SERENA'S POV

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing.

It wasn't the burner Dante had given me. My personal one. Somehow it was still active but it barely had any signal in this place. I reached for it.

had any signal in this place. I reached for it.

It was a call from prison. Inmate name, Richard Blake

I accepted the call, voice trembling as I spoke.

"Dad?"

"Selena..." His voice was hoarse. Just hearing it broke something inside me.

"I miss you." I whispered.

"I miss you too, baby girl. Didn't think I'd be able to get a call out this morning," he said. "Are you... okay?"

"I'm hanging in there."

There was a pause. I could hear the distant buzz of the prison behind him. My dad sounded smaller somehow. Like those prison walls were pressing in on his soul.

"Selena, listen. I don't know how much time I have left-"

"No." My voice cracked. "Don't say that."

"I just... I need you to be okay. You've been so strong, trying hard to hold it all together," His breath hitched. "And I hate that I'm not there to protect you."

"I have a plan," I said quickly. "A way to help you. I made a deal with someone."

"A deal?" I could hear his hesitation.

"I can't give you details now. But just know I'm not giving up. You're getting out of there. Soon."

"Selena-"

"Please," I begged. "I need you to trust me."

He was quiet for a long time. Then finally, he replied softly. "I do."

The line was cut after that. I stared at my phone screen till it went off. I lowered the phone with a shaky breath.

"I'll fix this," I whispered. "Even if it breaks me."

That evening, Dante emerged from the shadows again. Same hoodie. Same dark aura.

"We're attending a charity gala tonight."

I turned toward him from the living room couch. "You mean, me and you?"

He handed me a black velvet box. "Yes."

Inside was a dress-dark red, almost black, with a plunging neckline and back that could cause traffic accidents.

"You want me to wear... this?"

"You're my wife," he said, voice flat. "People will stare. Let them. You'll be standing next to me."

Cocky much.

"So you're attending a charity gala in your hoodie."

He looked at me. "I have ways of remaining unseen."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course you do."

"I'll have a car ready in an hour," he said, already turning to leave. "Be presentable."

~

The event was in a ballroom filled with people who probably wiped their tears with dollar bills. My heels clicked against the marble floors as I walked beside him-He was wearing a fancy suit with a hood, his face always turned just enough to remain obscured.

No one questioned it.

"They won't think it's odd you're dressed like the Grim Reaper's rich cousin?" I asked under my breath.

"People don't question what they fear."

Charming.

We split off soon after entering, which was fine by me. I needed a break from the Grim Reaper.

I made my way towards the bar and grabbed a glass of champagne for myself.

"Fancy seeing you here." a voice said behind me.

I turned.

The man was tall, dressed in a tailored navy suit. But it wasn't the expensive clothes that caught my attention, it was his smile. Warm, teasing. The first real smile I'd seen in a long time.

"Sorry, am I supposed to know you?" I asked.

"No, at least not yet. But I was hoping you'd still talk to me," he said, taking a sip of his drink. "Name's Aiden."

I raised a brow. "Selena."

"Beautiful name." He smiled. "I'd ask if you come here often, but you look like someone who belongs in a field of flowers and fairies more than these crystal chandeliers."

I snorted. "Is that your idea of flirting?"

He leaned in a little. "Is it working?"

Maybe it was the wine, or the exhaustion. But I laughed, really laughed.

And it felt good.

"You're funny."

"Thank you. It took me a lot of hard work. Ladies love a funny guy." He raised his glass towards me.

"So what do you do, Aiden?" I asked, curiosity taking over.

"Oh, you know. Break hearts, inherit empires and ruin Charity gala buffets. That sort of thing."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're not going to give any straight answers, are you?"

He shrugged. "Where's the fun in that?"

I smiled despite myself, a real one this time. It felt foreign on my face. I'd almost forgotten how to do it.

"Married?" he asked all of a sudden.

The word jolted through me.

I hesitated. "Yes. It's... complicated."

He tilted his head. "Ain't it always?"

Before I could respond, I felt a chill run down my back.

I turned.

Dante stood behind me.

Still faceless. Still unreadable. But his energy had shifted. He felt like a storm about to break.

"Selena," he said smoothly, ignoring Aiden entirely.

I stepped back slightly. "I was just-"

"Having fun?" he asked, voice neutral.

Aiden turned fully, facing him with a slow, deliberate smile.

"Well, well." His voice dropped an octave. "Hello, brother."

My heart stopped.

Brother?

Dante's hands balled into fists at his sides. While Aiden sipped his drink like this was amusing to him.

"I see your social skills haven't improved," Aiden added.

"Leave." Dante said flatly.

Aiden raised a brow. "I just got here."

"I said-"

"She's not your possession," Aiden interrupted. "Maybe try acting like a husband instead of a warden."

I stood frozen between them.

What the hell was happening?

