Chapter 5
1021 Words
The mansion was suffocating. The moment Selena stepped inside, the air shifted, wrapping around her like an invisible chain. Despite the grand chandeliers and gilded walls, the Sinclair estate felt like a gilded cage.
Adrian walked ahead of her, his long stride measured, his posture stiff. He hadn't spoken much since their return from the gala, where Selena had humiliated Gabriella Sinclair in front of the city’s most elite.
Now, the weight of that moment pressed down on her. Had she made a mistake?
“Come with me,” Adrian’s voice cut through the silence, low and unreadable. He didn’t wait for her response before heading toward the study.
Selena followed cautiously, her heels clicking against the marble floor. Inside, the fire crackled in the hearth, casting flickering shadows on the bookshelves that lined the walls.
Adrian turned, fixing his intense gaze on her. “You shouldn’t have done that.”
Selena stiffened. “I defended myself.”
“You provoked a war.” His jaw clenched. “Gabriella isn’t just a spoiled heiress. She holds power in ways you don’t understand.”
Selena folded her arms. “Then explain it to me.”
Adrian exhaled sharply, pacing to the fireplace. “The Sinclair family… we aren’t normal.”
Selena scoffed. “I already figured that out.”
His gaze darkened. “I’m serious.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You think this is just about wealth and influence, but there are things at play that go beyond money.”
Selena’s stomach twisted. “Like what?”
Adrian hesitated. For the first time, she saw something rare in his expression—doubt. Fear.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Selena took a step forward. “Try me.”
Silence stretched between them. The flames crackled, filling the room with an eerie warmth.
Then, Adrian spoke.
“Our family is cursed.”
Selena’s breath caught in her throat.
He wasn’t joking.
She could see it in his eyes.
The Curse of the Sinclairs
Adrian turned away from her, staring into the fire as if searching for the right words.
“A long time ago,” he began, “one of my ancestors made a deal. A terrible deal. One that granted the Sinclair family power beyond imagination… but at a cost.”
Selena felt her pulse quicken. “What kind of cost?”
Adrian’s jaw tightened. “Every woman who marries into this family either dies, disappears… or worse.”
Selena’s blood ran cold.
She had heard rumors. Whispers of Sinclair brides vanishing without a trace. Stories brushed off as mere superstitions.
But now, standing before Adrian, she realized it wasn’t just legend.
It was real.
And she was next.
Selena took a step back, shaking her head. “No. That’s—that’s ridiculous.”
Adrian turned to her sharply. “Is it? Think about it, Selena. My mother, my grandmother, my great-grandmother—gone. Every last one of them.”
Selena’s mind spun. “But… why?”
Adrian’s expression darkened. “Because of the deal. Because of him.”
Selena swallowed hard. “Him?”
Adrian’s voice dropped lower. “The one who holds the contract.”
A shiver ran down her spine. “Who?”
Adrian hesitated. “A man known only as The Collector.”
Selena’s skin prickled.
She had heard that name before.
A shadowy figure whispered about in the darkest corners of high society. Some claimed he was a myth, a ghost story meant to scare those who sought power. Others swore he was real—a man who dealt in debts no one could escape.
And now, she was bound to the Sinclairs.
Bound to him.
Selena clenched her fists. “So, what does that mean for me?”
Adrian’s gaze darkened. “It means you have two choices.”
Selena’s heart pounded. “Which are?”
Adrian stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. “You can leave now. Walk away before it’s too late.”
Selena inhaled sharply. “And the second option?”
His fingers brushed against hers—just a whisper of a touch, but it sent a jolt through her. “You stay. And we find a way to break this curse together.”
Selena searched his face, trying to understand the man before her.
Adrian Sinclair. The cold, untouchable billionaire.
And yet, there was something in his eyes—a flicker of desperation. A plea.
For the first time, he wasn’t treating her like an inconvenience.
He was asking her to stay.
Selena took a deep breath.
She had come here for money. For security.
But now, she realized…
She had stumbled into something much bigger than herself.
And walking away wasn’t an option anymore.
She squared her shoulders. “Then we fight.”
Adrian’s lips parted slightly, as if surprised by her answer.
Then, slowly, he nodded.
“Then we fight.”
And just like that, the deal was sealed.
But neither of them knew…
The Collector was already watching.
And he never lost a contract.
"Not like this. No. After everything I've been through? Poverty, hunger, nights of crying myself to sleep this is not how it ends."
Her breath came in short, ragged gasps as she pressed herself against the cold alley wall. The footsteps behind her grew louder, steady, unhurried. Whoever was following her knew she had nowhere to run.
"I fought too hard. I clawed my way out of the gutter. I built myself from nothing. I won’t let some damn curse take me down."
Her fingers tightened into fists. She’d faced worse starvation, betrayal, the kind of pain that breaks people. But she had survived. She always survived.
A gust of wind rattled a metal bin, and she flinched. The presence behind her didn’t waver. A low chuckle echoed in the dark.
"I am not afraid. I am not weak. If fate thinks it can play games with me, it’s dead wrong."
She turned sharply, eyes blazing.
Her heart pounded, but she stood her ground.
"No more running," she whispered to herself. "I won’t break. Not now. Not ever."
- Writer
