Chapter 4:Power in heels
677 Words
Chapter Four: Power in Heels
The Devereux boardroom was a glass-walled battlefield.
Expensive suits filled the long obsidian table, each face masked with fake smiles and subtle hostility. Men who had kissed her father’s ring now shifted uncomfortably, uncertain how to treat the daughter they had once dismissed — now married to a Blackthorn.
The merger had changed everything. And yet… nothing at all.
Saraphina walked in five minutes late.
On purpose.
She wore a cream-colored fitted dress that fell just below the knees, her heels clicking like clockwork against the polished marble. Her hair was swept into a soft updo, diamond earrings glinting at her ears — subtle, elegant, lethal. A walking empire.
Lucian was already seated at the head of the table, sipping black coffee like he hadn’t spent the morning being insufferable. He didn’t even glance at her as she entered.
But he didn’t have to.
She could feel him watching.
“Saraphina,” one of the older board members stood awkwardly, forcing a smile. “Congratulations… on the wedding. You look lovely.”
“Thank you, Mr. Halden,” she replied smoothly, taking her seat beside Lucian. “Marriage always brings out the best in my skincare routine.”
A few polite chuckles floated around the room. Lucian’s lips twitched — barely noticeable.
The meeting began, a dull hum of reports, forecasts, numbers. But Saraphina wasn’t listening. She was watching. Every darting glance. Every skeptical pause. These men weren’t just here to welcome her husband. They were waiting for her to slip — to prove she wasn’t strong enough to run Devereux Gold anymore.
Lucian leaned slightly toward her, speaking low so only she could hear.
“They’re testing you.”
She kept her eyes on the speaker. “I know.”
“Then speak.”
She glanced at him, surprised. “You said to stay quiet.”
He turned his head, just enough to meet her gaze. “That was before I saw how much they underestimate you.”
Something stirred in her chest. She didn’t trust him. But in this moment, he wasn’t mocking her — he was challenging her. And that lit something inside her that had been dimmed for too long.
When the next presenter finished mumbling through Q2 projections, Saraphina leaned forward.
“I’d like to propose a shift in design marketing,” she said smoothly. “Our current campaign appeals to old money and tradition, but we’ve neglected the growing class of first-generation wealth. Influencers, entrepreneurs, young investors — they don’t want to wear their mother’s jewels. They want to wear power.”
The room stilled.
One board member scoffed. “And what do you suggest? We bedazzle social media?”
Lucian’s voice cut through the air before Saraphina could answer.
“I suggest,” he said coldly, “you listen to the woman who doubled last year’s profit margin in half the time it took your last three campaigns to break even.”
Silence. Sharp. Satisfying.
Saraphina blinked, unsure whether to be impressed or offended.
“You keep receipts?” she murmured.
“I study my investments,” he said without missing a beat.
Heat flushed her cheeks — and not just from the compliment. He hadn’t defended her because he cared. He defended her because he recognized value — and maybe, just maybe, because she was his now.
The meeting ended with quiet nods and tight smiles.
As they exited the room, Saraphina stopped in the hallway, heels planted, heart racing.
“Why did you back me up?” she asked.
Lucian didn’t slow down. “Because you were right.”
“That’s all?”
He paused, turned to her. His expression unreadable.
“No,” he said. “Because they needed to see who they’re really dealing with.”
She held his gaze.
“And who am I, Lucian?”
He stepped closer, voice low. “A diamond. Cut under pressure. Sharp enough to bleed anyone who touches you.”
Then he walked away.
And for the first time since the wedding…
Saraphina smiled.
- Writer
