A Calculated Invitation

~Kaelen~

I woke up at seven.

Saturday. The house was quiet in the way it was quiet on weekends — no staff moving through the corridors yet, no cars on the drive, just the estate doing its slow morning thing while the city beyond it woke up at its own pace.

I showered. Got dressed. Went downstairs.

Daphne was at the dining table.

She was in her robe, coffee in hand, scrolling through her phone with