Valmont Series - Inheritance Code

Chapter 7.6 - Unwatched

Allegra didn't rush forward.

She simply inclined her head—a precise tilt that said we saw everything. Her eyes flicked once to where Luc had disappeared, then settled back on Aria with cool approval.

Aurora and Allegra.

That was her axis. Her anchor.

The closest thing to family she had known since arriving in Avalon.

No rank. No rhetoric. Just presence—constant, unshaken.

The kind that didn't demand strength to be earned.

The kind that simply was.

Aurora stepped in first. No theatrics. No permission asked.

Just two quiet steps—then arms around her.

Brief. Fierce. Wordless.

Aria froze for half a breath, then let herself exhale into it.

That was the moment she returned—fully, completely.

Because as steady as Luc's presence had felt... this was different.

This was before the subcouncil, before the Solvana mist, before the system decided who she was allowed to be.

Aurora's hug held none of that.

It held her.

And without warning, a single tear slipped past—clean, unashamed.

She didn't wipe it. Didn't speak.

She didn't have to.

She'd survived.

And this—this was why.

They stood in stillness for a moment—three silhouettes framed in light and silence.

Allegra's gaze shifted first—cutting toward the corridor where Luc had vanished.

Not curiosity. Just assessment.

Then, with crystalline elegance, she moved—barely.

A glance. A verdict.

"He chose well."

It wasn't flattery. It was a verdict.

Aria breathed—once. Shallow, contained. "Seems I'm more interesting than expected."

Aurora's voice was quieter, but clearer. "You always were."

No embellishment. Just truth, offered without ceremony.

The silence that followed wasn't empty—it was weighted. Steady. Like a pause in a symphony, not an absence of music.

Then Allegra inclined her head again, just enough to register understanding.

"You're not finished here."

Aria didn't hesitate. "Not even close."

Allegra gave a single nod—clean, ceremonial. A farewell fit for allies, not girls in gossip.

"Then go."

Aurora stepped back, hands by her sides, eyes open and still.

"We'll cover the whispers."

It struck deeper than it should have.

They were her constant. Her anchor.

She didn't perform gratitude. But her stillness softened, just slightly—enough to be seen by those who knew how to look.