Ella~
I was late. Again. The shoot had wrapped, and I was still buzzing from adrenaline. Now, I was hurrying through the hallway on a caffeine-fueled, my heels clicking, my bag shaking off my hip.
"Where the hell was the lift?"I spotted it just ahead, silver doors closed,a little screen blinking, I picked up my pace, head down, and slammed directly into someone. A solid chest. Not the kind that knocks you back but the kind that makes you stumble. "Ah, sorry!" I gasped, stumbling, my heel wobbling beneath me. But before I could hit the floor, strong hands steadied me by the arms, warm and sure.
"Careful," a voice said, smooth, low, calm I blinked up at A stranger. Tall. Elegant. Dark hair swept back. Collared coat. He looked like he'd stepped out of a limited-edition perfume campaign mysterious Millionaire with perfect posture. "You alright, miss?"His eyes were warm, not flirty. Just… steady. And his cologne? wood, citrus spice, whatever it was, it hit like a spell. "I I-I-yeah," I said, barely above a whisper, still half in his hands. "Thanks." He gave the softest nod, then let me go gently as the lift behind me dinged and opened. The stranger stepped inside. Turned around, his gaze still oddly kind. "Have a good evening."
What- The doors slid shut. And I stood there, slightly breathless, the imprint of his touch still buzzing faintly in my arms. What the hell just happened? That's when I felt it: A shift. A chill down my spine. That feeling of being watched. I turned, and there he was. Sylus. Black shirt. Rolled sleeves. Cool stare. His hands were in his pockets, like he hadn't just watched the whole thing. He walked up behind me slowly, deliberately, silently.I didn't dare move. Didn't breathe.
And then He leaned in, not close enough to touch. But enough that I could feel the air from his voice tickle just below my ear as he bent down to my level. "Enchanted?" Low. Sharp. So casual it was almost cruel.
I froze. My heart skittered in my chest like it was trying to escape I turned, finally finding my voice. "Were you… Watching me?" Sylus didn't blink. "I just came out of the lift." Right. Of course, he was. I crossed my arms. "Uh-huh. And the timing was just a total coincidence?"
He tilted his head slightly, one hand still in his pocket. "The universe has a sense of humor." "Or you're just stalking me in high definition." His lips curved just a little smirk .I wasn't sure which one was winning today.
"I'm not stalking," he said, his voice calm. "If I were, you wouldn't notice." "Oh, well. That's comforting." He looked me over, not like he was checking me out, but more like he was reading every move of mine... what a weirdo...
"I see the fairy wings are gone," he murmured. I blinked. "Excuse me?" "You looked… untouchable earlier," he said simply. "Now you just look like a cautious cat." I interrupted, "Maybe I do," I said sweetly. "So watch yourself, maybe this cat will scratch you."
He chuckled as if I cracked a joke, deep, rich laugh.... "Ohhh, is that a warning, sweetheart? Or a promise?" Wh- my words died. My brain.exp stoped working what the fuck?
He looked so unbothered. Meanwhile I was ten seconds away from short-circuiting.
"Because now you've got me curious... how sharp are those claws, hmm? "Steps closer, eyes locked on yours, voice dropping just a bit "Go on, scratch me. But just know every time you do, I'll come back wanting more. You think I'd back away from a wild little kitten like you?"
I was speechless. This guy. Heat rushed up behind my neck. I was lost in those eyes, the way the warm light of the hallway was enhancing his sharp features, a flashback crossed me, from that night, how he held me close while we walked through those dimlylit night hallways... suddenly his voice brought me back to reality, Then he glanced at his watch and said, casually, "Have dinner with me."
I blinked. Twice. "Sorry, what?" "Dinner," he repeated, eyes back on mine. "Tonight. Unless you plan to fall into any more strangers."
I narrowed my gaze. "Well, I will be paying for it-" He didn't laugh, but his mouth twitched again." Well, if that makes you feel good, then alright." "What's with sudden calmness? I looked at him with a suspicious gaze, already walking as he walked behind me a little. "Nothing, sometimes being quiet isn't bad."
