I wasn't able to sleep the whole night because I kept thinking about the person who was looking at me last night. It gave me chills, and at the same time, I felt scared. I wanted to call Mira to tell her, but I knew she was already tired from work. I stayed alert, guarding the house in case someone tried to get in. Dawn came, and nothing happened.
Instead of sleeping, I went out and prepared my breakfast and lunch. I knew I wouldn't be able to function well today since I hadn't slept at all. I went to the office with dark circles under my eyes. Mira, who arrived earlier, immediately noticed how I looked.
"Are you okay?" Mira asked.
"Yes," I answered shortly.
"Your eyes are dark. What happened?" she asked again, looking worried.
Should I tell her? She might worry even more if I do.
"I actually watched a K-drama last night," I lied, hoping she would accept the excuse. She nodded and smiled.
"Don't do that again. Look at you, so stressed and sleepy," Mira said.
"Don't worry, I won't do it again," I replied.
I shared my breakfast with Mira. I made an egg mayo sandwich with cucumber and lettuce. She liked it so much that she even requested it again for tomorrow.
The day was very difficult for me. I was really sleepy and couldn't function well because I was absent-minded. Thankfully, Mira was there to help me. She suggested that I take a nap during my lunch break and eat afterward while working.
Just as Mira suggested, I took a nap during lunch and had my meal at 1 PM while answering emails. It helped a bit, but I still wanted to sleep in my own bed.
When the clock struck 4 PM, I immediately packed my things and told Mira I would go straight home. I took a bus and didn't have to wait long. From the bus stop, I walked toward our house. But just as I was nearing it, I noticed a black car parked near the gate.
As far as I could remember, I had never seen that car before. Neither Dominic nor Lucca used it. It was also unlikely that Damian would come to my house since we weren't close.
I stopped and didn't move, carefully observing who owned the car. Then I remembered the person who was peeking last night. It still gave me chills, though not as much as before.
After about five minutes, the car finally moved and drove away. Only then did I go inside the house and lock the gate.
Whoever it was, I just hoped he wouldn't harm me.
Lucca's POV
I went straight home from the company. I had meetings all day, and my schedule was hectic. I planned on drinking some liquor to ease the stress.
I was about to open the doorknob of my mansion when I paused. Something felt off.
The door wasn't locked.
But I hadn't seen any cars outside.
I slowly opened the door and looked around. The house was as quiet as ever, yet something didn't feel right. I stayed cautious, ready in case someone attacked me.
But who the hell would it be? Here, in my house?
I went upstairs to my room. As I opened the door, there he was, the intruder who wasn't even welcome in my house, sitting comfortably on my couch, drinking wine from a glass.
"I like your Italian wine," he said.
I looked at him with a cold, murderous glare. Who the hell invited him in? And how did he even open the main door?
"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked, my tone sharp and dangerous.
"Am I not allowed to come here?" Damon asked with a grin.
Yeah. Damon Devereux was back. He had been gone for weeks, and now he was here again, alive and ready to fight me.
"Aren't you tired of sending your minions after me just to get them killed?" I asked sarcastically. I didn't respect him at all. He was nothing but a jerk, a monster.
He smirked like a wild dog and gulped down the wine in one go. How dare he drink from my collection? I didn't even let my friends touch those bottles, yet my enemy treated them like his own.
I clenched my fists, trying to stay calm. Otherwise, I might rip his neck apart.
He crossed his legs as if he owned the place, still grinning like a predator ready to devour me.
"What brings you here? And how dare you enter my house without my permission?" I said through gritted teeth. If we fought inside, it would be a mess, and I didn't want that.
"You know I miss messing with you," he said. "And now I have a reason to do it again."
I glared at him. What was he trying to imply?
"Get out of my house before I lose control," I warned.
He only grinned wider, clearly enjoying this.
"What have you been up to these days?" he asked, now standing with his arms crossed.
"And you think I'd answer that?" I mocked.
He chuckled. "Of course not. That's why I did my own research."
I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue. He paused, staring at me intently.
Right now, I wanted to punch him so hard he'd nearly die. But I held myself back. This man never failed to piss me off.
"Seraphina Blake. You know her, right?"
That one sentence caught me off guard.
My body froze. My mind went blank. I couldn't move, not even speak. It was as if his words had paralyzed me.
