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50 Cryptic 3
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2025-05-11 00:03:22
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Fated In Darkness 50 Cryptic 3
Natalie Adrian led me to the dance floor and pulled me close, one hand at my back, the other gently holding mine. The music was soft, slow, haunting. A rhythm for secrets and silent wars. He leaned in, his breath brushing the shell of my ear. “Why did you come here?” he asked, voice low, careful—like he already suspected the answer. His closeness made my spine shiver, but I didn’t look away. I told him the truth. “My uncle has arranged a husband for me,” I said quietly. “And I suppose he brought me here to introduce me to the lucky winner.” Adrian’s hold didn’t tighten, but I felt the stillness in his body. The quiet rage he kept just beneath the surface. “Your uncle?” he repeated, pulling back just enough to meet my eyes. “Not your father?” The music faded beneath the pounding of my heart. “My father is dead,” I said, voice small but steady. For the first time, Adrian’s expression cracked—just a little. Something flickered across his face. Not pity. Not grief. Recognition
Fated In Darkness 49 Cryptic 2
Natalie“You’re ready to settle down?” Lancly asked, his tone laced with disbelief and amusement, like the very idea was some kind of inside joke.Dimitri didn’t blink. “Why shouldn’t I be?” he said, voice smooth, deliberate. “Especially when presented with such beauty.”His eyes stayed locked on me. Possessive. Calculating.I glanced quickly at Uncle Mike, searching his face for something—denial, resistance, anything. But he wouldn’t even look at me.Was this it?Was this the man he intended to trade me to?The infamous “circle” my family supposedly moved in. The one I was never meant to question. I always assumed it meant political leverage or academic prestige.Not aristocrats with teeth in their smiles and old blood in their veins.We weren’t like them. We never had been.I opened my mouth to speak. “I’m already—”Uncle Mike’s hand gripped my wrist under the table, sharp and sudden.“Your mother would want you to behave,” he said quietly, with venom in every word.My stomach twist
Fated In Darkness 48 Cryptic
NatalieA bit of entertainment followed—something theatrical and over-rehearsed, probably meant to distract us from the pressure building in the room. But no one was really watching.The real performance was happening offstage.I saw some of the newcomers begin to gravitate toward the VVIP tables. Most of them approached Adrian or Alpha Cain—drawn in by power cloaked in charm. Adrian, especially, seemed to hold a magnetic pull over them. They smiled too wide, laughed too hard, like they were trying to impress a king rather than introduce themselves.Few dared approach Dimitri.And honestly, I didn’t blame them.His beauty was carved in ice—unapologetic, cold, and unreadable. Everything about him said do not touch.As the performance ended, the hall loosened up. People drifted from their seats, mingling, talking in hushed tones that didn’t match the clink of glasses and low music. It felt like the part in the movie where something is about to go very, very wrong—but no one realizes it
Fated In Darkness 47 The Ball 4
Natalie “Lord Dimitri Orlov, Lady Martina Nikolson, Sir Lancly Warlock.” The announcement rang out like the toll of a bell, deep and ceremonial. My stomach tightened instinctively. And there he was. Dimitri Orlov. The same hauntingly elegant figure who had glided through the Cainebrielle Ball like some ancient noble stepped out of a painting. Flanking him were two others—a woman with icy composure and a man with a smirk that didn’t quite reach his eyes. All three of them were beautiful. But not in a comforting way. They had the kind of beauty that made people uneasy. Pale, ethereal, almost fragile-looking, like they’d been carved from marble and never intended to bleed. Their skin was so pasty it bordered on unnatural—like sunlight hadn’t touched them in years. It made you wonder: Where do they live? How do they live? Caves? Castles wrapped in shadow? Subterranean estates? If I were close to them—which I wasn’t—I’d tell them to book a vacation somewhere tropical. Let the sun
Fated In Darkness 46 The Ball 3