Aiden's eyes flicked to me. "You didn't know?"

I shook my head. Slowly. "Know... what?"

"That your dark prince here is a-"

"That's enough. Aiden, leave now." Dante cut him off but my curiosity was already piqued. Aiden seemed to know something Dante didn't want me to.

I turned to Dante, his posture rigid. "What's he saying?"

Aiden sighed. "He's hiding more than just his face, sweetheart."

My heart was pounding now.

"We're leaving." Dante said simply, turning around. I looked at Aiden one last time, a feeling of questions running through my mind.

Could he be the key to understanding Dante's motives?

SERENA'S POV

"Stay away from Aiden."

Dante's voice was like a blade cutting through the sound of chatter and music as we exited the ballroom. I blinked up at him. He towered over me, his tone calm but cold.

"What?" I said. My head was still all over the place as I processed the fact that Aiden was his brother.

Dante leaned in closer to me. "He doesn't care about you. Whatever he told you, it's bait."

I crossed my arms, heart pounding. "So this is jealousy now?"

He laughed coldly. "Don't flatter yourself. This marriage isn't real. You mean nothing to me."

My chest tightened.

That hurt more than I wanted to admit. Before I could respond, he turned and walked towards the car. And just like that, I was left standing alone.

Again.

At least, this time, there was hope.

The drive back was silent. Dante was fixed on his phone, and I sat as far away from him as possible. He was the last person I wanted to be around now.

I didn't know which part stung more, that he was clearly hiding something important from me... or that he'd said I meant nothing to him-this part I wasn't supposed to care about. Afterall, he was right. Our marriage was fake.

When we reached the mansion, he didn't say a word. He just vanished down the hallway and shut himself inside his room.

I returned to mine too, pacing its length and width for well over an hour.

My thoughts spun in a thousand directions. Aiden's words. The way Dante's shoulders had tensed. The things left unsaid. My father, alone in a prison cell.

I couldn't take it anymore. I'd done enough for Dante. It was his turn to do something for me.

I threw on a robe and walked barefoot to his room, heart hammering.

I knocked once.

He spoke from inside, "What are you doing here?"

"Let me in."

There was silence and then the sound of the locks being undone. I opened the door.

Dante was already walking back to the fireplace, wearing grey sweatpants and a shirt which was unbuttoned at the collar. I spotted his hoodie lying on his bed. His brown hair was tousled, like he'd run his fingers through it a hundred times.

He kept his back turned to me. I was well aware of the fact that he only needed to turn.

Just a small motion and I'd finally get to see his face.

"It appears I'll have to add staying away from my room to the rules." He said.

I ignored him.

"I need to know the truth," I said quietly, stepping in. "What was Aiden trying to tell me?"

"I told you to stay away from Aiden-"

"And I'm not here about him. I'm here about you. I need to know who you really are."

He didn't move.

"You... you know about my fathers case and you're wealthy and you seem to be really bent on hiding your identity. Are you a Devereux?" I asked.

His back tensed.

"Were you involved in what happened to my father? Is this your way of torturing me and giving me false hope?"

He turned slightly, barely enough to reveal anything. "I'm not your enemy, Selena. Don't let people like Aiden get into your head."

"Then prove it."

The words came out like a challenge.

He went still for a moment, the seconds felt stretched out into minutes.

Then, in one slow, deliberate motion, he turned, stepping into the light.

No hood. No shadows.

Just him.

And my breath caught in my throat.

He was... he was out of this world, the kind of person one could easily describe as a descendant of the Greek gods.

Chiseled jaw, sculpted cheekbones. His eyes were an icy blue so sharp and fierce they looked like they could turn me to ice with just one look.

He was hauntingly beautiful.

I went quiet, didn't speak.

I couldn't even if I tried.

He watched me, letting me absorb him.

"You wanted truth," he said softly. "There it is."

I stepped closer without thinking. "You... you're not what I expected."

He gave a ghost of a smile. "Few people are."

"But why me?" I whispered. "Why help me? Why this marriage?"

He dropped his gaze, then looked back at me. "Because I know what it's like to feel powerless. To be angry. To want revenge."

"And my father?"

He nodded. "I'll get him out."

"Swear it."

"I'll make a call first thing in the morning."

I stared at him for a moment, then nodded and turned to leave.

I stopped at the door.

"I guess you're not as terrible as I thought you were," I said without looking back.

And I could've sworn I heard him whisper back,

"Neither are you."

That night, I slept peacefully. It felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted off my chest. Soon, my father would be free and with Dante's help, I'd take back what the Devereuxs stole from us.

The next morning, I woke to the ringing of my phone.

Still sleepy, I fumbled for it, blinking my eyes open.

Unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Is this Selena Blake?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"This is Memorial General Hospital. Your father, Richard Blake was brought in early this morning. He's in critical condition."

My body went cold. "W-what?"

