Most of the guards were stationed downstairs near the front gates, and the maids were busy cleaning. The whole second floor felt like a ghost town.

Rain walked slowly down the empty hallway. She was wearing a simple pair of gray pants and an oversized white sweater. Her steps made no sound against the soft carpet. She was bored, restless, and her mind felt completely cluttered with thoughts of V—the way he looked at her in the morning, the way he had touched her face, and the dark words he had whispered against her lips.