He smirked. "You know her."
"What the hell do you want from me?" I asked furiously.
"You know I enjoy seeing you fall apart. I like seeing you suffer."
"You know I'm stronger than you," I warned. "I could kill you right now without breaking a sweat."
"You're so full of yourself, Lucca. But I doubt you can even lay a finger on me."
"And what makes you think that?"
"Because I know where Seraphina Blake lives."
My mouth shut again.
How did he know about her? Had he been investigating me all this time? Of course, he had. He hated me enough to do anything just to ruin me.
But did he know about the ring?
"I didn't know you had a thing for the nerdy type," he added. "Your ex-girlfriend was far more beautiful and sexier than your current one."
So he didn't know about the ring. If he did, he would've mentioned it by now.
"It's none of your business," I said coldly.
"It is my business," he replied. "Because you are my business."
He started roaming around the room as if he owned it.
"If you hurt me now, Seraphina will get hurt too."
"Leave innocent people out of this," I snapped, my anger rising.
"But I don't want to," he said casually. "Using innocent people, that's what I'm good at. Why not? It makes me happy. It makes me feel fulfilled."
My vision darkened. The urge to kill him grew stronger by the second. Yet instead of fear, he only smiled.
"Go ahead," he taunted. "Kill me. I'll make sure Seraphina suffers."
I didn't know how he found out about her or what he was planning. But one thing was clear: he thought she meant something to me.
What he didn't know was that I only intended to get close to her… for the ring.
"The way you froze when I said her name," he continued, smirking wider, "means she's important to you. So I was right."
Now Seraphina wasn't safe anymore.
Not with me.
Not with him.
If Dominic found out about this, he would be worried for sure. And now, whether I liked it or not, I felt responsible for her.
I had to protect her from Damon.
"This is getting exciting," Damon said as he stood near the door. "I told you, you can't even lay a finger on me right now. It makes me glad to see you so hopeless and weak." He gave me an evil smile and laughed.
"Till next time, Lucca. Make sure to protect your Seraphina well. Once I get her, there will be no turning back," he added before leaving the room.
I let out a deep sigh.
How the hell did he know about Seraphina? And what would happen to her now?
Of course, it would be to my advantage if Damon hurt her. If he did, I could easily take the ring from her. But another part of me said otherwise, the part that wanted to protect her from that monster.
When I came back to my senses, I immediately called Dominic and told him to come to my house as soon as possible. I knew he was busy, but he still followed. Damian came along with him. They were both curious about why I had summoned them.
"Are you planning something for our upcoming trip?" Dominic asked jokingly.
He still didn't know anything. Did he really think this was the time to joke?
"How much do you like Seraphina?" I asked seriously.
His smile immediately faded.
"Why are you asking that?" Dominic replied, his voice filled with confusion.
"Because Damon found out about her and he thinks she's my lover," I answered.
"What?" Dominic looked shocked, as if he wanted to shatter the glass beside him.
"He even came here, into my room, just to mock me. He said I couldn't lay a finger on him because he'd hurt Seraphina," I added.
"How did he… how did he know?" Dominic asked.
"He has his ways of messing with me," I said. "And unfortunately, Seraphina became one of his targets just so he could make me suffer."
"Should we tell Sera about this?" Dominic asked.
"And reveal that I got close to her because of the ring? That's a great plan," I said sarcastically. "If that's the only way for me to get it, I'd rather let Damon hurt her. That way, I still fulfill Master's rule of not harming innocent people."
Dominic frowned. "Then you're no different from Damon, Lucca. Even if you don't hurt her yourself, you're still letting her get hurt because of you."
I didn't respond. Instead, I kept thinking about how Damon found out about Seraphina. Was it during the beach trip? At the bookstore? At Dr. Keith's clinic? Or when she came to my house?
I paused.
That must be it.
When I let her into my house, that was probably when he started suspecting something.
"No matter what happens, I'll protect Seraphina. You should do the same," Dominic said firmly.
"We're not friends," I replied coldly.
"But you're the reason she's in danger right now. I don't even know why Damon thinks you two are lovers."
"Maybe when Lucca brought Seraphina to his house," Damian finally spoke.
Dominic's eyes widened, and he looked at me furiously.
"Don't look at me like that," I muttered.
"This is your fault," Dominic insisted.
"You don't even have proof that Damon saw us," I argued.
