#Chapter 92: Just a Dream

Elijah The distance between us worsened every day after that night in my study. Once, Agnes and I had been able to build a tentative trust, maybe even a tender sort of understanding. We had our slip-ups, like that day in the hallway after she had slapped her stepmother, but things were still good. But now… We moved around each other in the house like two ships passing in the night. We were polite, but our conversations were reduced to the bare minimum. No shared laughter, no meaningful glances, just… Silence. Thea was the only thing that seemed to bridge the gap, her laughter and chatter filling the air as usual. To my surprise, Agnes never let her personal grief or frustration show around Thea, and for that, I respected her deeply. She was a wonderful mother—better than Olivia had ever been. But the tension between us was undeniable. I could feel it in the way she avoided my gaze, in the way she stiffened whenever I entered a room. And I coul