Lucien stared at her from the stairs, whole Dahlia looked around at the group of workers.

  "Come upstairs." He said calmly and Dahlia immediately followed after him, happy to get away from the crowd.

  "Why do you have so many guards and househelps?" She asked.

  "The househelps only come once a week. The guards doesn't come into the house." He replied and pushed a door open.

  "This is your room."  He replied. She stared at the large room and looks at him.

  "Is this one of the perks of marrying you?" She teased. 

  His face remained neutral, not a single smile or amusement at what she'd said. She pursed her lips, "Thank you."

  Lucien walked into the room and placed a card on the drawer. She stared at the card and back at him.

  "Use the card to get whatever you need." He said and walked back to the door, "My grandparents would be here by tomorrow. Prepare to meet them." With that, Lucien left the room.

  Dahlia picked the card up, staring speechlessly at it. He was giving her a black card to get whatever she wanted.  She sighed deeply, was this the payment for herself.

  "What do you get in return?"

  "You."

  The sound of his voice in her memory sent a shiver down her spine. 

  "What does he want me for?" She muttered quietly.

  *****

  "Where's she?!" Evelyn screamed out crazily as she stared at the doctor.

  "Ma'am. We were asked to move her to another hospital. You sent men to pick her up." The doctor said helplessly. Confusing was written all over his face as he stared at Evelyn.

  "I sent what?" She grabbed him by the collar. "Find Vivi or else, you are dead." She threatened and pushed him off her, picking her bag from the floor as she walked away.

  The vibration of her phone disrupted her and she angrily picked the call without even checking.

  "What!"  She barked.

  "Evelyn, Dahlia just sent me a divorce paper." 

  "Dahlia did what?" She asked in surprise.

  The car came to a stop in front of Draven's mansion and Evelyn crazily rushed into the house.

  "What did you say?"

  "Dahlia sent–" 

  She grabbed the paper from his hands, cutting his words short as she read through every line in the document.

  "How dare she?" She muttered, her face in pure anger. 

  "What are we going to do?"

  "You are not signing it. Not until we squeeze her dry. Some of her shares are still in her name." Evelyn snapped.

  Draven's face lost all color. "I already did. This is a photocopy of the original." 

  "What?" Evelyn raised he brow. "Why would you sign it?"

  "What did you expect me to do? A man appeared from nowhere with guards in my living room and forced me to sign. Did you want me to fight them?" He shot at her.

  Evelyn folded the paper and threw it angrily at him. "Are you daft! Why would you take such decisions without informing me first!" She screamed.

  "What..was I meant to do..." Draven muttered and she sighed, her hands sinking deep into her hair as she sat on the chair.

  "Who's behind Dahlia?" She whispered. "I won't let you win." 

  ****

  "The foods have all been prepared for a week and have been set in the fridge. I hope you would be able to find everything since we wouldn't be here until next week." The head of the helps said and Dahlia nodded her head.

  "Don't worry. Anything I can't find, I'll ask Lucien." She waved them off.

   The helps looked at each other and stared back at her.

  "Alright ma'am." The lady replied. "It's nice to know that you and Mr Black gets along." She smiled.

  Dahlia's lips widened into a forced smile. Get along? She and Lucien? It was impossible.

  She walked out of the kitchen to meet him coming down from the stairs, still in his suit and tie.

  "Are you going somewhere?" She asked. "It's really late." Dahlia pointed at the clock.

  He looked at his watch like she  hadn't shown him the time just now. "I'll be back." He said calmly and walked past her.

  "But it's...." The door shut, before she could end her sentence, "10pm already." She muttered, breathing out slowly.  She'd have to get used to it.

  The next morning, Dahlia woke up pretty early. Knowing Lucien's grandparents were visiting had made her sleep pretty bad yesterday. She was meant to act like a wife and she didn't know if they would accept her. 

  From what's she heard and read last night about Eric and Liana Black. Eric was the definition of a toxic grandfather and a perfect businessman who would do anything to uphold his business. Rumours had it, that he prepared an engagement for Lucien with an anonymous lady from a top family like theirs. But Dahlia didn't know the lady and frankly, she didn't care. Even if Lucien had someone be loved outside, she wouldn't. Because this was strictly business and she was going to adhere to the rules she'd made up. 

  No falling in love.

  No interfering in his life.