NatalieUncle Mike and Mr. Graham returned not long after, along with the rest of the family heads who had vanished into that shadowy meeting.Whatever had been discussed behind those doors had left no visible trace on their faces, but the air felt heavier, more strained. Like something had been set in motion and no one wanted to admit it.Since Lisa and I were already seated, her father and my uncle settled at the same table, ending our conversation without so much as a glance. Their presence shifted the mood instantly—quiet tension replacing the fragile safety we’d carved out.Then a voice rang out, crisp and commanding, calling the room to attention.All eyes turned toward the front as a curtain began to rise.I hadn’t even realized the hall was partitioned. But now, as the heavy fabric lifted, it revealed what had been hidden in plain sight—a separate section, elevated and almost shrine-like.Three sleek tables stood in a wide arc, each with three chairs. Nine in total.Nine seats
Fated In Darkness 45 The Ball 2
Natalie“Be on your best behavior,” Uncle Mike said under his breath, releasing my arm like I was a marionette he no longer needed to control.Without another word, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd with the ease of someone who belonged here—who thrived in these quiet, manipulative circles.I stayed where I was, watching the people who lingered in the hall. They weren’t students. Their eyes were too calculating, their smiles too strategic. Prospective families, maybe.Scoping out Cainebrielle, weighing its prestige against their ambition. This—this glittering room full of artifice and half-truths—was where futures were brokered.I couldn’t help but wonder if Uncle Mike had once stood in a place like this for me. Had he shaken hands with the right devils? Made promises I didn’t know I’d be paying for?But it wasn’t Mr. Graham’s bitterness that haunted me—it was that one sentence. “Wished my great-grandfather…” Then silence. Cut off deliberately. Regret tangled in hi
Fated In Darkness 44 The Ball
Natalie“Behave,” Uncle Mike muttered the moment we stepped into the grand hall, his voice low but sharp enough to slice through my nerves. I straightened beside him, forcing a polite smile that barely masked the storm twisting inside me.If only they knew.If only they could see how every polished tile, every glittering chandelier made me want to disappear.The hall was extravagant—an architectural performance meant to impress—but it only made me feel trapped. I didn’t want to be here. Not in this sea of suits, strained smiles, and unspoken judgments. I wanted to be anywhere else—preferably with Adrian, already planning an escape into tomorrow.First-year students were scattered everywhere, each tethered to a parent or relative like reluctant satellites. It was strange. Like we were all being paraded, dressed up dreams standing beside the people who were betting on us.I caught sight of Lisa. She stood near a tall man whose features mirrored hers—had to be her father. There was somet
Fated In Darkness 43 Getting Ready
Natalie I didn’t need to stop by my apartment—everything was already in place. My weekend bag was packed. I'd arranged everything with the quiet hope that Adrian would pick me up from my mother’s house tomorrow, just like he’d promised. When I got home, the sky was already beginning to shift into dusk. Two hours left before the ball. My mother greeted me with her usual calm, and without needing to ask, she helped me get ready—fixing my hair, touching up my makeup. I hadn’t planned to make a statement tonight, but with the chance Adrian might be there, I couldn’t help myself. Even if I wouldn’t say it out loud—I wanted to look good. Not just because of him, but maybe… because of what he made me feel. My gown was cream, soft as breath and stitched with tiny pearls that caught the light when I moved. It flowed around me, elegant and silent, with a slit running high up my right thigh—subtle, but bold. It showed more skin than a short dress ever could, and I wasn’t used to that. My ha
Fated In Darkness 42 It’s Thursday
Natalie “Friday after lectures,” I said, my voice softer than I intended. “No interruptions,” he promised. I sighed and then hung up. He’d called me twice since the last time we saw each other, and on both calls, I ended things quickly. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe I just didn’t want the conversations to feel finished. Hanging up meant there was still something lingering. It felt better that way—like we weren’t done. “Was that Adrian?” Lisa asked, dropping down beside me on the bench. We were at the campus park, under one of those old trees that always dropped leaves no matter the season. I smiled in her direction but didn’t say anything right away. “So, it’s official?” she pressed, eyes watching me closely. I hesitated. He had said things that day at his getaway home—things that hinted at something real. But I couldn’t tell if it had just been the heat of the moment, or if he’d truly meant it. And then there was the issue with my uncle, always looming in the background like a shad
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