Episode 17 — Beautiful Liars
404 Words
The Vespera Foundation charity banquet became another battlefield.
Luxury gowns.
Crystal lights.
Champagne hiding corruption beneath elegance.
Noctyra’s elite smiled at each other while secretly planning destruction.
Seraphina stood near the balcony in a dark emerald dress, pretending not to notice the whispers surrounding her.
Everyone watched her now.
Not because she was beautiful.
Because scandals followed her name like blood trails.
Across the ballroom, Kael spoke calmly with foreign investors while politicians hovered around him nervously. Every movement remained precise. Controlled.
Untouchable.
Yet Seraphina couldn’t stop remembering his expression the night she questioned her parents’ deaths.
That brief hesitation.
That tiny flicker of darkness.
Before she could think further—
Dante Moreau appeared beside her again.
“You look troubled.”
Seraphina sighed softly. “Do you ever stop appearing everywhere?”
“No,” Dante replied smoothly. “Especially when something interesting is happening.”
His gaze drifted toward Kael across the ballroom.
Then he smiled faintly.
“You know,” Dante murmured, “your uncle becomes terrifying whenever someone stands too close to you.”
“He’s terrifying all the time.”
“That wasn’t denial.”
Seraphina rolled her eyes before taking another sip of champagne.
But Dante leaned closer suddenly.
“Tell me something honestly,” he whispered. “Do you trust Kael Vespera?”
The question struck harder than expected.
Because she didn’t know the answer anymore.
At that exact moment, Kael looked toward them from across the ballroom.
And immediately noticed how close Dante stood beside her.
Something dangerous entered his eyes instantly.
A warning.
A promise.
Violence waiting patiently beneath expensive suits.
Dante noticed too.
Instead of stepping away—
He smirked deliberately.
Wrong decision.
Kael excused himself from the ministers calmly before crossing the ballroom toward them.
Every person nearby subtly moved aside.
Power parted crowds naturally.
When Kael finally stopped in front of Seraphina, tension suffocated the air between all three of them.
“Dante,” Kael greeted quietly.
“Kael.”
Neither man smiled.
Seraphina suddenly felt trapped between two predators pretending to act civilized.
Then Kael’s gaze lowered briefly toward Dante’s hand resting near Seraphina’s waist.
His expression became colder.
“Touching things that belong to other people,” Kael said softly, “often ends badly.”
The atmosphere froze instantly.
Dante’s smile faded slightly.
And Seraphina’s heartbeat stumbled violently.
Because Kael’s words did not sound accidental.
They sounded possessive.
Episode End.
- Writer