"He suffered a heart attack. The guards found him passed out in his cell. He's in a coma."

"What? No, no..."

"We need you to come in immediately."

The phone slipped from my hands as I slid off the bed and dropped to my knees.

This wasn't happening.

This wasn't real.

I'd just started to hope again.

And now?

Now the only person I had left was slipping away from me. Maybe for good this time.

SERENA'S POV

Out of the blue moon my heart ached and I could feel the terrifying shock in my heart. My heart was beating so hard and I had to hold my chest "he will be fine and you will be fine" I whispered to myself.

Hope lost? Yes.

Giving up? No

"My.. My dad.. Da..dad..dy" my words broke and it was like a mirror reflection of him in front of him.

I crawled from the bed down to the floor. My mind went gaga and I wished I had pulled and tore the cops apart the day they came for him.

Chills ran through my spine, sitting on the floor and looking at the wall as if my dad was going to come out through it so that I can share out of his pain or maybe someone would tell me that I was dreaming about the scenario of the cops coming to my house till this moment.

Riches, power and control feels good for the little period I have been engaged in it but I would choose my old, wooden, flat, not so big bed to sleep and have my father giggle on top of my head as he says 'goodnight my princess' with his whispers of 'I love you'

Hopeless, tired, frustrated... were the words that could explain me but one thing never came to my mind, which is giving up on the only man I know to have loved me since birth.

At once I burst into tears "he is all i've got.. He is.. He is my everything" I sobbed "papa" I screamed out as I would always call him when he tickles me after giving me snacks when I was little.

How did I forget that he is still with me even though he is far away or in a coma...

I quickly stood up from the endless and meaningless emotion, grabbed my bag and flipped out a hard paper.

"You told them you were not involved and they punished you?" I asked the image of my father in his picture that I was holding right in my skaky hand.. A brown, small sized, picture of myself and him when I was young. The picture captured myself and him when he had me on his lap the day I was graduating from I class I couldn't really remember.

Tears dropped on the picture and I stood up slowly, sobbing, turned around and found a mirror at the opposite, "daaa.dddyy" I screamed like an helpless child that had her father taken away from her when she needed him the most.

The mirror became blurry, I was fading away, I couldn't see myself so clearly, my pupils were tired and getting tired for the day, my head hit like a nail on the wall aided by a hammer.

I turned to the door like a zombie, slowly but never retiring... "who would help me?" I asked my shadow but it was helpless just as me...

Then boom.. The picture of the man with an hoodie flashed to my face.. "Just one year and he has fulfilled his part but I am yet to complete the year with him, then how easy will it be to ask for another help...

Heart breaking, heart quaking but I held the knob of the door "anything for my daddy"

***

Knock knock.

"This is not an avenue to come here regularly," he yelled from the room.

"Yes. But I want to talk.. I need to see you now. Not your face anymore but just the hoodie man that got my dad out of jail" I yelled back with my heart beating so fast and my fist tightened.

"I am not a doctor," he called out.

My mind wrapped in fear and my heart questioned 'he knows... he knows about it.. How'

"One more year.. I will be married to you for two years.. Two years. I promise not to run away" I called out in my breaking voice.

Silence like a graveyard, it was glaring that he was uninterested and he had done his own side of the deal..

I wept but this time handling my situations myself as I covered my mouth and never wanting to bother anyone anymore.

I turned my back to his door and walked slowly.. With the picture in my hand, the location of the hospital in my head.

I looked at my feet, it was so ready for the walk and I burst out with a smile like a psychiatric patient ready to be under duress.

"It's time to walk the miles for my father" I whispered to myself as I let out a smile, a dangerous one at it.

Counting my steps from the stairs right in front of the gate of the mansion..

"No way! You can't get out until the boss gives the orders" the gate man called out.

I looked at him and wished I had a nail to hit him on the head.

My energy was gone and there were no words of argument because the next person I wanted to speak to was my father.

A voice from the balcony up, "allow her! Let her go!" I looked up and it was him. Dante..

This time he was holding each edge of the balcony in his white pajamas. Just got out of the shower I think, due to the drop of water from his hair to his face.

He wiped his face and walked his hands through his hair before snapping his finger and a total disappearance of him out of the balcony.

"You are lucky" the gateman said to me and looked at me.

I pouted my lips like a new born that wasn't interested in the discussion but wanted all she wanted.

"Be fast! I don't want to get there late" I said.

Stepping out of the gate.. A car light dimmed into my face. My hands blocking the rays of light, but it was too sharp and can poke out the eyeballs.

"Stop it!" I yelled at once.

I commanded and it happened. The light went down and so did the glass at the back seat of the car did and a voice just so familiar said, "hop in and lets go"

"Hum... he is a ghost" I said silently.

"Not entirely" he replied sharply.

With no iota of fear, I hopped into the car and the car zoomed off.