LOGINAdrianaLiving with Lucien was like standing too close to a fire.You never quite burned.But the heat never stopped either.It had been weeks since the ball where we danced, weeks since that moment on the floor where the air between us had turned dangerous. Since then, nothing has happened.And yet… everything had changed.It was quite obvious at first but slowly, I started to notice it.Lucien was distant now. Carefully distant.He still trained me. Still took me to events. Still watched me like a hawk whenever we were in the same room.But emotionally?There was a wall.A thick one.And the frustrating part was that I knew it was deliberate.He wasn’t avoiding me completely. That would have been easier to understand.Instead, he stayed just close enough to make me notice every little thing.The way his hand would brush my back when guiding me through a doorway.The way he would stand slightly too close when explaining something.The way his eyes lingered just a second longer than n
LucienI should have pushed her off the moment she kissed me.That would have been the logical thing to do.The responsible thing.The only thing a man in my position should do when a drunk woman, one who lived under his protection, one whose future was tied to his decisions, one who wasn't supposed to be this close to him…climbed onto his lap and kissed him like she had nothing left to lose.Instead, I froze.What really surprised me was the fact that I didn't even want to move. This moment was like a dream come true…one of my many crazy dreams where she had haunted me nights after night.Adriana hovered above me on the bed, her dark hair falling loosely around her shoulders, the silk robe barely tied around her waist. Her breathing was uneven, her cheeks flushed from wine and emotion.And her lips were still dangerously close to mine.My hands remained around her wrists, though the grip had loosened.“Adriana,” I said slowly, half expecting her to jump in shock at what just happene
Lucien It's been almost a month since Adriana attended the ball… almost a month since I publicly paraded her in front of those power hungry wolves and every single time we get invited to a ball, I feel a mixture of pride and threat.She was getting used to this glamouous life of mine… getting used to being treated like she mattered and while that shouldn't make me proud, it did for some reason.In the past she usually cower with fear and turn pale instantly whenever she sees anyone who once had dealings with her father but now after the intense coaching from me, she was now an expert in reading faces, in being intimidating, just like I taught her.It was great…but to some extent it wasn't.She was no longer the meek little girl I'd brought in, the girl I fought to hide my attraction for.Her growth as a person made her so attractive and it was getting too hard to pretend that I didn’t notice.It wasn’t just the dresses.It wasn’t the way heads turned when she entered a room now, the
Adriana POVMorning in Lucien’s house has never once felt like morning.It felt like surveillance.The curtains were half-drawn when I opened my eyes, sunlight slipping in through the narrow gap like it had been rationed. For a second, I didn’t move. I just listened.Silence.Not peaceful silence. Controlled silence.It was the type of silence I was used to ever since I moved in here.I pushed myself up slowly, the events of last night replaying whether I wanted them to or not. The party. The stares. Vivianne’s calculating gaze. Lucien’s voice at my ear, calm and infuriating.You did well.As if I were a trained animal.I swung my legs off the bed and reached for the glass of water he’d left on the nightstand. It was still there.Of course it was.He noticed everything.I hated that part most.After dressing, I stepped into the hallway. The house staff moved quietly, efficiently, like shadows trained not to cast attention on themselves. I wondered how many of them had been here long
Lucien POVI had learned a long time ago that power wasn’t loud.It didn’t shout or demand attention. It waited. It observed. It let people reveal themselves before deciding how to break them.Tonight was a perfect example.As Adriana walked beside me through the crowd, heads turned, some in disbelief, others in calculation. I felt it immediately, the shift in the room. The same men who once laughed at her father now measured every word they spoke, every look they cast her way.Good.That was the point.Her arm was stiff against mine, her posture proud but forced, like a blade held too tightly in a trembling hand. She thought she was enduring this for her father alone. She didn’t realize she was already learning the rules of survival.I already told her this before that no woman…no person at all, affiliated with we would ever have to walk with their head bowed down in embarrassment.And she was doing better than expected.When Vivianne approached us, I felt the tension in Adriana’s bo
Adriana pov Parties weren't essentially my thing and since the last incident I had with Vivianne, I've gotten slightly scared of what to expect at parties like this but for some reason, I feel oddly at ease as the doors opened and Lucien and I walked in.Of course there were the usual curious glances... The whispers, the stares that screamed "Impossible!" But I had my chin high and my face staunt as I walked alongside Lucien.He turned his head to me and gave me a soft stare, a look that if I didn't know him too well, I would have assumed to be a look of love and care.But I knew what scheming bastard he was.He was putting up an act... Acting like we actually had something going just so that the gossip about me being his captive would die down.He was a good actor.. I'll give him that.A familiar looking middle aged man walked towards us, his stare strictly on Lucien and finally he paused."Mr Blackwell... Thank you for finally gracing my invitation."Lucien paused and smiled at him
Adriana As a child, I've always loved playing dress up. Dad would buy lots of beautiful dresses and have the maids dress me in all of them while I waltz around the house, showcasing how beautiful I looked in them and basking in the compliments I was being given.I imagined I would also end up dres
Lucien pov “What do you mean she's not around?” I asked frowning at her.She gulped slightly already sensing that I was pissed.“I.. I went into her bedroom but she's not there. I couldn't see her anywhere.”“That's not possible,” I cursed and then walked past her outside the study.Great. Just g
Lucien pov It wasn't until I finally left her room and closed my bedroom door behind me that I let out a huge sigh of relief.I almost lost it there. The sight of her beneath me, the way she squirmed underneath me, the way she moaned softly when I gently caressed her stomach.I almost lost my mind
Adriana pov I was wrong.Lucien was nothing but an egomaniac who takes delight in watching me build up my hopes that he's somewhat caring and then crashing it all down.Just when I was starting to think that he might actually be a good person, when I was starting to doubt my judgement of him, he o







