Chapter 6: Nothing about this Night would be ordinary again.

Mira sat alone in the velvet booth, her fingers curled tightly around the edge of the table.

The music pulsed softly through the bar, but it couldn’t quiet the noise in her chest. Laughter rose and fell around her—easy, careless laughter from people who belonged here. People who wore confidence like perfume.

She didn’t. She shifted uncomfortably, smoothing the blue dress Tina had forced her into. It felt strange on her body, like it belonged to someone braver. Someone bolder.

Tina her stepsister has just left her to be with her friends.

Her eyes lifted without permission trying to find her sister when she came across, And then she saw him.

Derick Lingard.

De.King.

He sat in the VIP section like the world had been built around him one arm resting lazily on the leather chair, a glass of whiskey in his hand, smoke curling slowly from between his fingers.

The lights above caught the sharp line of his jaw, the cold blue of his eyes.

He wasn’t smiling.

Yet the space around him felt charged, dangerous. People leaned toward him instinctively, like moths drawn to heat.

Mira’s breath caught.

This wasn’t the man from posters or screens. This wasn’t the voice that poured through her headphones at night when the house was quiet and her heart felt too heavy.

This was real.

Her heart slammed violently against her ribs. She looked away at once, panic rising.

What was she doing?

Staring like some foolish fan?

She lowered her gaze, staring at the table, willing her pulse to slow.

Across the room, Derick felt it.

That pull.

He frowned slightly, eyes lifting from his glass, scanning the crowd out of habit—until they landed on her.

She wasn’t loud.

She wasn’t shining for attention.

She wasn’t trying.

She sat stiffly at the edge of the booth, hands folded in her lap, eyes wide with a mix of fear and wonder she clearly hadn’t meant to show.

And then she looked at him.

Just for a second.

But it was enough.

There was no hunger in her eyes. No practiced desire. Just shock. Awe. And something softer… something real.

Derick’s fingers tightened around his glass.

Interesting, he murmurs.

Lisa leaned closer to him, her hand slipping onto his arm. “You’ve been quiet,” she purred. “Thinking about me?”

He didn’t answer.

His eyes followed Mira as she stood abruptly, clearly uncomfortable, clearly trying to escape. She turned, weaving through the crowd with small, hurried steps.

Running.

Derick stood.

The movement alone caused a shift in the room. Conversations dipped. Eyes followed him.

“Derick?” Lisa said sharply.

“Where are you going?”

He didn’t look back.

Mira pushed through the crowd, her heart racing, heat flushing her face. This was a mistake. She shouldn’t have come. She didn’t belong here—she never had.

She reached the hallway leading to the restrooms and slowed, pressing a hand to her chest, breathing hard.

“Hey.”

The voice came from behind her.

Low. Calm. Dangerous.

She froze.

Slowly, Mira turned.

He stood a few steps away, tall, composed, impossibly handsome in a way that made her chest ache. His gaze rested on her not sharp, not cruel. Curious.

“I— I’m sorry,” she blurted, immediately embarrassed.

“I didn’t mean to stare.”

Derick studied her for a long moment.

Most women tried too hard. Tried to impress. Tried to seduce.

She looked like she wanted to disappear.

“It’s fine,” he said finally. “Most people do.”

Her lips parted slightly, then closed. She nodded once, awkwardly. “I should… go.”

She stepped around him.

He didn’t stop her.

But as she passed, he spoke again. “What’s your name?”

Her steps slowed.

For one reckless second, she considered lying. Giving him a fake name. Protecting herself from a world that would crush her without noticing.

“Mira,” she said softly.

“Mira,” he repeated, tasting it.

She met his eyes just briefly and something passed between them. Something unspoken. Heavy.

Then she walked away.

Derick watched her disappear into the crowd, his expression unreadable.

Lisa stormed toward him moments later.

“What was that?” she hissed. “You just left me standing there like a fool!”

He turned to her slowly, his gaze cold.

“You are not on my list, Lisa.”

Her face drained of color.

“I— what?”

“I don’t owe you any explanations,” he said flatly. “Don’t embarrass yourself by pretending otherwise.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but the look in his eyes stopped her cold.

Derick walked away.

Across the bar, Mira slipped back into her seat just as Tina returned, breathless and smiling.

“Did you see him?” Tina whispered excitedly.

“De.King is here.”

Mira nodded faintly, her heart still pounding.

“Yes,” she said.

She didn’t say anything else.

Because some moments were too dangerous to speak aloud.

And somewhere in the Cluster Hotel, Derick Lingard already knew,

nothing about this night would be ordinary again.