Chapter 1: The Greenhouse Sanctuary
Chapter 1: The Greenhouse Sanctuary
The morning after the gala, the sprawling Vale estate was eerily quiet, nursing a collective hangover from the champagne and forced laughter. Lucy sat on the back steps of the staff quarters, her old poetry book resting on her knees. Her mother had scolded her for nearly an hour the night before, terrified that Lucy’s stunt would cost them their livelihood.
But Lucy couldn't stop thinking about the boy in the shadows.
Later that afternoon, while Clara was busy inventorying the leftover catering, Lucy slipped away. She wandered past the manicured hedges and stone fountains until she reached the old glass greenhouse at the edge of the property. It was overgrown and mostly abandoned by the gardening staff, smelling of damp earth and blooming jasmine.
When she pushed the heavy glass door open, she found Matthew.
He was sitting cross-legged on a patch of moss-covered brick, surrounded by scattered notebooks and a dismantled telescope. He looked up, startled, but as soon as he saw it was Lucy, his tense posture melted.
Hello, Lucy signed, careful to get the motion right.
Matthew beamed. He tapped the space next to him.
For the next few weeks, the greenhouse became their secret universe. Every afternoon, while the billionaire was away in Manhattan closing deals, his son was teaching the housekeeper’s daughter how to speak with her hands. Matthew was a patient and brilliant teacher. He taught her the alphabet first, then basic phrases, and finally, the vocabulary of his heart: space, stars, gravity, lonely, hope.
Lucy learned that Matthew’s mother had passed away when he was seven, which was around the time a severe fever had taken his hearing. Alexander Vale hadn't known how to fix his son, so he simply stopped trying.
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He looks at me like a broken machine, Matthew signed one rainy Tuesday, his hands moving with a heavy, deliberate sadness. He only likes things he can upgrade.
Lucy reached out, gently touching his wrist. You are not broken, she signed back, her movements fluid now. You are a star.
