The silence in the study was thick, broken only by the faint crackle of the fireplace. Smoke curled upward from the ashtray where I had crushed my last cigarette, but even the haze in the air wasn't enough to drown out the sound of her voice replaying in my head.
Stacy.
She had looked at me like I wasn't the man everyone else feared. Like I was something less than the empire I commanded. She wasn't afraid to slam her words into me with fire in her eyes. Every other person in this house bowed when I entered the room. She had stormed out.
That defiance-it should have infuriated me.
It did.
But it also... intrigued me.
I leaned back in the leather chair, rolling my shoulders as I exhaled slowly, trying to untangle the tension coiled tight in my chest.
Then the door burst open without a knock.
Of course.
Vera.
Her heels struck the polished marble in sharp, furious clicks as she stormed in. The sharp scent of her perfume hit first, thick and cloying, announcing her like smoke before fire. Her eyes-sharp and already blazing-locked onto me with accusation.
"So," she hissed, planting herself in front of my desk, "you're really keeping her here?"
I didn't answer. I just stared, fingers drumming slowly against the armrest of my chair.
Vera had been around long enough to know my silence was dangerous. But tonight, she didn't care.
"Your men dragged her in like she was some prize."she continued, voice rising. "Don't you dare tell me she's 'nothing.'"
I smirked faintly, though there was no humor in it. "Careful, Vera. You're forgetting your place."
Her laugh was sharp, bitter, breaking through the room like glass. "My place? Don't talk to me about place. I've been by your side longer than anyone else. When everyone else left, when others betrayed you, I stayed."
She jabbed a manicured finger toward the door, where the faint thrum of music and voices from the lower floors bled into the study. "Those girls downstairs-they come and go. They spread their legs for your attention, then vanish by morning. But me?" She pressed her hand flat against my desk, leaning forward. "I've been here. I've given you years. And I can't just walk away from you, Adrian. Not after everything."
I leaned forward too, closing the distance, my voice low and even. "And maybe you've mistaken loyalty for entitlement."
Her lips parted, but I was already moving. I rounded the desk and caught her chin in my hand, tilting her face up so she had no choice but to meet my eyes.
She gasped, clawing at my wrist. "Adrian-"
"Don't," I growled. My grip tightened-not enough to hurt, but enough to remind her who held the power here. "Don't mistake what we've had for something it isn't. You've been useful. You've been close. But don't think for one second that makes you untouchable."
Her eyes burned, fury flashing hot. But underneath, I saw it-fear. The kind of fear I inspired in everyone else. Everyone but Stacy.
And that thought only stoked the fire already burning in my chest.
I shoved Vera back, hard enough that she staggered against the wall. She caught herself, clutching her wrist where I'd released her, glaring at me like she wanted to strike.
But instead of lashing out, her voice dropped to something raw. "I can't leave you, Adrian."
The words stopped me.
Her breath came fast, her eyes glistening with something dangerously close to desperation. "I won't. Don't you understand? You saved me."
I narrowed my eyes, saying nothing.
"You think I forgot?" she pressed on, voice trembling with both rage and pain. "You pulled me out of hell, Adrian. You gave me a life when no one else cared if I lived or died. And because of that, I belong here. With you. I can't-" Her voice cracked, but she pushed through it. "I won't leave you. Ever."
Her confession hung in the air like smoke, choking, inescapable.
For the first time that evening, I felt the weight of her words pressing against my chest. She wasn't just clinging because of pride. She was clinging because I was the anchor that had dragged her out of the sea.
But anchors could drown you just as easily as they could save you.
I stalked closer, each step deliberate, until I was inches from her again. I pressed my palm flat against the wall beside her head, caging her in.
"You think your past gives you the right to chain yourself to me?" I said, my voice low, dangerous.
Her chin lifted, trembling but unyielding. "I don't need a right. You saved me, Adrian. That means I'll never let you go. Not to anyone. Not even to her."
The name she didn't speak hung between us like a blade. Stacy.
My jaw clenched.
"You want the truth?" I leaned in, my lips brushing her ear. "That girl upstairs doesn't want me. She hates me. And that makes her more interesting than you've ever been."
Her sharp intake of breath was satisfying, but dangerous.
Vera had always been quick to read people. But not smart enough to know when to stop digging.
And in that moment, as her nails curled into her palms, her body coiled like a predator, I saw it-she was ready to snap.
For a moment, I thought she'd lash out. Her nails curled, her body tensed like a cornered cat ready to scratch.
