Episode 3 — The Man She Should Fear
375 Words
The drive back to Blackthorn Estate was suffocatingly silent.
Rain struck the black car windows softly while the city lights blurred outside like fading ghosts. Seraphina sat beside Kael in the backseat, staring ahead stubbornly.
She could still hear bones cracking.
Still see the emotionless expression on his face afterward.
Most men looked violent when angry.
Kael looked violent when calm.
“You embarrassed me,” she finally muttered.
Kael didn’t even glance at her. “You embarrass yourself enough already.”
Her eyes flashed instantly. “You don’t control me.”
“No,” he agreed quietly. “That’s the problem.”
The tension thickened.
Seraphina hated the way his voice affected her. Hated the way his mere presence dominated every space around him.
At twenty, she had spent years around rich heirs, celebrities, spoiled politicians’ sons.
None of them felt remotely comparable to Kael.
Because those boys played with power.
Kael was power.
Back at the estate, Seraphina stormed upstairs immediately.
But halfway through the hallway—
“Seraphina.”
She stopped unwillingly.
Kael stood downstairs near the staircase, one hand resting inside his pocket.
“From now on,” he said calmly, “you don’t go anywhere without security.”
She laughed sharply. “Or what?”
A pause.
Then he looked directly into her eyes.
“Or I’ll make sure nobody in this city opens their doors to you again.”
The threat hit harder because she knew he meant it.
Seraphina descended two steps slowly.
“You think fear makes people loyal.”
“No,” Kael replied. “Fear makes people predictable.”
For a second, neither spoke.
Then she whispered:
“Is that how your father raised you?”
Something changed in his expression instantly.
Small.
Almost invisible.
But dark.
Very dark.
Kael stepped closer slowly.
“You know nothing about my father.”
Seraphina suddenly realized she crossed a line.
But before she could respond—
A servant rushed inside nervously.
“Sir… Chairman Lucien requests you downstairs immediately.”
Kael’s face hardened again.
Without another word, he walked away.
Seraphina watched him disappear into the shadows.
And for the first time—
She wondered what kind of childhood could turn someone into that.
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Episode End
- Writer
