Chapter Four: The kiss that started the war
794 Words
Deerah’s POV
You can tell a man’s true nature by the way he looks at you after midnight.
Alfred looked at me like he’d already sinned in his head and didn’t care if his body followed.
I shouldn’t have gone back to him that night — not after Emi’s warning, not after everything Fred had done for me.
But some magnets you don’t walk away from.
You crash into them, even if it destroys you.
The safehouse was quiet when I stepped in. No guards. No cameras.
Just him.
Sitting in the corner, whiskey in hand, a faint bruise on his jaw that looked freshly earned.
“Could’ve knocked,” he said without looking up.
“You would’ve pretended not to be home.”
He smirked — slow, dangerous, beautiful.
“True.”
I walked closer, every step measured.
“You called me here. What do you want, Alfred?”
He set the glass down and leaned forward, eyes locking on mine.
“To know why you didn’t kill me when you had the chance.”
The air thickened.
I could feel the heat crawling up my neck.
“Maybe I missed,” I said quietly.
He stood up, closing the space between us in two strides. His scent hit first — leather, smoke, and something dark.
“You don’t miss,” he said, voice low. “Not the Deerah I’ve heard about.”
His fingers brushed my wrist, barely touching, but it felt like fire.
I should’ve pulled away.
Instead, I looked him dead in the eye.
“Careful,” I said. “I bite.”
He smiled. “So do I.”
And then it happened.
The space disappeared. The silence shattered.
His lips crashed into mine — fierce, desperate, a war disguised as a kiss.
I tasted anger, pain, lust, and something terrifyingly human.
For a moment, I forgot who I was supposed to be.
When I finally pushed him back, my heart was beating like a countdown.
“That,” I breathed, “should never happen again.”
He smiled, a dangerous curve that promised trouble.
“You’re lying,” he said.
Maybe I was.
⸻
Hours later, I was still pacing the room, unable to breathe.
That kiss wasn’t supposed to mean anything — but every time I closed my eyes, I could still feel his hands, his breath, his truth.
I picked up the file I’d stolen from Fred’s office earlier that day — labeled Manson Lineage.
Inside were documents.
Birth records.
Photos.
And a paternity test.
Fred Manson — Father: Sir Frederick Carson.
My blood ran cold.
Alfred wasn’t just Fred’s son.
He was the heir.
The one man powerful enough to destroy Fred’s empire — from the inside.
I grabbed my phone.
“Emi,” I whispered. “I found it.”
Static. Then his voice: “Deerah… you’re not safe.”
Before I could reply, a gunshot shattered the window.
⸻
Glass exploded.
I hit the floor, rolling behind the couch, heart pounding.
“Deerah!” Emi’s voice was frantic over the phone.
“They found you! Get out now!”
I crawled toward the door, but before I could reach it, someone kicked it open.
It wasn’t Fred’s men.
It was Alfred.
His shirt was half-torn, blood on his sleeve, eyes burning with fury.
“Who the hell’s shooting at you?” he snapped.
“I should be asking you that!” I yelled.
Another shot ripped through the room — this one aimed at him.
Without thinking, I grabbed him, dragging him down behind the couch.
We hit the floor hard, chest to chest, breathless.
For a moment, everything stopped.
No bullets.
No sound.
Just his heartbeat — and mine — too close, too fast.
He looked at me, eyes dark and fierce. “Still think I’m the enemy?”
“Maybe we both are.”
He smirked faintly. “Then let’s make a deal, assassin. We take down Fred — together.”
I stared at him. “And after that?”
He leaned in, voice low enough to melt me.
“Then I’ll decide if I still want to kill you.”
And before I could answer, he kissed me again — slower this time, like a promise wrapped in chaos.
⸻
Emi’s POV
He stood on the rooftop across the street, scope aimed at Alfred’s chest.
He saw the kiss.
He saw everything.
His finger trembled on the trigger.
For the first time in his life, he couldn’t pull it.
“I told you not to fall for him,” he whispered.
Then he lowered the gun and walked away, heart breaking with every step.
⸻
To Be Continued…
Next: Chapter Five — “The Deal of Blood and Betrayal.”
- Writer
