Chapter 5

Serena’s POV

I didn’t think when I yanked open the car door and threw myself inside. All I knew was survival. Escape. My voice cracked as I pleaded, “Please drive! Please help me!” My hands trembled, clutching my bag like my life depends on it. My mind is too lost to register who I was begging.

Then that voice - smooth, smug, and chillingly familiar - rang into my ears. 

“Why should I help you?”

My blood froze. 

Slowly, as if moving through circles, I turned my head.

The dim streetlight filtering through the window revealed his face - sharp jawline, piercing green eyes, and that infuriating smirk. Daniel. 

The bastard who’d stolen my first kiss not even an hour ago. 

My stomach churned, a sickening mix of dread and disbelief. I’d fled from Victor’s fire only to dive headfirst into Daniel’s inferno. 

“Why is the universe so cruel to me? I cried silently. 

“No,” I whispered, my voice barely audible, more to myself than him. My hand touched the door handle, survival instinct kicking in again. I had to get out. Now. 

I turned sharply to the door as my bag slipped from my shoulder, but I didn’t care. I just needed to run - anywhere but here.

Before I could make a run for it , a strong hand clamped around my wrist, yanking me back with a force that made my breath catch. 

I spun, as I crushed against Daniel’s chest, his grip unrelenting. His scent - expensive cologne and something dangerously masculine - invaded my senses, making my head spin. 

I hated how my body reacted as heat pooled low despite the panic clawing at my throat.

“Let me go!” I hissed, tugging against his hold, but his fingers tightened, unyielding.

“Calm down, sweetheart,” he said, his voice low and infuriatingly calm. “Those guys chasing after you - they don’t look like the friendly type. Care to explain why they’re after you?”

I glared at him, my chest heaving. His green eyes glinted with curiosity, but there was something darker there, something predatory. 

“It’s none of your damn business,” I snapped, my voice sharp enough for someone in trouble. I yanked my wrist free again, as he finally let go go. His grip was firm and tight, and I hated how small it made me feel.

I rubbed my wrist gently.

Daniel chuckled,making a low, mocking sound that sent a shiver down my spine. 

“Not my business? You just threw yourself into my car, begging for help. Seems like it’s very much my business now.” He tilted his head, his smirk widening. “What’s the deal? You owe them money or something?”

I froze, my jaw clenching. 

He is damn nosy, prodding at wounds he had no right to touch. Victor’s face flashed in my mind - his cold, calculating stare, the way his voice dripped with threats when he’d cornered me last week, demanding payment for my debts. 

My sister’s college bills, my mother’s medical bills -they’d buried me in a hole I couldn’t climb out of. But I’d be damned if I let this arrogant bastard know any of that.

I pressed my lips into a tight line, refusing to answer. 

My silence only seemed to amuse him further. His eyes roamed over me, lingering on my lips, my neck, the curve of my hips in the tight dress I wore for work. 

I wanted to scream, to slap that smug look off his face, but I couldn’t afford to lose control. Not now.

Then his expression shifted, a glint of something calculating sparking in his eyes. 

He then leaned closer, his voice dropping to a cheeky murmur that made my skin prickle. “You know, Serena, I could help you with those men. Make them disappear. For good.”

I blinked, my heart stuttering. 

For a moment, hope flickered - stupid, reckless hope.

“What?” I whispered, hating how my voice trembled, how part of me wanted to believe he could fix this nightmare.

His smirk softened into something almost charming, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m a man of power,” he said, his tone dripping with confidence. “I can settle whatever mess you’re in with those thugs. But…” He paused, his gaze locking onto mine, intense and piercing. “It comes with a price.”

My stomach twisted, suspicion coiling like a snake. 

“What kind of price?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, though I already knew I wouldn’t like the answer.

His smile widened, predatory and deliberate as he ran his eyes through my book.

“Be my mistress. For, let’s say, a year. You’ll live with me, cater to my needs, and in return, I’ll make sure those men never bother you again. You’ll be safe. Protected.”

The words hit me like a slap, igniting a storm of rage and humiliation. 

My mouth fell open, shock rendering me speechless for a moment. 

Mistress? Mistress?

He thinks he could buy me, like I was some cheap liability to be owned? 

My hands shook, as I boiled over, drowning out the fear, the exhaustion, everything.

“How dare you?” I spat, my voice rising, sharp and venomous. 

“You think I’m some kind of whore you can just… purchase? Fuck you, Daniel!” I yelled as my chest heaved with the force of my anger. “I’d rather die than let you touch me again!”

His eyes darkened, but that damn stupid smirk didn’t falter.

“Careful, sweetheart,” he said, his tone annoyingly calm.

“You’re running out of options. Those guys don’t look like they’re here to negotiate.”

I didn’t care. I didn’t care about Victor, or the danger, or the fact that I had nowhere to run. 

All I could see was red, my pride and dignity being disregarded than any fear. 

I spun toward the car door, my heels clicking furiously as I stepped out onto the pavement. 

The night air was cold, biting against my skin, but it felt like freedom compared to the suffocating weight of Daniel’s presence.

“Don’t walk away from me, Serena,” he called, his voice sharp now, laced with something that sounded almost like desperation.

I didn’t look back. My heart pounded, my legs unsteady, but I kept moving, one step, then another, the sound of my heels echoing in the empty street. 

Victor and his men were still out there, somewhere, but I’d rather face them than sell my soul to this devil.

“You’ll regret this,” Daniel’s voice rang out behind me, low and dangerous, sending a shiver down my spine as his car moved slowly behind me.

I stopped, just for a moment, my breath catching. 

Then I turned, my eyes blazing as I met his gaze one last time. “The only thing I regret,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm inside me, “is ever letting you near me.”