003

Serena point of View:

The ring is still heavy on my finger the next morning.

I barely slept. my body kept jolting awake, bracing for a blow that never came. I'm not used to beds this soft, or silence this loud.

This room is massive - cold marble floors, floor to ceiling windows with blackout curtains, a fireplace that probably costs more than my entire tuition.

But none of it feels real. Not the clothes folded neatly on the dresser. Not the tray of untouched food at the door.

not the fact that I'm now engaged to Damien Alaric.

I slip into the clothes- black silk blouse, fitted slacks, heels Sharp enough to stab someone with.

The fabric clings to me like it knows it doesn't belong. like it's pretending, too.

At precisely nine, the door opens.

it isn't Damien.

it's a woman.

mid-thirties. Fierce cheekbones. slick ponytail. Business suit sharper thank her eyes.

she looks me over once, slowly, and doesn't bother hiding her disdain.

"I'm Claudia," she says. " Damien's chief of operations. if you're going to be paraded as his fiancee, you'll need more than a pretty face."

I arch a brow. "I didn't realize I'd be auditioning"

"you're not," she says. "you've already been cast. I'm just here to make sure you don't get us. all killed."

Charming.

Claudia leads me through the house - no, mansion. The place is a fortress of steel and glass and power. Guards in black patrol the halls.

surveillance cameras blink red. Every room looks like it's been cleaned with surgical precision.

finally, we stop at a set of doors carved with the Alaric crest - an ouroboros wrapped around a dagger.

Claudia knocks once, opens the door, and gestures for me to enter.

"He's waiting."

Damien stands at the window, hands behind his back, dressed in a charcoal suit that makes him looks like sin itself.

He turns when I step in. His gaze drags over me, not lecherous, but observant. calculating.

"you clean up well," he says.

I give him a flat look. " Glad to meet your Standards, fiance"

The corner of his mouth twitches.

"Today's your first test," he says. "my sister, Emilia, is visiting. she's the only person I trust implicitly. you'll need to convince her this engagement is real."

"And if I don't ?"

"She'll know. And if she knows, she'll worry..And if she worries, she'll dig. And if she digs-"

"She'll find out your shiny new fiancee was kidnapped from a human auction?" I finish sweetly.

Damien smiles.

"I knew I liked you"

Emilia Alaric is nothing like her brother.

she bursta into the sunroom like a hurricane blonde, bright eyed, and a full of warmth that feels alien in this cold house. she looks no older than twenty but there's a sharpness behind her kindness. A blade hidden in velvet.

"Damien!" she cries, throwing her arms around him. " you never told me she was gorgeous."

before I can brace myself, she hugs me too.

"Serena, right? I'm so happy to meet you"

I blink. "I- thank you. me too"

we sit for tea, Damien watches me like a hawk while Emilia chatters about books and movies and how boring her boarding school is. she has a condition- I can tell from the way she fidget, the way Damien keeps glancing at her like she might break.

This isn't just a charade for business. He's doing this for her.

For family.

That. surprises me.

"So," Emilia says suddenly, eyes gleaming. " How did you two meet?"

Damien starts to speak, but I cut him off with a smile.

"A gallery," I say. " I was painting. He was pretending to be interested in art."

Damien raises a brow. I shoot him a look that says: Trust me.

"I saw him standing there, staring at one of my pieces, " I continue, " and I asked what it made him feel. He said", ' Like someone lit a fire in my chest and told me not to scream."

Emilia gasps. "That's so poetic!"

Damien lets out slow breath, like he's forcing himself not to smirk.

"And then?' Emilia asks.

"Then he offered to buy it," I say. " I said no. He offered again. I still said no. finally he ask me to dinner instead."

"Let me guess- you said no again?"

I grin. " of course."

Emilia claps her hands in delight. " I love this."

Her joy is infectious.

And for a moment, I almost forget I'm lying.

Later, after she gone, Damien corners me in the library.

"Not bad," he says. "you had her wrapped around your fingers."

"Years of practice," I say. "lying comes easy when you've had to do it to survive."

He studies me, and for once, I don't look away.

"What happened to you, Serena?"

I almost told him.

almost told him about the night my father came home bleeding, whispering about the Alarics and the price of Truth.

Almost told him how I changed my name and buried the girl I used to be.

instead, I smile.

"you wouldn't believe me."

A long pause.

then he steps closer. too close.

"I want to remember something," he says voice low. " you may be wearing my Ring, but you don't own Me. you're here because I allow it. Don't forget that."

I tilt my head, daring.

"And you don't own me either, Damien. I'm here because I choose to stay."

His eyes flash.

we stay at each other for a moment too long.

The air buzzes between us, charged and dangerous.

then he turns and walks away.

And I'm left standing there, heart pounding, wondering if I just survived round one.

or walked into something far more dangerous than I ever planned

maybe this was a bad idea.

But I couldn't run now, he would find me.

if not him the stupid people that took me in the first place.

I wondered if he didn't buy me that day, where would I have been?, which stupid man would have taken me to their home.

shaking my head, I walked straight to my room, can't wait for tomorrow