Chapter 5

The mansion was glowing, draped in curtains of fairy lights and guarded by a line of black luxury sedans. This wasn't just a birthday party it was a summit of the country’s most powerful families.

I stepped out of the car, smoothing down the dress I had chosen. It was elegant and modest—exactly what Zake had demanded—but the deep emerald silk still hugged my curves in a way that made me feel exposed in a different way.

Zake was waiting for me at the bottom of the grand staircase.

He looked devastating in a tailored black tuxedo, his hair swept back perfectly.

When he saw me, his eyes darkened, tracking me from head to toe.

For a second, his cold mask slipped, replaced by something intense and hungry.

“You’re late,” he said, though his voice lacked its usual bite.

He stepped closer, his hand finding the small of my back.

The heat of his palm through the silk made my breath hitch.

“Stay close to me tonight. The people here... they’re vultures.”

As we entered, the chatter died down. Heads turned, and whispers followed us like a wake.

“Zake! You finally arrived,” a booming voice echoed. A distinguished man with silver hair and the same piercing eyes as Zake approached us.

This was the patriarch, Lorenzo Craige.

“Happy Birthday, Grandpa,” Zake said, his posture stiffening.

Lorenzo’s gaze shifted to me, sharp and calculating.

“And who is this lovely creature? You usually bring those runway models who have nothing behind their eyes. This one... she has fire.”

“This is Adeline, my assistant,” Zake said shortly. His grip on my waist tightened, pulling me an inch closer.

“Just an assistant?be careful Dear don't let this man fool you, he's getting married soon with one of Villareal sole heiress, Olivia ” Lorenzo chuckled, taking my hand and kissing the back of it.

“Well, Adeline, be careful. My grandson is a difficult man to please.”

“I’ve noticed, sir,” I replied with a small, polite smile.

Zake let out a frustrated huff.

“We’re going to get a drink.”

We moved toward the bar, but we were intercepted by a tall woman in a sparkling red gown. She looked like she stepped off a magazine cover.

“Zake, darling!” she chirped, ignoring me entirely.

“Your grandfather mentioned you’d be here. We haven't finished our discussion about the merger or our dinner plans.”

“Not tonight, Olivia” Zake said coldly.

Olivia finally looked at me, her eyes raking over my dress with a sneer.

“Oh, I didn't realize you were bringing the staff to a black-tie event. How... charitable of you.”

I felt a flush of embarrassment creep up my neck, but before I could speak, Zake stepped in front of me, shielding me from her gaze.

“She’s not just ‘staff, Olivia. She’s the only person in this room I actually want to talk to,” Zake snapped.

“Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

He led me toward a quiet balcony, away from the prying eyes and the suffocating scent of expensive perfume. The night air was cool, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I whispered.

Zake turned to me, the moonlight catching the sharp angles of his face. He leaned in, trapping me between his arms against the balcony railing.

“I told you before, Addie,” he murmured, his voice dropping to a gravelly low.

“I’m the only one allowed to look at you. And I’m certainly the only one allowed to talk down to you.”

The air between us felt electric, thick with a tension that had nothing to do with business. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me until a voice from the shadows interrupted.

“Am I interrupting something?”

It was Olivia. He was standing by the glass doors, looking sharp in a red dress. But her eyes were fixed on Zake’s hand on my waist.

“Zake, your grandfather is looking for you,” She said

Zake gave my hand one last possessive squeeze before heading back downstairs to entertain the high-profile guests, leaving me alone for a moment. Or so I thought.

“So, Addie... you’re really trying to hook up with my fiancé?”

I turned to see Olivia. Her voice was like a sharpened

blade, cold and cutting.

I didn't flinch. “I’m not ‘hooking up’ with anyone, Olivia. Why are you so insecure?”

“I know exactly what you’re doing,” she hissed,

stepping into my personal space and pointing a manicured finger at my chest.

“You’re trying to steal him. But remember that no one takes what’s already mine.”

I didn't bother replying. I needed to play it safe for now—staying innocent on the outside while my inner demon sat back and laughed. I turned my back on her and began walking downstairs, but Olivia wasn't finished. She chased after me, her heels clicking loudly on the marble, and grabbed my arm with a painful grip.

“How dare you walk away while I’m speaking to you!” she shrieked.

I stopped

The innocent assistant act vanished in a heartbeat.

I slowly turned my head, my eyes locking onto hers with a coldness that made her blink.

“And who the hell do you think you are?” I asked, my voice dangerously low.

“You think you can control me?”

I noticed Olivia standing right at the edge of the staircase.

One more step back, and she would go over.

As she gripped my arm, a sharp flashback hit me—five years ago, she had done the exact same thing.

She had grabbed me and shoved herself backward just to pin the blame on me. Back then, my father had believed her lies. He beat me and locked me in the basement to sleep on the cold floor.

But I wasn't that helpless girl anymore.

I wasn't going to let her play me twice.

