Chapter 7 Watch Your Tone

After that night, Lucia changed. For the next three days, she barely stepped out of her room aside from meal times. She no longer walked in the garden or went to the study for books. She spent her days sitting by the window of that luxurious yet freezing bedroom, staring blankly at the dull gray sky outside. One evening in the dining room, Lucia was cutting the lamb chop on her plate. The silence in there was suffocating. Alessandro frowned. The silence irritated him in a way he couldn't explain. In the past, even when Lucia was terrified, she would sneak glances at him. Her eyes held fear, resentment, or even a spark of defiance. But now, although she sat right across from him, she felt distant. She felt untouchable, as if she had sealed herself inside a thick shell and shut him out completely. "Is the lamb not to your taste today?" Alessandro asked suddenly, his deep voice slicing through the stillness. Lucia's hands paused for a second. Then, she calmly set down her cutlery a