"I wanna test something," he said, stepping forward, close enough for me to smell his cologne again. Musk, spice, clean skin. I raised a brow. "Which is?" "That maybe…" he said softly, leaning just slightly forward,"…you're more dangerous than you look. That you have shades of you I don't know off."
I shook my head, done with the conversation as he opened the car door for me I murmured "Thank you" before settling inside...
Sylus's POV~
Jealous? Yes. If the violent, instinctive urge to break that man's wrist for daring to steady her waist, my girl's waist counts, then Yes. I was jealous.
But what was I supposed to feel? She isn't mine. Not yet. No promises. No words spoken. And still… I felt it. That sharp, consuming need to sever his hand from his body, that possessive itch beneath my skin that said "mine," long before I had any right.
God, Ella. You don't know what kind of demons you wake. The ones I've locked away.The kind that don't flinch at blood. The kind that smile while doing it. My knuckles were white on the steering wheel. My expression? Cold Dead calm. But inside.....inside I was chaos. If I caught him alone… He wouldn't walk away alive, his skin peeled off, arms broken and gone.
I've never killed out of desperation and never hunted innocent lives , never been the type to chase anything that didn't bleed power. But for her?
"I'd break every law I wrote for myself.Hell, I already am." She still thinks I'm an assistant. An investor's shadow a name on a file She doesn't know the truth. That I run empires soaked in blood. That I was born into the chaos she's never seen. That I'm the heir of a world she doesn't even believe exists.
When that truth reaches her lips…Will her eyes flinch? Will her hands pull away? Or worse, will she look at me with that trembling fear I've seen on so many others?
Will her fear finally soothe this ache? Will it feed me in a sick, twisted way?
Because I've seen her in shades, I didn't know existed. Hungover. Radiant.Worried.Smiling like she could undo me with one glance and every version of her just ruins me more.
She's not like the rest. She's the storm I've been waiting for. The calm I never deserved. She's not an escape. She's the endgame. And those lyrics—"You're supposed to be mine, Erse Mia... You are my angel, come from above to bring me love, to bring me love...
Her eyes. She's on the dark side. Neutralize every man in sight, every man in sight
Love you, love you, love you, love you
Love you, love you, love you, love you"Used to sound insane. A desperate man's plea. Now? They sound like prophecy. Her eyes-God, her eyes—they unravel me. They neutralize every threat in the room, command every man to step back without a word.She's a Goddess. A Beautiful Destruction: A danger dressed as grace.Every man's downfall.My destruction. And I love it.I crave it. I'd kneel to it.
Music was my drug. But now? She's becoming an addiction that I was never supposed to have. And I don't want that. But can I stop? ...No. I don't think I can.
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The restaurant was dimly lit, the hum of low jazz curling through the space like cigarette smoke. Amber lights glowed off polished wood, and the faint scent of cedar and rosemary floated from the kitchen.
Ella sat across from Sylus, barely adjusting the cloth napkin on her lap before glancing around. "This place is… nice. Unexpected."
Sylus leaned back in his chair, gaze sharp under lashes. "Why? Expected me to take you to a rooftop bar with neon signs and overpriced wine?" "I don't know," she said with a slight smirk. "I didn't expect much.."
He paused, then looked at her, eyes unreadable. "Why? Why don't you expect?." Her smirk was gone, a clamness but, a chaos was there beneath that calmness. " Expectation only hurts you, let you down when something or someone doesn't meet your expectations, it hurts..."
His gaze looked at her as if trying to find reasons behind those words. The waiter came, interrupting the charged silence. Orders were taken, and wine poured. Ella picked up her glass, the rim catching the warm light, making the red shimmer. Sylus watched the way her lips pressed to the glass, the way her throat moved as she swallowed. Focus. Ella set it down. "You keep looking at me like you're studying a map." "Maybe I'm just trying to find out where you're hiding behind those walls," he murmured.
