008

Jasmine's Pov

I pushed open the boardroom doors and nearly collided with Derek. Of course he was standing there, leaning casually against the wall like he was posing for a luxury cologne ad. Handsome and impeccable as always, he looked nothing short of a model straight out of a magazine. Tall, sharp-jawed and annoyingly perfect.

But I still rolled my eyes at him. Hard.

“Took you long enough,” I huffed, brushing past him. “So much for a short call.”

He pushed himself off of the wall, guilt flickering across his stupidly handsome face. “I'm sorry, sis. Really. Something important came up.”

“Oh?” I shot back. “More important than your sister who just returned to save the kingdom after two years?”

“That's not fair,” he protested softly. “It wasn't more important than you… it was my girlfriend.”

I didn't make it three steps before my curiosity yanked me right back around.

“Hold on.” I folded my arms. “Girlfriend? Since when?”

Derek winced… winced like a man caught in a lie he never intended to confess.

“Uh… a while now.”

“A while?!” I repeated, one brow lifting. “Define a while, Derek. Because last I checked, you were allergic to commitment and emotionally unavailable by choice.”

He sighed, running a hand over his perfectly styled hair. “It's not like that.”

“Oh, so now you magically like relationships?” I pressed, stepping closer. “Tell me her name.”

Derek hesitated.

I narrowed my eyes dangerously. “Derek. Her. Name.”

“Sophia,” he muttered.

“Sophia… And you didn't think to tell your sister, your only family that you're dating someone named Sophia?”

“It wasn't like that,” he said defensively. “She… handled a lot while you were gone. And we kind of grew close.”

“Close enough to ditch me today,” I shot back.

He closed his eyes briefly. “Jasmine—”

“Don't ‘Jasmine’ me. Even while I was gone, I seldom saw you and you didn't even mention it to me? How long exactly is ‘a while’?”

“Eight months,” he admitted.

I stared at him like he had just confessed he was secretly married with triplets.

“Eight. Months.” My voice dropped dangerously soft. “Derek, I swear to God, if this girl ends up being bad news—”

“She isn't. She's a very nice girl,” he cut in gently. “She's good for me.”

I gave him one more look, longer this time, searching his face and weighing every unspoken thing between us, something that squeezed uncomfortably in my chest.

I didn't want him hurt.

Not like me.

Not like what Enoch had done.

People always assumed predators wore suits and broad shoulders.

But now I know better.

Because sometimes, they wore soft voices and pretty smiles.

With delicate hands that his knives behind their backs.

I swallowed, my throat tight.

The world could chew a person up, twist them, ruin them, no matter their gender.

In this moment, an overwhelming sense of protectiveness engulfed my very being. If someone thought they could use him, break him, and hollow him out the way Enoch did to me…

They were going to learn exactly what Enoch would learn soon.

“Just…” my voice softened despite myself, “be careful, Derek.”

He blinked, surprised by the raw emotions that slipped through my tone.

“I mean it,” I added, quieter now. “People can be poisonous. Even the ones who look harmless at first.”

Derek's arms suddenly enveloped me in a tight, grounding hug. “I’m sorry I didn't tell you. I should have said something earlier. I didn't mean to worry you, Jas,” he murmured against my hair.

For a moment, I just stood there, stiff and guarded, then slowly let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding.

When he finally pulled back, he cleared his throat and forced a bright grin. “Alright, alright. Enough doom and gloom. You look like you need a distraction.”

I raised a brow. “Derek…”

“Nope. Don't fight me in this. We're going out tonight. A club, and before you chew me out, it's a decent one. Loud music and overpriced cocktails, and absolutely zero thought about Enoch or betrayal or board meetings. My treat.”

I opened my mouth to protest, because I should. Piles of documents awaited my signature and my empire needed some fixings, but the exhaustion in my bones and the heaviness in my chest made the word die halfway.

“...Fine,” I breathed. “But if the DJ is terrible, I'm blaming you.”

Derek beamed like he'd just won a war. “Deal!”

******

Two mighty looking men opened the heavy double doors, and a rush of sound and light spilled out like a wave.

My eyes scanned the inside and I must confess, the club was one of a kind. This one wasn't just expensive, no, this place wore it's wealth like a second skin.

Gold trimmed pillars framed the entrance. The marble floors were glossy enough to reflect the kaleidoscope of neon lights that pulsed overhead.

I scanned the top. A chandelier—because of course there was a chandelier—hung above the dance floor, its crystal shards catching the lights and scattering them in glittering shards across the room.

Music thrummed through the air, deep bass vibrating straight into my bones. The scent of expensive cologne, aged whiskey, and something sweet lingered like a signature exclusive to people who never checked price tags.

By the walls, vip booths lined up, each sectioned by thick velvet curtains. Each of them were guarded by bouncers who looked carved from stone. Inside them lounged men in designer suits, women dripping diamonds, all sipping drinks so rare the bottles probably had their own security.

Bodies swayed on the dance floor as if trying to forget their problems just like I'd come here to.

Derek leaned in with a grin and yelled over the loud music. “Welcome to ECLIPSE. Only the rich, the powerful, and the stupidly bored come here.”

I lifted a brow, a smirk curving on my lips. I'm rich, powerful, except I wasn't bored.

“I've reserved a booth for us. Come on, let's go.”

I shook my head, my eyes scanning the room. “I want to stay… there,” I said, pointing close to the long bar, already walking ahead.

Derek shrugged. “Whatever you say, boss.”

“I'll have a lychee martini,” I ordered, sliding into the velvet backed stool. “Make it clean. Not too sweet.”

The tender winked at me. “On it, beautiful.”

Swiftly, he was through, pushing the drink towards me. I wrapped my fingers around it, letting the cold push back the heat in my chest.

Derek was served too and raising his up, he clinked his glass lightly against mine. “cheers to new beginnings.”

The martini touched my lips. It was fragrantly smooth, just strong enough to dull the ache without stealing my clarity.

Exactly what I needed.

But I haven't taken up to two sips when someone tapped on my shoulder.

I jolted, almost choking on my drink. Slowly, I turned around to see a waitress standing beside me. She was hiding one of her hands behind her back and I don't know why, but a bad premonition rose on my chest.

“Ma'am, someone asked me to give you this.”

The waitress’s voice trembled slightly as she slowly revealed her hand. In her palms lay a bunch of dead blackened rose, its petal, brittle as if burned and tied to a single stem was a small tag swaying like a bad omen.

My stomach dropped!

And just like that… my night shattered.

A cold rush swept down my spine as my mind clawed for answers. Who the hell would dare do this?

Sensing the raw cold chill that emanated from my body, the waitress shifted nervously before lifting her hand to point across the club. “The man who gave it to me… he was standing right over—”

She turned fully, her words cutting into silence. Her brows knitted together. “Hmm? That's strange. He was there a second ago.”

Of course he was gone. They always were. Always hiding like a coward that they are.

I inhaled slowly, forcing steel back into my voice. “No, it's okay,” I assured, easing the panic from her shoulders. “Whoever it is… he's not stupid enough to be caught. Thank you, you can go.”

She nodded and hurried off. I almost laughed at that.

Before I could even exhale, my phone buzzed in my hand, vibrating with a familiar insistence that made my pulse jump.

I lifted it, already expecting the worst that came in the form of Enoch.

The name glared at me like a fresh slap.

The audacity!

The absolute effrontery!

My grip tightened around the dead rose, just as my eyes caught sight of the horrifying words written on the tag: