Chapter 1: Red suits and reckless lips

Ariana

The glass doors of L’Aurore closed shut behind me, and the humid Magma City air was replaced with the scent of expensive truffle oil and even more expensive desperation.

I froze. My heels dug into the plush carpet as I locked eyes with the table in the corner.

A sneer tugged at the corner of my mouth.

I should have known. When Lily, an "old friend" who hadn’t breathed a word to me in two years, suddenly begged to reconnect, I’d wanted to believe in a genuine olive branch.

But as I stared at the group gathered there, the truth felt like a slap. This wasn’t a reunion. It was an ambush.

And there, sitting right in the centre like a wilted daisy, was Selene Voss. My cousin.

The bitch who had crawled into my fiancé’s bed while I was busy working double shifts to build our future.

I took a breath, smoothing the front of my crimson suit. I’d come from a production meeting, and thank God I had. My hair was slicked back, my makeup was lethal, and I looked like I was ready to buy the building just to evict everyone in it.

I didn't wait for an invitation. I marched to the table, my shadow looming over their chaff appetizers.

“So, Lily,” I said, my voice as sharp as a blade. “Why did you want to see me?”

Lily’s face twisted, caught between a fake smile and a cringe. “Ariana, you just got here, but you’re acting like you’re meeting enemies.”

“Aren’t I?” I arched an eyebrow, my gaze sliding over the rest of the table. “You called me out here saying you wanted to reconnect. I’m exhausted, I’ve had a twelve-hour workday, but I stopped by to say hi. And this is the ‘reconnecting’ you had in mind? Inviting the woman who slept with my fiancé and a gallery of people who wouldn’t even help me if I were on fire?”

The restaurant was quiet enough that my words carried. I saw a man in a tailored suit at a nearby table pause, his wine glass halfway to his lips.

Good. Let them watch.

“I just thought, since it’s been so long-” Lily started, her face turning a blotchy red.

“You thought what? That I’d forgotten she’s a backstabber? Lily, you’ve been the admin of our university group chat since freshman year. You pinned the announcement of me cutting ties with her family for an entire week. Don’t play the saint when your soul is as black as that coffee you’re drinking.”

“Ariana, there’s no need to talk to Lily like that,” the snake suddenly spoke. She’d gone for a Korean-idol makeup look today; dewy skin and wide eyes, that made her look more like a porcelain doll than the predator she was. “She had good intentions.”

I turned my fire on her.

“Just shut it, Selene. People are trying to eat here, and I can practically see the flies gathering around you. Have some decency; don't ruin a good business with your presence.”

Selene flinched as if I’d struck her. I leaned in closer, the scent of her floral perfume making my stomach turn.

“I’m guessing you’re the one who convinced Lily to set this up? I don't know if you’re bold or if your brain melted during those four hours you stood in the sun, begging your affair partner’s girlfriend for your final project back. Either way, it’s pathetic.”

I could feel the heat of the room rising. I was shaking inside, my pulse thrumming in my fingertips, but I’d rather die than let them see a single tremor.

Suddenly, Selene’s expression shifted. Her "wailing without tears" act began. She was unbelievable!

“Your group of brain-dead peacocks isn’t complete,” I muttered, “until someone appears and tells me I need to move on.”

Right on cue, heavy footsteps thudded behind me. I didn’t even have to turn around to know it was Caleb Sterling. His scent of woodsmoke and arrogance hit me a second before his voice did.

“Ariana, stop!” Caleb declared, stepping into my vision with the confidence of a man who thought the world revolved around his ego. “You need to move on. I am marrying Selene!”

A beat of silence followed. Then, from the surrounding tables, a wave of muffled snickering broke out. Caleb looked around, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion. He didn’t realize how much he sounded like a cliché in a bad soap opera.

“Look,” I said, gesturing to him without even looking his way. “The cast is complete. The vulture has arrived.”

“Ariana, please,” Selene sobbed, her voice a fragile whisper. “Lily only wanted to mend the misunderstanding. We’re getting married soon, and it would be good if you were there. We’re still family.”

Family? Oh, she had guts!

“I’m not family with you,” I snapped. I turned to Caleb, my eyes cold. “And you. Before you start talking about morality, look in a mirror so you don’t accidentally disgust the rest of the world.”

“I didn't know your mother was sick,” Caleb said, his voice dropping into a tone of fake regret that made me want to gag.

“Take your hands off me,” I said as he reached for my arm. I tore myself away, the touch feeling like a burn. “Don’t dirty my clothes. I still have to meet my boyfriend tonight.”

Caleb’s face darkened. “You’re dating?”

He asked as if he were all of his concern.

“If even flies can find what they’re looking for in this city, you think I can’t find a man?” I snorted.

I turned and walked away, my head held high, but my legs felt like jelly. I could hear them following me out, their voices rising in the foyer.

I needed an out. I needed a shield.

The night air hit me, sharp and cold, as I stepped onto the sidewalk. A sleek, obsidian-black car had just pulled up to the curb.

A man stood there—tall, imposing, dressed in a suit that cost more than my entire apartment. He radiated a kind of power that made the air feel heavy.

I didn't think. I couldn't afford to.

I marched right up to him, hooked my arm around his neck, and stared into eyes that were darker than the midnight sky.

“Handsome,” I whispered, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs. “Lend me your lips for a moment.”

Before he could pull away, before he could even speak, I crashed my lips against his.

I expected him to push me off. I expected a cold rejection. Instead, the moment our skin touched, a literal shock of electricity jolted through my body.

My toes curled in my heels. He tasted like expensive bourbon and something wilder—something predatory!

I was lost in the heat of a stranger who felt like a storm waiting to break.