Chapter 3

Lucy POV

The moment he says that, my blood runs cold.

He recognized me. Since when? From the second I walked through that door, or did he already know I’d be here tonight?

My mind races through every second since I stepped into this room, searching for the moment I gave myself away, and I find nothing. Shame floods through me first, hot and suffocating, then terror comes right behind it.

He raises his hand and swipes the mask off my face in one quick motion. The edge of it drags across my cheek as it falls free, a thin line of burning pain blooming under my skin.

“Adrain…” I start to say his name, the one I haven’t let myself say out loud in five years, but he grabs my chin before I can finish it, his fingers hard against my jaw, forcing my face up to his. There’s nothing soft in the way he holds me.

“Don’t say my name.” His cold voice is low and filled with something I can’t name, rage maybe, or grief wearing rage as a disguise. His eyes search my face like he’s daring himself to be wrong about who I am.

“How can someone who died, falling off a cliff five years ago still say my name?”

The pressure on my jaw tightens as pain shoots down into my throat.

“P… please,” I manage, barely more than a whisper. “I can’t… can’t bre… athe.”

He lets go all at once, no gentleness in the release either as I crumple to the floor at his feet, gasping, one hand braced against the carpet to keep from collapsing completely, the other hand on the spot he held. It hurts.

My whole jaw throbs. I stay there for a second, my chest heaving in pain. I look up at him from the floor, searching his face the way I used to when we were younger, hoping for even one small point of light, but there is nothing there.

Whatever is left of him has been replaced by something carved out of coldness, something that looks at me now the way you’d look at an enemy.

My wolf whimpers low inside me, confused, aching, still recognizing him and pushing the bond even as every instinct screams that he isn’t safe anymore for us.

“Maybe the moon goddess wanted tonight to happen,” he says coldly.

I push myself up slowly on shaky arms, refusing to remain sprawled at his feet like some defeated creature.

My legs feel weak, but I force myself to stand, meeting his gaze even though every part of me wants to look away.

The air between us feels suffocating, filled with years of unspoken pain and betrayal. I can see the hardness in his eyes, the way they bore into me as if trying to peel back every layer I’ve built to survive without him.

“You think the moon goddess orchestrated this?” I say, my voice gaining a little strength despite the tremor. “This isn’t fate, Adrain. This is just… this is just a cruel coincidence.”

He steps closer, his presence overwhelming.

His shoulders are tense, and I can almost feel the storm brewing beneath his controlled exterior.

“A cruel coincidence? You vanished, Lucy. You made sure everyone believed you were dead. I mourned you. I tore myself apart searching for answers, for any sign that you might still be out there. And now here you are, hiding behind a mask in a place like this. Tell me, does it feel good to know you fooled everyone? Does it feel good to know you left me broken while you built whatever pathetic life this is?”

His words hit so hard, digging into my old wounds. The bond tugs at me, reminding me of what we once were, but I push it aside.

“I didn’t fool everyone for fun. I did what I had to do. You don’t understand the pressure I was under back then. Leaving was my only option if I wanted to survive.”

Adrian’s laugh is harsh, devoid of any real humor. He circles me slowly, and then stands in front of me.

“Survive? Is that what you call this? Selling yourself night after night? I can smell the desperation on you. You left me thinking you were gone forever, and for what? So you could be a whore? If you truly believed leaving was right, why do I see the doubt in your eyes now? Deep down, you know you destroyed us both with that choice.”

The accusation lands heavily, twisting something inside my chest.

His words paint me as someone haunted by regret, someone who has been second-guessing every decision since that fateful night it all happened.

Something unreadable flickers across Adrian’s face before his lips slowly curve into a mocking smile.

“I’ll give you one chance, Lucy.” His voice is calm, almost gentle, but I know better than to mistake it for kindness.

“If you beg me nicely…” He takes another step closer, his towering body casting an intimidating shadow over me. “If you admit that leaving me was the biggest mistake of your life and tell me how much you regret it… I might consider saving you from this pathetic little hole you’ve buried yourself in.”

His gaze drifts over my stripper uniform, lingering just long enough for the insult to sink in.

“I could take you out of this place today.” His smile widens with cruel satisfaction. “You know I can. All you have to do is swallow your pride, get on your knees, and ask.”

His words twist something inside my chest. Not because I want to accept, but because the thought disgusts me.

It pushes me, forces the defense out before I can stop it. “I don’t regret what I did five years ago, Adrain. Leaving you… it was the most correct choice I’ve ever made.”

Something dark flashes across his face. For a moment he just stares at me, then his lips curl into a cruel smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Then if you feel so good about your choice,” he says, voice low and dangerous, “do what you should do as a whore.” His words came out cold.

He reaches down and unzips his pants, pulling out his thick, huge cock. It’s already hard, the same impressive size I had felt earlier through his underwear, veins standing out along the shaft, the head flushed pink.

He strokes himself once, shutting his eyes in pleasure as I watch his reaction with those cold aura.