Chapter six

I stared at the man on stage, my entire body frozen. My grandfather, the sculptor.

The man who had controlled my life since birth. The man who had tried to sell me off like property.

The applause thundered in my ears, drowning out everything else. My stomach twisted in knots, and my breath came short and sharp.

This was impossible. He was supposed to be gone. Out of my life. Dead to me.

Yet, there he was. Standing tall. Looking powerful. Commanding the room.

I turned to Nicholas, my voice shaking with rage.

“You knew.”

He didn’t even have the decency to look guilty. His expression remained cool and unreadable.

“Of course I knew,” he said smoothly.

I clenched my fists.

My whole body trembled. I had been a fool to think he kidnapped me for some personal revenge. A foolish, naïve girl who had played right into his hands.

“You brought me here for this?” My voice was barely above a whisper, but the fury in it was unmistakable. “To parade me in front of him like a trophy?”

Nicholas tilted his head, considering my words. Then, as if I had said something amusing, he smirked.

“Not a trophy,” he corrected. “A weapon.”

The way he said it, so calm, so sure of himself, made my blood boil.

I took a step back, my hands shaking.

“You’re using me.”

Nicholas didn’t deny it.

“Your grandfather wanted to marry you off to someone else. Someone I wasn’t going to let get in my way.”

My breath seized for a second. I felt sick. I had always known my grandfather saw me as nothing more than a bargaining chip, but hearing Nicholas say it out loud, like a fact, like my fate was never mine to decide, made it feel real in a way that crushed me.

I took another step back. “So you kidnapped me. Forced me into marriage. Just so you could use me against him.”

Nicholas sighed, like I was being unreasonable. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

I wanted to scream. To claw at his face until the smirk disappeared. But I forced myself to breathe. To think.

If I played into his hands, I would be stuck. A pawn in his game. A prisoner with no way out. No. I wouldn’t let that happen.

I lifted my chin. “Fine. You want power? You want to sit at the table with the five heads of the Underworld?” I took a step closer, refusing to back down. “Then you’ll make a deal with me.”

Nicholas raised an eyebrow, curious. “Tell me more. “

“When you get what you want, you let me go. A new identity. Enough money to disappear.”

My eyes locked onto his. “Or I’ll tell them this marriage wasn’t my choice.”

His smirk faded.

Silence stretched between us. For a moment, I thought he would laugh, mock me, or worse, threaten me. Instead, he just watched me; his face was calm.

Then, slowly, he chuckled. “You’re bolder than I thought.”

“Do we have a deal or not?” I demanded.

Nicholas extended his hand. “We have a deal.”

I hesitated. Then I took it. His grip was firm and strong.

He pulled me closer, his lips brushing my ear. “But tell me something, princess… Do you really think I’ll ever let you go?” I froze.

His smirk was back, darker this time.

And for the first time, I realised—I might have just made a deal with the devil.

The rest of the night passed in a haze. I barely heard the speeches, the clinking of glasses, or the murmured conversations around me. My mind kept replaying Nicholas’s words over and over again.

Did he mean it? Or was he just trying to scare me?

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. He sat beside me, completely at ease, swirling the wine in his glass as if nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t just threatened to keep me forever.

I clenched my fists under the table. No. I wouldn’t let him win. A slow, deliberate voice cut through my thoughts.

“I didn’t expect to see you here, Adrianna.”

My whole body went rigid.

That voice.

I turned, and there he was, my grandfather.

Up close, he looked even more intimidating than I remembered. Sharp blue eyes. Wrinkles carved deep into his face. The same cold, calculating expression that had haunted my childhood.

“Grandfather,” I said, my voice even, though my heart pounded.

He studied me for a moment, then looked at Nicholas. “You stole my granddaughter from the altar.”

Nicholas smiled. “Borrowed. Stolen makes it sound like she’s an object.”

Grandfather didn’t smile. “And what exactly do you intend to do with her?”

I stiffened. I wasn’t some toy they could pass around.

Nicholas rested his elbow on the table. “I suppose that depends on you.”

Grandfather’s gaze darkened. “You think marrying her gives you leverage over me?”

Nicholas smirked. “I know it does.”

My chest tightened. I wanted to scream at both of them. I wasn’t some bargaining chip in their twisted power game. But I bit my tongue, forcing myself to stay silent.

I needed to be smart. If I lashed out now, I would just make things worse.

Grandfather leaned back in his chair, studying Nicholas with a cool gaze. “You’re bold, I’ll give you that.”

Then he looked at me. “And you, Adrianna?”

I swallowed. “What about me?”

His eyes searched mine. “Do you truly believe this man will let you go?”

I hesitated.

Nicholas’s fingers brushed my knee under the table. A silent reminder.

I forced myself to hold my grandfather’s gaze. “I don’t need to believe anything. I make my own choices.”

A hint of a smile played on his lips. “Do you?”

I wanted to argue. Wanted to say yes. But deep down, a horrible truth settled into my bones.

No.

I wasn’t free. Not yet.

Nicholas leaned back, satisfied. “We’ll be in touch, old man.”

Grandfather didn’t respond. He just stood, adjusted his cufflinks, and walked away.

The second he was gone, I turned to Nicholas.

“This isn’t over.”

Nicholas smiled, dark and knowing.

“Oh, princess.” He lifted his glass, eyes gleaming. “It’s only just beginning.”