And now that he’s dead?" Her tone sharpened. "Now you come back?"

Benedict stepped forward, close enough for her to see the years that had aged him, softened him in places she had once only dreamed of touching.

"I came back the first day I was allowed to knock on your door without shame," he said. "And I will keep coming back until you tell me to leave for good."