Episode 6 · Nora, Lucian Ashford, Bianca
Lucian stands over Nora's subdued attacker at a banquet hall and announces that she is under his personal care. A flashback shows him reading poetry with Nora night after night to help her speak again. Later, he buys her art supplies and lets her ink his arm. In the present, Nora sits alone at her workbench, thinking about how he taught her everything except how to survive after he walked away.
In a banquet hall above the city skyline, guards hold down Nora's attacker. Lucian confronts the man directly and declares Nora under his personal protection. Nora looks up at him with growing adoration as he takes charge.
A flashback moves to a quiet library. Lucian sits beside Nora through long nights, reading poetry aloud word by word. He patiently helps her find her voice again and guides her out of her traumatic silence.
Lucian gives Nora professional art supplies and offers his own bare arm for tattoo practice. When her hand slips and leaves an uneven scratch, he does not get angry. Instead, he smiles and reassures her warmly.
A montage displays their years of closeness before returning to Nora's present-day workshop. Nora sits by herself in the dim room, reflecting on how Lucian taught her every skill except how to live after he cast her aside.
“The orphaned daughter of my father's old friend, is she someone you're allowed to touch? From today, she's under my protection.”
“It's fine. The first draft of a genius. I'm keeping it.”
“He taught me everything, except what I was supposed to do when he left me.”
The episode closes with Nora sitting alone at her workbench in the dark tattoo studio. She is left with memories of ten years of Lucian's care and affection. Now that he has abandoned her, how will she navigate her life alone, and what step will she take next against him?