Bound By Contract, Claimed By Fate

QUEEN OF RUIN

BIANCA

There are two kinds of women in this world—those who are chosen, and those who take.

Katherine Fontaine was always the chosen one.

The golden child. The pretty doll everyone adored. Even when we were girls, she had that quiet kind of grace that made people bend around her without realising it. Teachers loved her. Boys wrote her poems. Parents whispered her name like a blessing.

And me? I was always the shadow next to her light.

No matter what I did, I could never outshine her. Not with charm, not with beauty, not with money. It drove me insane—watching her glide through life like she belonged in a fairytale while I had to claw for everything.

But now… the story’s changing.

Now I’m the one pulling the strings.

Adrian and I had planned it perfectly. We both wanted the same thing—Dominic Beaufort’s empire in ruins and Katherine on her knees. For Adrian, it was about revenge. For me, it was about something far simpler.

Jealousy.

And power.

Because deep down, I don’t just want to see her lose Dominic. I want her to lose everything that makes her her. Her confidence. Her dignity. Her name.

I want her to look in the mirror one day and not recognise the woman staring back.

I stared at my reflection now, red lipstick painting my smirk like blood on porcelain. The city lights shimmered behind me, glittering across my penthouse window. My phone buzzed.

A message from Adrian.

“She’s in. He’s watching. It’s working.”

My fingers tightened around the phone. A slow, satisfied smile curved my lips.

Of course, it was working.

Katherine never learned to see beyond the surface. She still believed in loyalty, in people meaning what they say. That’s what makes her so easy to break—you don’t need to destroy her physically. Just make her question everything she believes in.

That’s how you turn light into ash.

I walked to my vanity, tracing my manicured fingers over the diamonds lying there. Adrian had once bought me a bracelet like this—years ago, before Katherine came along and ruined everything. I’d been the one at his side during those wild years when he was still human, still dangerous and hungry for life.

Then she came along with her soft smiles and her quiet rebellion. And suddenly, Adrian wanted to be… better.

As if she made him clean.

I sneered. “Men always crave redemption until they get bored.”

He would get bored again. And when he does, I’ll be right there to remind him what real passion feels like. The kind that burns everything down.

And just as I expected, he got bored and I took him away from her. I could still remember the tears in her eyes the night she caught us in bed, pathetic.

I didn’t care—as long as it brought her pain.

I poured myself a glass of champagne and checked my phone again. Adrian had gone silent. Typical. He liked to keep me waiting, as if he were the one in control of this operation. But I knew better. He needed me more than I needed him.

He wanted to break Dominic; I wanted to wear his crown.

And when it’s done, Adrian will get his revenge—Dominic, the Beaufort name, and the throne that should have been his all along. And I'll get mine, my throne beside Adrian, and finally prove to my father that I am worthy.

I sipped my drink slowly, picturing Katherine’s face when it all crumbles. Her perfect little world. Her carefully built walls. Her faith in the man who’s already slipping away from her.

Poor Katherine.

She thinks she’s in love. She thinks she can fix Dominic, tame him, understand him.

But I know the truth. You can’t tame a man like Dominic Beaufort—you can only corrupt him.

And no one corrupts better than me.

The night air was still when I stepped out onto the balcony. Below, the city pulsed with life, unaware of the storm I was about to unleash. The champagne glowed gold in my glass as I raised it to the skyline.

“To the fall of a queen,” I whispered. “And the rise of another.”

Then I went back inside and sat at my desk, pulling out my tablet. A few taps later, I was scrolling through the guest list for the Beaufort charity gala next week. Dominic’s assistant had sent it to me earlier that day—trust, after all, was something I was good at manipulating.

And that’s when I saw the name that made my smile sharpen.

Rosa.

Dominic’s ex-lover. The woman who’d once meant something before Katherine existed.

Oh, Dominic. You really shouldn’t have deleted her number from your phone. Because I didn’t.

I reached for my own phone and found Rosa’s contact. My nails tapped against the screen lightly, rhythmically. Rosa was exactly the kind of woman who thrived on chaos—beautiful, vain, and perpetually starving for attention.

And she still hated Katherine. Perfect.

I hit “call.”

The line rang twice before a sultry voice answered. “Bianca. I was wondering when you’d crawl back into my life.”

I smiled. “Hello, Rosa. I have an invitation for you.”

A short laugh. “You, inviting me? I don’t believe it.”

“Oh, believe it,” I purred. “Dominic’s hosting a little charity dinner next week at the mansion. Katherine will be there, of course. I think it’s time you reminded her that the past never really dies.”

There was a pause—just long enough for me to hear the intrigue blooming on the other end.

“I do love a good reunion,” Rosa finally said, her voice dripping with amusement. “What’s in it for me?”

“Oh, nothing much,” I said, swirling the last of my champagne. “Just a chance to watch a perfect marriage fall apart.”

She laughed again, the kind of laugh that promised danger. “You always knew how to make trouble, Bianca.”

“It’s a gift.”

When the call ended, I leaned back in my chair, satisfaction humming through me.

Everything was falling into place—Katherine torn between two men, Dominic spiralling into jealousy, Adrian playing his emotional games, and now Rosa—the spark that would ignite the fire.

Soon, everyone would turn on everyone.

And when the smoke clears, I’ll be the one standing in the centre of it all—untouched, unbothered, and wearing the Beaufort crown.

Because here’s the truth no one ever admits: it’s not the strongest who survive. It’s the cruellest.

I looked at the message from Adrian again—She’s in. He’s watching. It’s working.

I typed back a single sentence.

“Good. Now let’s turn the knife.”

Then I hit send and placed my phone down beside me, smiling as the city lights danced in my glass.

By morning, Katherine would still think she had control.

By nightfall, she’d start to break.

And when Rosa walked through the doors of the Beaufort mansion, everything Katherine ever believed in would go up in flames.