She raised a brow. "Maybe I only show them to real people." "Interesting, you have sharp sight...." he said without breaking eye contact as she looked out of the window. Unaswering his words... "I like sharp things," he said, voice low, controlled. "Knives. Teeth. Eyes that can throw a dagger when they look at you."
Ella blinked, thrown for a beat. She cleared her throat and reached for bread instead. Silence.Then "You were… quiet in the car," she said softly. "Something on your mind?" Sylus tilted his head slightly. "Just… tired of watching people touch things they shouldn't." Her lips parted. Her brows dipped as if trying to figure out his words. He smiled then, small. Deceptively calm. She blinked. "That sounds dangerously possessive for someone who doesn't date."
"I never said I don't date." "Oh?" she leaned in, teasing. "You just broke hearts for fun hard to get?" He looked at her. "Only the ones that ask for it, wasting my time isn't my thing."
Their food arrived. She tried to focus on her plate, but she felt his eyes on her. Even when he didn't speak. Even when he lifted his wine with practiced grace, there was something unspoken, simmering beneath every glance.
Sylus' POV~
She was calm. That serenity tugged at her mouth as she looked out the window. And all I could see was the way the candlelight made her wine-stained lips glisten. The way she ran her finger along the rim of the glass without thinking.
I was losing grip. I wanted to taste her laugh. Drown in her chaos. The more I watched her talk, the more I realized I didn't want her in pieces. I wanted all of her. Even the parts she tried to hide.
Control, Sylus. Control. But the softness in her gaze… the kindness… it cracked something deeper.
-----
Dinner went smoothly Light conversation, a bit of teasing here and there.She was too busy devouring her meal to notice how much he was watching her.
And he?He was too busy admiring her to even care about the food. Soft laughs, stolen glances, and that quiet tension neither of them acknowledged but both of them felt.
They stepped out into the cool night air. Ella tugged her Jacket closer as they neared the curb. "Thanks for dinner," she said, genuinely. He gave a small nod and a faint smile. "No problem." She looked at him. "You didn't even let me pay-" he leaned forward, cutting her off in middle. "If I am present, there is no way I am letting you pay..... unless it's-"
Sylus Pov~
She walked beside me, her essence still lingering in the air like perfume. And for a second, just one goddamn second, I let myself breathe. Her soft smile. The little crease near her eyes when she's happy. The way she turned her face into the breeze, like she belonged to it.
I could watch her forever.Like this. Unfiltered. Alive. I wanted to say something, anything. While I was busy adoring her, the moment broke. She looked at me. "You didn't even let me pay-" I leaned forward, cutting her off in the middle. "If I am present, there is no way I am letting you pay..... unless it's-" Her phone buzzed as she picked it up. Frowned."An unknown number?" Answered. Her entire expression cracked open."…Asher?"
The name echoed like a curse. She turned. Eyes wide. Breath caught. Her phone slipped from her hand she ran. Heels clicking against concrete, the rustle of the dress.
And then I saw him. Tall. Broad shoulders. Brunet hair that caught the glow of the streetlamp.She threw herself at him, arms flung wide. He caught her like he'd done it before, like she had been there before.
Lifted her off the ground. Her legs swung slightly. Her face was buried in his neck. Tears streaming down her shoulders, shaking.
And suddenly I couldn't breathe. Who the fuck was he? A friend? A memory? A past she never mentioned? Whoever he was, he got the version of her I wasn't allowed to touch.The part of her that cracked. That sobbed. That needed someone.
And he held her like he was meant to. My entire body stiffened. A cold fire burned through me, jealousy like gasoline, pouring through every vein. Was this what she'd meant to real people? The part of her I wasn't supposed to get close to?
Then why… why did watching her in his arms feel like someone had ripped out a piece of me and handed it to someone else?
"He looked me dead in the eye, no words, just that smug, territorial glare. Like she already belonged to him. Like, I should back off.But she wasn't his. She was mine in the way the moon belongs to the tide. My salvation. My undoing. And if he thought I'd let someone else touch what's mine. He didn't just start a war. He handed me a reason to burn."
ASHER...