  After the revenge, then, probably, this deal would be off. She stared at herself in the mirror, taking a deep breath.

  "I'm not sorry, Evelyn. I trusted you, but you guys brought this upon yourself. And revenge is not a choice anymore. I need it.....to stay alive." Her hands flickered down her neckline as she stared at herself in the mirror.

  She was Dahlia....

   The surname didn't matter right now.

  A knock was heard on her door and she walked towards it, pulling it open.

  "A copy of the divorce papers. It is signed." Lucien said, raising his head up. Then he stared at her for a second. Her face, her dress and the way her eyes were sharp as she stared back at him.

  "You look human." He said.

  She rolled her eyes. "That's an evil thing to say."

  "Not really, considering how ghostly you looked yesterday and the day before." 

  Her lips twitched slightly in a smile as she stretched her hands. "The papers." She said.

  He handed it over to her and stretched his second hand. "A new phone. You'll need it." He said.

  "Thank you." She nodded her head slightly.

  "Come downstairs. I hear the sound of my grandparents' car." He said and made to walk away, but she suddenly grabbed his hand.

  "Do you think they would like me?"

  "It is not your job to be liked, Dahlia." He stared at her hand and she immediately left him. He walked away instantly.

  She took a deep breath, dropping the file and phone on the bed, before she walked out of the room and down the stairs.

  The door opened and Eric and Liana walked in. 

  "Lucien." Liana walked towards him, giving him a slight hug, which Lucien reciprocated with a slight grunt.

  "Aria is here too." Liana smiled as Eric went to sit on the couch, without even speaking to Lucien.

  "Who's Aria?" Lucien asked.

  "Your fiancée."

  Dahlia's hands tightened.

"Hi, Lucien,"  Aria smiled as she walked past Liana, her hands stretched for an handshake. Lucien's hands remained in his pocket of his razor iron black pants as he stared at her, without an emotion in his dark eyes. 

  She chuckled awkwardly and pulled her hand back, brushing her straight hair brown hair behind her ear. Then, her eyes moved towards the stairs where Dahlia was still standing,

  "Dahlia. Oh my God," she called out and dropped her bag on the chair as she walked towards her, "I didn't expect to meet you here."

  Dahlia smiled lightly, her right hand holding the chair by the arm. "Me either," she said.

  "Who's she?" This was the first question Eric asked since he came into the house as his eerily black eyes sticked on Dahlia like glue. If Dahlia didn't know better, she'd think Eric was actually Lucien's father cos he looked young for his age and it seemed Lucien took his sharp features. 

  "Do you work here now as a maid?" Aria asked, almost naturally, like she didn't know Dahlia was from a family that did well. They literally had a company.

  "I'm not here as a–"

  "Dahlia does not work here as a maid," Lucien cut her off as he walked to the seat opposite his grandparents, "We signed out marriage papers last night."

  The sentence pulled Eric's eyes away from Dahlia and back to Lucien. "You did what?" 

  "We are legally married," Lucien said blankly, emotionlessly.

  Aria glanced at Lucien and back at Dahlia before walking to sit behind him. Dahlia walked down the remaining steps slowly and took her seat alone, on the last and largest cushion chair.

  "What do you mean you guys are married?" Aria asked with a quiet, calm, voice, "Didn't Dahlia just get released from prison about two days ago?" 

  "You were a prisoner?" Eric couldn't believe his ears as he stared right back at her. She bit her lips, feeling his eyes bore holes into her skin.

  "It's not what you think–"

  "You don't know what I think," Eric cut her off, "I'm giving you thirty minutes to pack your things and get out of this house. Lucien will be sending you a divorce papers."

  "This is my house and I choose who stays in it," Lucien said calmly. He didn't shout. Infact, none of them were shouting. Not Eric, not Aria, not Lucien.

  They seemed to be from the same category, a category of power that showed itself without struggle. You just knew they were 'it' the moment they entered into the room. Dahlia wasn't like that, she'd always had to work hard to be known, to be listened to, to be trusted. The only person who'd ever tried to help without her lifting a finger...was Lucien and even if it came at a price, she was grateful for it. Grateful for a chance to be listened to without having to beg first.

  "Lucien, marriage is not something to be taken so lightly," Liana spoke with exuberance, the kind of woman who wielded power. Dahlia was the only person with flat energy in the room. She silently and quietly used her nails on her other hand, making tiny crescents from fear. She should have known they wouldn't like her. She should have known things weren't going to be easy. No one ever loved her purely, no one ever wanted her. It was like a curse and it would follow her wherever she goes. The crescents on her skin multiplied with each passing second, just as her heartbeat increased. Thud. Thud.

