Chapter 05: The Merciful Heaven

The moment the front door clicked shut behind Brandon, Elara completely lost her mind.

A sudden, manic energy took over her body.

Ignoring the sharp aches in her limbs, she spun around and sprinted straight into her bedroom. Her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird, and her hands were trembling violently.

She lunged toward her desk and grabbed her old, battered laptop. The machine was ancient; the left hinge was completely broken, making a loud, painful 'creak' as she forced the screen open.

She hit the power button, her fingers shaking so badly she could barely type in her password.

The laptop took an eternity to boot up, the loading icon spinning lazily on the screen while Elara bit her lip until she tasted copper.

Finally, the browser opened.

With a trembling index finger, she clicked on her personal mailbox. Her eyes scanned the unread messages, moving down the list until they locked onto a specific sender.

There it was.

A formal email header bearing the exact same official insignia: 'Velmora Academy.'

Elara stared at the bold letters on the screen. She clicked the email open, her eyes darting across the words ''Congratulations," "Admission Offer," and ''Official Invitation.''

For a long moment, the bedroom was dead silent.

Then, a loud, breathless laugh escaped her lips. It started as a quiet giggle before turning into a full, booming laugh that echoed off the peeling wallpaper of her room.

"Oh, Brandon... you are dead meat," she whispered maliciously.

Her legs suddenly gave out from the sheer rush of adrenaline, and she slid down the side of the bed, falling flat onto the hardwood floor.

She spread her arms widely, staring up at the ceiling, unable to stop the hysterical laughter bubbling out of her chest.

At least she hadn't been an absolute, irreversible fool.

Even back then, when she was blindly in love and helping Brandon Cole build his portfolio, a tiny, buried part of her rational mind had refused to fully give up.

Behind his back, she had quietly filled out her own application. She had submitted her own work, using her actual name, despite every single discouraging word he had fed her about women not being welcome in the elite circle.

And heaven was still merciful.

She had been chosen too. She was officially accepted into Velmora Academy.

"Haha... Hahaha!"

Elara covered her face with her hands, laughing out loud until tears pricked the corners of her eyes behind her glasses.

The crushing disappointment from this morning, the betrayal of the cheating, and the lingering ache in her body were instantly replaced by a burning, vengeful thrill.

Brandon thought he was leaving her behind in this shabby apartment while he went off to secure a boundless, wealthy future.

He thought she was just the dumb, bookish girl who would wait around for his occasional visits.

She slowly lowered her hands, her laughter dying down into a sharp, lethal smile.

"I will see just how easy your life is going to be at Velmora Academy, Brandon Cole," she muttered to the empty room.

The game wasn't over. In fact, it was just beginning.

***

On the top floor of the city's most luxurious hotel, the atmosphere was entirely different.

The chaotic energy of the morning didn't exist up here. Instead, the massive penthouse suite was dead silent, filled only with the heavy, commanding presence of its occupant.

The stranger from the bar was sitting behind a massive desk carved from dark mahogany.

The sharp morning sunlight streamed through the glass windows, catching the edge of the elegant gold-rimmed reading glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.

He looked completely different from the passionate man in the bed hours earlier.

Now, he was cold, composed, and thoroughly focused, his ice-grey eyes calmly scanning the contents of a thick, confidential file.

Suddenly, the heavy double doors of the office clicked open.

A tall, well-built man stepped into the room, his posture instantly stiffening into one of absolute respect.

This was Lucas, his trusted Beta. Lucas bowed his head slightly before speaking, his voice laced with caution.

"Alpha, the woman... she has already left the suite."

The man behind the desk didn't look up from his papers. He merely flipped a page, his face remaining entirely unreadable.

Lucas hesitated, adjusting his collar. He was secretly in a state of absolute shock.

For years, the Alpha had never allowed a single person…especially a female stranger into his personal sleeping quarters. His privacy was sacred, and his standards were impossibly high.

Yet, a random human girl with oversized glasses and messy ginger hair had not only spent the night, but she had also left the Alpha completely unbothered by her departure.

Clearing his throat nervously, Lucas whispered, "Should I... should I get the staff to clean the room right away?"

The man paused. His long fingers froze against the edge of the paper.

For a few seconds, the room grew incredibly cold, the air thickening with a heavy, suffocating pressure.

"No," the Alpha said. His deep baritone voice was flat and final.

Lucas blinked, completely stunned. He stared at his Alpha, his mind racing with questions.

No? Leaving a messy room untouched?

That went against every rule of cleanliness and security they lived by.

Lucas opened his mouth to question it, his eyes filled with immense curiosity.

Sensing the hesitation, the Alpha slowly lifted his head. His ice-grey eyes locked onto Lucas through the gold-rimmed glasses. It was a single, piercing look, but it carried the terrifying weight of absolute authority.

Lucas immediately flinched, his instincts screaming at him to back down.

A cold sweat broke out across his neck. He took a hasty step back, bowing his head sharply. "Understood, Alpha. Forgive my intrusion."

He quickly turned on his heel, eager to run away from the suffocating aura before he got himself reprimanded.

Just as Lucas reached the heavy doors and placed his hand on the handle, the Alpha's voice echoed through the vast room once more.

"And Lucas."

The Beta froze, gulping hard as he turned his head slightly. "Yes, Alpha?"

"From today onward, no one is allowed to enter my private suite. Not even the cleaning servants."

The Alpha turned his gaze back to the file. "I don't want anyone else's scent in there."

Lucas's heart skipped a beat. He swallowed the lump in his throat, nodding rapidly. "Yes, Alpha. It will be done."

He hurriedly pushed the doors open and slipped out of the room, leaving the Alpha alone in his silent empire.