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927 Words
Chapter 4: Eyes That Shouldn’t Meet
The music in the royal hall started again.
Soft at first
Then louder.
But something had already changed.
The moment Duke Adrian Blackwood entered the entire atmosphere shifted.
No one spoke as freely as before.
No one laughed too loudly.
Every move became careful.
Every word became measured.
---
Adrian stood calmly in the center of the hall.
His dark eyes scanned the room once.
Just once.
That was enough.
He saw everything.
Nobles pretending to smile.
Families watching him closely.
Young ladies trying to gather courage.
And hidden behind all that—
Intentions.
---
“Your Grace, it has been a long time.”
A nobleman stepped forward and bowed deeply.
Adrian gave a slight nod.
Nothing more.
---
Another followed.
Then another.
Each one trying to speak.
Trying to gain his attention.
Trying to leave an impression.
---
But Adrian did not stay long with any of them.
His replies were short.
Polit.
Cold
---
Not far from him, Lady Seraphina Vale watched quietly.
Her smile never left her face.
But her eyes were focused.
Sharp.
---
“He hasn’t changed at all” she thought.
Cold
Distant
Untouchable
And that only made her want him more.
She moved gracefully through the crowd again and stopped beside him.
“Your Grace” she said softly “would you like some wine?”
A servant immediately stepped forward with a tray.
Adrian looked at the glass.
For a second.
Then—
“No.”
Seraphina’s fingers tightened slightly.
But her smile remained perfect.
“As you wish”
She stepped back.
But her eyes followed him.
Carefully.
---
“Not this time” she thought.
“I won’t make the same mistake again.”
Across the hall…
Elara Vance stood quietly near a pillar.
She did not stand in the center.
She did not try to be noticed.
Her simple dress was elegant, but not flashy.
Her posture calm.
Her presence… almost invisible.
But her eyes were not.
They moved slowly across the hall.
Observing.
Understanding.
---
She saw the Duke.
Of course she did.
Everyone did.
---
For a brief moment—
Her gaze stopped on him.
Tall.
Cold
Unreachable.
---
Something about him felt familiar.
But she could not explain why.
Elara quickly looked away.
“This place…” she thought, “is not for me.”
---
She kept her distance.
Just like she always did.
At the same time, on the other side—
Crown Prince Lucien watched everything with interest.
---
His eyes moved between Adrian…
And Seraphina…
And then—
They paused.
---
On Elara.
Lucien’s expression changed slightly.
Curiosity.
---
“Who is she?” he murmured.
A servant stepped forward.
“My prince?”
---
Lucien smiled lightly.
“Nothing.”
But his eyes remained on her.
There was something different.
Something quiet.
Something… real.
---
Back in the center of the hall—
A group of noble ladies finally gathered courage.
They approached Adrian together.
“Your Grace” one of them said softly, bowing.
“We are honored by your presence”
Adrian looked at them.
Expressionless.
---
Another stepped forward.
“Would you… care to dance?”
---
Silence.
For a moment—
The entire group held their breath.
Adrian’s answer came calmly.
“No.”
---
The girls froze.
Embarrassment filled their faces.
“I don’t dance” he added.
---
That was all.
---
They stepped back quickly.
Whispers followed immediately.
---
“He refused again…”
“He’s really impossible…”
“Does he even like women?”
---
Adrian ignored everything.
---
He turned slightly, his gaze moving across the hall again.
---
And then—
It stopped.
---
Not on Seraphina.
Not on the nobles.
---
On someone else.
---
A red-haired woman.
Standing quietly.
Far from the center.
---
Elara.
---
For a moment—
Time slowed.
---
Adrian frowned slightly
---
There was something…
Strange
---
He had never seen her before.
He was sure of it.
---
And yet—
Something felt familiar.
---
A feeling.
A memory.
A presence he couldn’t explain.
---
Elara felt it too.
She looked up.
Their eyes met.
Just for a second.
But it felt longer.
Adrian’s gaze sharpened.
Elara’s expression stayed calm.
But inside—
Her heart skipped.
“Why…” she thought, “does he feel familiar?”
---
Before either of them could react—
A voice interrupted.
---
“Your Grace.”
---
Seraphina stepped forward again.
Closer this time.
---
“Would you at least walk with me?” she asked gently.
---
Adrian did not look away immediately.
His eyes stayed on Elara for one more second.
---
Then—
He turned.
---
“As you wish.”
---
Seraphina smiled.
Satisfied.
She walked beside him gracefully.
---
But for the first time—
Adrian was not fully paying attention.
---
His mind was somewhere else.
---
On a pair of calm eyes.
On a face he didn’t know.
And a feeling he could not understand.
Meanwhile, Elara slowly looked down.
“That was dangerous” she thought.
She stepped back further into the shadows.
“I shouldn’t stay long”
But fate had already begun its work.
---
Across the hall—
Lucien smiled faintly.
“Well…” he whispered to himself.
“This just got interesting”
---
The music grew louder.
The lights shined brighter
The night was only beginning.
And without anyone realizing—
The first thread of something dangerous…
Had already been tied.
---
- Writer