  "You can't just pick a girl from the streets and decide to marry her," Liana added.

  Lucien's jaw ticked as he stared at his Liana, "Nonna, she is not a girl from the streets, she has a name."

  (Nonna - grandmother.)

  "We don't care. You don't marry without our knowledge and you don't marry a girl we don't want. She leaves this house–right now." Eric said harshly.

  "I'll leave," Dahlia said quietly as she suddenly stood up and everyone looked at her, including Lucien. His dark eyes even seemed to darken more as they twitched–dangerously. A storm seemed to brood in them. "You have a fiancee, it doesn't seem right for me to stay,"

  "Aww, Dahlia," Aria called sweetly, her tone filled with innocence as she tilted her head, "You know you don't have to leave....right?"

  "No, I'm...I'm the one who caused all of this. I'm....I'm sorry," Dahlia breathed out as she turned towards the door. She had no luggage anyways, it wasn't like she brought anything here. She was even glad to he leaving with clean clothes and looking a little bit...human, in Lucien's terms. Her hands touched the door knob and she twisted it,

  "Stop."

  The word cracked the room, breaking the quiet ice that started to grow after she said she'd leave.

  Lucien's voice was deep, dark, almost angry but not...yet. It was laced with command and a silent threat. Her hands froze on the door knob, her heart kicking in her chest.

  "Walk through that door," Lucien said, each word with deliberate preciseness, "and I will make sure my guards drag you back in here, kicking or not. In front of everyone." 

  A chill went over the room.

  "You think you can just walk out after our agreement last night?" His voice dropped to something crueler, darker. "You are mine, Dahlia. You don't just leave because someone else says so. You leave when I say you can. And I haven't."

"Lucien," Dahlia called, about to say something but he stood up immediately.

  "If you are going to keep talking about this issue, grandfather....then leave," his eyes moved to Aria, "take 'this girl' along with you. Dahlia, follow me upstairs." He walked up the stairs, leaving only them in the living room.

  "I'm going to check what family you came from," Eric looked at her, "and I'm going to make them regret it. You should choose wisely, who you would listen to. Lucien may look fiercer than me and you are right to get scared of him, but I've been in this game longer than he has." 

  Dahlia pulled her hand from the door knob and turned to him, "I don't care... what you do with my family. It's your choice. Just.....don't kill them." She said and walked up the stairs.

  Aria scoffed lightly, "How would your sister, Evelyn, feel when she hears you say this?"

  "I don't know. You should know better, Aria," she looked at Aria, her heart pounding, "afterall....she's your best friend."

  Yes, that was right. Aria Camden was Evelyn's best friend. Heiress to the Camden's Fashion Haven, a potential match for the CEO of Black Tech. Industries. The two families reeked in billions of dollars net worth, with Lucien's family leading with about $120b, and Aria's family following with about $80b. If Dahlia was smart, she wouldn't fight against Aria or Lucien's grandparents, but her revenge was more important than anything to her right now and that was what Lucien had promised. After the revenge, she would let go of him, so they could wait.

  As the heiress to one of the top companies in the world, Aria had everything pretty fast, including school. That was why she was classmates with Evelyn who had a three years age gap between her and Aria, instead of being in the same class with Dahlia. Though they were the same age–Aria and Dahlia –, everything was different. Their class in the society, Dahlia's family were not even in the top 100, making an average of several millions a week, while other companies like theirs made that in a day or more. And then even in school, Dahlia always referred to Aria as a senior. And right now, Dahlia was the one stealing Aria's fiancé. She was so dead.

  Her hand pushed the door open and she almost gasped in shock, seeing Lucien in her room. His back clad in crisp ironed black shirt with the end line of a dark colored tattoo peeking from beneath his back collar. The living room shut close, making a shiver run down her spine. The realization that only she and Lucien were in this large mansion right now, sent only one signal to her brain.

  Anything could happen.

  "Close the door," he said.

  Something rose to her throat, bitter, almost choking, but she forced it back down as she stepped backwards, almost out of the door. Her eyes calculated the amount of time she could use from the door post to the one downstairs.

  "Close the door, Dahlia." 

