Chapter 255 New Era II
Liam leaned back on the sleek, black leather stool by the bar in Lilith’s penthouse, a damp towel in his hand as he wiped the dust and blood stains from his fingers. The apartment still smelled of alcohol and dried blood, but they had managed to bring some order back to the chaos. The broken furniture had been moved aside, the glass swept, and a calm silence now settled over the place.
Lana stood nearby, tying up a trash bag filled with broken bottles and debris. Her long hair was tied back, her cheeks slightly flushed from the effort. Liam’s eyes casually trailed to her and, with a soft exhale, he asked, "You’ve been going to your modeling office less and less these days. What’s going on with that?"
Lana raised an eyebrow, surprised by the question. She looked at him, brushing a strand of hair from her face, and replied, "You didn’t know?"
Liam tilted his head slightly. "Know what?"
"I quit," she said casually, as though it wasn’t a big deal.
His brows lifted in surprise. "You quit?"
She nodded and walked toward him, her hands now empty. She leaned against the kitchen island across from him. "Yeah. Ever since I got my powers, it’s been... hard to fit in."
Liam frowned. "Hard how?"
Lana gave a soft chuckle. "Using my fire powers burns energy. A lot of it. I have to eat constantly to replace what I lose. And you know the kind of standards they keep at modeling agencies. Strict diet. I couldn’t keep up without starving myself or losing control. So I left."
He stared at her, quiet for a second. "But your dream..."
She smiled—a soft, beautiful expression that made his chest tighten. "My dream’s changed. I’m not the same person I was before."