"But it's possible," Dominic pressed, clearly both angry and worried.
After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "You're responsible for protecting her now."
"What do you want me to do? Guard her 24/7?" I mocked.
"If that's what it takes, then do it," Dominic said firmly. I had never heard him speak like that before. He was always calm, soft, even playful. But now, it was clear, he really liked Seraphina.
"I'll do it, not because you said so, but because I need the ring," I replied, refusing to let my pride fall.
Dominic and Damian didn't stay long after that. We didn't even drink; Dominic clearly wasn't in the mood.
I sighed and lay on my bed. There was too much on my mind.
Why was Damon still after me? Was it revenge? But he was the one who attacked me first. I had only defended myself. It wasn't my fault his men died.
Since I still couldn't sleep, I decided to call Master. It was already 8 PM, and I hoped he was still awake.
"Hello," I heard his hoarse voice. It sounded like I had woken him.
"Can I come over now?" I asked.
"You can't sleep, right?" Master said.
"Yeah. I have too many things on my mind."
He let out a small laugh. "I'll wait for you."
That was all I needed. I left my room, went straight to the garage, and sped off toward his house.
I entered without knocking; the door wasn't locked. He must have been expecting me. I saw him calmly sipping tea on the couch.
"You were speeding again," he said, not a question, but a statement.
I sighed deeply and sat in front of him.
"What made you call me?" Master asked.
"I'm losing my patience," I admitted. "I want the ring as soon as possible."
"You've barely done anything, and you're already getting impatient?" he said.
"I'm not giving up. I just want to get it faster. I could even pretend it went missing."
"Damon, right?" Master said.
"What?" I frowned, confused.
"Damon threatened you using Seraphina," he stated.
That made me fall silent.
"You want the ring so Seraphina disappears from the equation, so it's just you and Damon," Master said, his voice low but firm. "But you're wrong. She's already part of this, whether you like it or not. You can't just take the ring from her."
His gaze sharpened.
"Not without her consent."
I clenched my jaw. "Then I'll find another way."
"There is no other way."
The words hit harder than I expected.
"The ring isn't just an object you can steal," he continued. "It chooses. It binds. And if you try to take it by force…" He paused, his eyes darkening. "You won't just fail, you'll lose everything."
"Master," I said, my voice strained, "let me handle this my way. I won't hurt her."
"Then what exactly will you do?" he asked, leaning forward, his eyes locking onto mine.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
Because the truth was, I didn't know.
Silence stretched between us, heavy and suffocating.
"There is no shortcut, Lucca," he said quietly. "She has to give it to you willingly. No tricks. No lies. No force. Anything else…" He shook his head. "You'll regret it."
Frustration burned in my chest.
"Why are you stopping me?" I snapped. "I thought you were on my side!"
"I am on your side," he replied sharply. "That's why I'm warning you."
I looked away, my fists tightening. None of this made sense. He wanted me to get the ring, but was forbidding every possible way to take it.
How was I supposed to win like this?
"Patience, Lucca."
I let out a bitter laugh. "Patience? I'm running out of time. I don't have the luxury to wait."
"You think I don't know that?" His voice dropped, heavier now. "You think I don't see what's happening to you?"
I froze.
"Every second you waste, you get closer to losing your life," he continued. "And yet, you're ready to throw away your only chance just because you can't control yourself."
My chest tightened.
"I want to live," I said, quieter this time, but more desperate.
"And I want you to live," he answered immediately. "That's exactly why you cannot take that ring by force. The moment you do… you'll lose your strength. And when that happens—"
He didn't finish.
He didn't have to.
I already understood.
I dragged a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply. My thoughts were a mess. Every path I saw led to a dead end.
"I don't understand…" I muttered.
"You don't need to understand everything," he said. "You just need to trust this: the ring is not something you can steal."
Silence fell again, but this time, it felt heavier. Final.
"I know you're running out of time," he added more gently. "But this is something only you can do. I can guide you. I can warn you. But I can't choose for you."
His eyes softened, just slightly.
"I'm no longer the owner of that ring, Lucca. Whatever happens next… depends on you."
I looked down, my jaw tightening.
Everything depended on me.
"Don't lose yourself to desperation," he said quietly. "And whatever you do…"
His voice hardened again.
"Protect Seraphina from Damon."