  "We...we could talk with the door open," she laughed nervously, "we are the only one in the whole house. Nobody is listening on our conversation." 

  Was it a conversation? It already looked like he would do the talking and she would do the listening? Well, conversations were like that, weren't they? She wasn't sure. 

  Her hands suddenly turned clammy as he turned to her, slowly, almost mechanically, his eyes meeting her. Her lungs went close, all breath escaping from them. Wasn't it supposed to be a sin to have such dark, deep eyes or such black hair and look so *Italianly* drop down dead handsome? What did he even see in her to ask for marriage of all things?

  Self-confidence, Dahlia.

  Self-confidence!

  You are beautiful too. There is nothing wrong with you. Guys ran after you in highschool and college, even after you wore a ring on your finger. C'mon.

  All these crazy thoughts ran in her head and she was still staring at Lucien like she was dying and he was her only means of survival. He stared at her right back, no emotions in his eyes, almost in a boring manner and she hated herself for staring at him the way she did.

  His eyes dropped to his watch as he checked the time again. Does he have a love relationship with watches? Then he stared back at the door, darkly. He stepped towards her, and she moved back instinctively, her legs already outside of the door.

  "I told you," her heart thumped in her chest, roaring in her ears. Her blood spiked up in her pulse. "to close the door." He stretched his hand towards her and she flinched backwards without thinking. When he crossed the door post, air suddenly found way to her lungs and she did the only thing prison taught her to.

  "Aarrghh!!!!!" 

  Sound was meant to be faster than light or was it the other way round? She didn't give a single sh*t in that moment as she ran down the stairs and bolted through the front door, like a mad woman. The guards froze, some of their hands already moving to the holster of the guns. She froze too, raising her hands as she saw the mean looks on their faces.

  "I'm...I'm from..inside the house. You saw me last night, didn't you?" She breathed heavily, her hands raised up in surrender. They relaxed, putting the guns away and she was finally able to take a breather. She waited patiently outside in the middle of men in black suits, aware that Lucien could walk out through that door and drag her right back in.

  No, she was going to stay here until she was sure he was out of her room. 

  And back into his.

  With the door securely locked.

  Yes.

  He didn't come. She waited, three seconds, one minute, two.... and then suddenly, the guards paid attention to the tactical earpiece in their ears. Two of them glanced at her.

  "Yes sir," they said and walked closer to her. She stepped back, suddenly feeling conscious of eyes on her. It was coming from a window, upstairs. She looked up and her eyes met with Lucien's, he was speaking into his phone.

  Hands grabbed her before she could think, "What are you doing? Leave me alone!" She screamed, kicking at the air. But the guard was pretty strong as he hurled her over his shoulder, holding her by the back of her knee. She noticed how accurate he was in carrying her that he didn't touch any crazy part of her body, not even her wrists as she hit him at the back. Was that Lucien's order?

  She remembered his threat: Walk out that door and I'll have my men drag you back in, kicking or not. He actually did it.

  He took her up the stairs and to the room where Lucien had been staring at them from and dropped her on her feet, before leaving.

  Dahlia stared at Lucien, her hair scattered all over her face. She looked totally crazy. "What do you want from me, hmm? You told me, to marry you...which I did," she pointed to her finger. He'd dropped a ring box on her drawer last night and she'd seen it when she woke up, "but you are so scary. I'm afraid of the way you look at me, the way you talk and–"

  "So? You won't stay?" The question was quiet, calm and eerie.

  "I'm not saying...I won't stay. It's just, if you want me to stay, you need to loosen up a bit. I don't do well with scary people, I can't fight..if they get mad." Okay now, she was just spouting out nonsense. Her brain was clouded. But his eyes, they stayed glued to her like she was saying something interesting.

  "You would never have to fight me, Dahlia," he paused for a heartbeat and maybe, that calmed her down, "because you won't win." 

  What on earth ?  

  Dahlia ran a hand over her hair as she licked her lips. His eyes followed every of her movement. "Okay, I'm sorry for running out."

  "Don't be sorry. You did what you wanted even if I threatened you. It's amusing," his eyes fell to her feet as a dark smirk clouded his face, "and interesting." 

  She stared at her legs. Her shoes had fallen off. Well, who wears shoes in a bedroom anyways? Speaking about bedroom....she looked around, the realization suddenly hitting her.

  "Am I....in your room right now?"