In a split-second blur of motion, I spun my body, maneuvering us until I was the one standing in her place.

I gripped her arms tightly, and before she could realize what was happening, I threw myself backward with enough force to send me tumbling down the stairs.

I let out a sharp, terrified cry that echoed through the ballroom.

I felt the impact of the steps, but I made sure everyone saw it.

I landed at the bottom, gasping for air, looking every bit the victim. The music stopped instantly.

A hundred pairs of eyes looked up to see Olivia standing at the top, her hands still outstretched, looking like she had just committed a crime.

The blame was pinned on her before I even hit the floor.

The silence in the ballroom was deafening, broken only by the sound of my ragged breathing as I lay at the bottom of the stairs.

I made sure to look small, trembling as I clutched my side.

"Addie!" Zake’s voice roared through the hall.

He shoved past the guests, his face a mask of pure terror and fury.

At the top of the stairs, Olivia’s face went pale.

She looked at her trembling hands, then at the sea of judging eyes fixed on her.

"I... I didn't! She did it on purpose!" she shrieked, her voice cracking with desperation.

"She pulled me! She threw herself down! Can't you see she's acting?!"

Zake didn't even look up at her.

He was already on his knees beside me, his hands hovering over me as if he were afraid I’d break.

"Don't move," he whispered, his voice shaking.

"I’ve got you."

"Zake, listen to me!" Olivia stepped toward the edge, gesturing wildly.

"She’s a demon! She calculated this! She’s trying to ruin me just like—"

"Enough!" The command came from Lorenzo Craige.

The old man stepped forward, his cane thumping heavily against the floor. He looked up at Olivia with utter disgust.

"We all saw you grabbing her, Olivia. We saw you screaming in her face. Do you take us for fools?"

"But Grandpa, she—"

"Get out," Zake interrupted, his voice deathly quiet. He finally looked up at Olivia, and the sheer hatred in his eyes made her flinch.

"If you ever come near her again, I won't just break the engagement. I’ll destroy everything your family has built. Get her out of my sight!"

Security moved in immediately, flanking a sobbing, hysterical Olivia as they dragged her toward the exit.

She kept screaming that I was a liar, but her words were drowned out by the whispers of the guests calling her UNSTABLE and VICIOUS.

As Zake lifted me into his arms, his heart was drumming wildly against my ear.

I buried my face in his chest, hiding the small, cold smile that touched my lips.

The basement felt like a very long time ago.

(ZAKE POV THE BREAKING POINT)

My blood was already simmering from the encounter with that security brat, Xander.

I had only left Addie’s side for ten minutes to deal with my grandfather’s business associates, but my eyes never stopped scanning the room for that emerald dress.

When I finally spotted her, she was near the grand staircase and Olivia was looming over her like a vulture.

I began making my way toward them, my jaw tight.

I knew Olivia was desperate, but I didn't think she was stupid enough to cause a scene in my grandfather’s house.

I was halfway across the ballroom when I heard a sharp, terrified cry that sliced through the music.

Time seemed to slow down.

I watched in horror as Addie’s body hit the marble steps, tumbling down until she lay crumpled at the bottom.

"Addie!"

The roar that left my throat didn't even sound like me.

It was primal.

I shoved through the crowd, nearly knocking over a waiter, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped animal.

Seeing her lying there so small, so fragile sent a wave of cold terror through my veins that I had never felt before.

I dropped to my knees beside her, my hands shaking. I’m Zake Craige I don't shake.

But as I looked at her pale face and the way she clutched her side, I felt like the world was collapsing.

"Don't move," I whispered, my voice thick with an emotion I couldn't name.

"I’ve got you. I'm right here."

"I... I didn't! She did it on purpose!"

Olivia’s shrill, pathetic voice drifted down from the top of the stairs. I didn't even have to look at her to feel the murderous rage boiling up inside me.

She was standing there, pointing fingers, trying to claim that Addie—my Addie—had thrown herself down a flight of stone stairs just for a stunt?

"Enough!" My grandfather’s voice boomed, but I barely heard him.

"Zake, listen to me! She’s a demon! She calculated this!"

Olivia kept screaming, her voice grating on my nerves like sandpaper.

I finally looked up. If looks could kill, Olivia would have dropped dead on the spot.

"Enough," I said, my voice dropping to a deathly, quiet hiss.

"If you ever come near her again, I won't just break the engagement. I’ll destroy everything your family has built. Get her out of my sight!"

I watched the security guards drag her away, her pathetic cries fading into the distance. She was nothing. A ghost. My focus snapped back to the woman in my arms.

I carefully tucked one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, lifting her against my chest.

She felt so light—too light.

She buried her face into my tuxedo, trembling, and a protective instinct I couldn't control flared up.

I didn't care about the guests, the party, or the

scandal.

I turned my back on the entire ballroom and carried her toward the private elevators.

"Call my personal doctor," I barked at my assistant as I passed.

"Now!"

I wasn't letting her out of my sight again. Not for a second.