Chapter 3

Nyx's Pov

“Who… Who the hell are you?” Gary spat, trying to regain his composure, though the tremor in his voice betrayed him.

The man didn’t respond at first, simply raising an eyebrow as he reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a sleek handgun. Gary's courage faltered and was replaced by shock, sweat dripping down his forehead. He swallowed hard, his eyes darting between the stranger and the gun. The man finally spoke, his voice smooth as silk but laced with steel.

“You’ve taken something that doesn’t belong to you.” He said, his eyes narrowing as he took a step forward, “And I’m here to collect it.”

Gary’s eyes flicked to me, and he sneered, a desperate laugh bubbling up from his throat, “This girl? She’s mine. I bought and paid for her so she's mine!”

The stranger’s expression hardened, and without a form of hesitation, he aimed the gun at Gary’s leg and fired. The sound of the shot echoed through the air, and Gary screamed as he crumpled to the ground, clutching his bleeding leg.

“Ahhhh! You shot me! You fucking shot me!” Gary screamed shrilly.

The guards who had been watching the scene unfold finally snapped into action, drawing their weapons, but the man moved like lightning. In a blur, he disarmed one guard, sending him to the ground with a sharp kick, and turned to face the others, eyes burning with cold fury. They hesitated, glancing at each other before dropping their weapons and fleeing. But he didn't let them go far before shooting them all, watching with pure indifference as they fell to the ground.

He glanced back at me, staring at me for a while, not saying anything. So I spoke first.

“Who… Who are you? What do you want with me?” I questioned, waiting for an answer but before he said anything, my eyes strayed, observing him. And then I saw something.

A red glove in one hand, a handgun that had an insignia of a Serpent coiled around a sword, and ruby eyes. This man… He was…

“You're Alden Black Lombardi, the king of the Underworld. What… What do you want with me?”

“What do I want with you? It'll be more fun if you could answer that yourself.” Alden Black said, unsheathing his gun and walking towards me. My eyes widened as I scrambled back, but my back hit the car, stopping my movements. Alden leaned down, placing the gun at the nape of my neck.

“Get up.” He commanded coldly. I tried to stand up. I actually did, but my legs were so weak that I could barely move. He roughly pulled me up, setting me on my feet before dragging me to the car that he had brought. He pushed me inside, jamming the door shut. I sat in the back seat of Alden Black Lombardi’s black car, trembling, my heart pounding against my ribs. The air inside was thick with tension, and I could feel his presence even though he didn’t spare me a single glance after throwing me in.

He slid into the driver’s seat, his movements smooth. The interior was immaculate, the faint scent of leather mingling with the sharp tang of gunpowder. He adjusted his gloves, his red-tinted eyes catching mine in the rearview mirror for a brief second before he looked away.

“Why… Why did you save me?” My voice was barely above a whisper, shaking as much as my body.

Alden didn’t respond immediately. The engine roared to life, and the car sped off, the city lights flashing by in a blur. His silence was unnerving, each second stretching into an eternity.

“Saved you?” He said finally, his voice cold and clipped, “Don’t mistake my actions for charity.”

I swallowed hard, clutching my hands in my lap. His words sent a chill through me, and I realized that whatever motives he had, they were far from kind.

“Then… What do you want with me?” I asked, my voice cracking. He didn't answer me but instead, continued driving. I shut my mouth, pressing my lips tightly against each other, and an expression of anger crossed my face before I masked my expression into the pitiful one I had been wearing from the very beginning.

What? Did you really think that I was the pitiful one that I portrayed myself to be? Funny, I was never the pitiful one. Not ever since I ran away from that place.