His weakness

Chapter 6

I didn’t sleep. Not even for a second because every time I closed my eyes, I saw him. The way he looked at me. The way his voice dropped when he spoke. The way the entire room bent around his presence like he controlled gravity itself. And worse the words he said.

You’re either very unlucky or very important. My chest tightened at the memory I didn’t want to be important in his world. Important people in his world didn’t survive. The first knock came just before sunrise.

Sharp and precise.

I sat up immediately. “Come in.” The door opened, and Marco stepped inside. His expression was the same as always calm, controlled, unreadable. But there was something heavier behind his eyes today. Something more alert. “You’re awake,” he said. “I didn’t sleep,” I replied before I could stop myself. His gaze lingered on me for a second. “You’ll get used to it.” I almost laughed used to this? Used to fear sitting in my chest like a permanent weight? Used to not knowing if I’d live through the day? “Come,” he said, turning toward the door. “You’re needed.” My stomach dropped. “By who?” He paused slightly, glancing back at me. “There’s only one person in this house who needs you.”

Of course. Lucian. My legs felt heavier as I followed him through the halls. The mansion was already awake guards moving in silence, servants passing quickly, everyone aware, everyone careful. The air itself felt sharper, like something was about to happen.

We didn’t go to the dining hall this time. We went somewhere else. A different part of the mansion.

Quieter and more isolated. Marco stopped in front of a large door and opened it without knocking. “She’s here.” I stepped inside slowly and froze. Lucian stood near the window, his back to me, the early morning light casting him in shadow. One hand rested in his pocket, the other loosely at his side. He didn’t turn immediately, but I felt it the shift in the air, the awareness that he knew exactly where I was.

Marco closed the door behind me. And left just like that. My heart started pounding too fast and too loud.

“Do you always stare,” Lucian said calmly, “or is it just when you’re afraid?” I swallowed. “I’m not staring.”

He turned then toward me Slowly. And just like that, the room felt smaller. “You are,” he said. Not accusing. Just stating a fact. I forced my gaze down. “I’m sorry.”

Silence stretched between us.

Then his voice again, quieter this time. “Look at me.”

Every instinct screamed not to. But I did. And I instantly regretted it. Those eyes they didn’t just look at you. They saw you. Every fear. Every weakness. Every thought you tried to hide. “Better,” he said.

I hated that word. Like I was something to be trained.

“Do you know why you’re here?” he asked.

I hesitated. “Because I saw something I wasn’t supposed to?” A pause. Then “That’s part of it.”

My heart skipped. Part of it? “What what does that mean?” I asked carefully. He walked toward me. Not fast. But every step made it harder to breathe.

“It means,” he said, stopping just in front of me, “that if it were only that you would already be dead.”

The words hit like ice my throat tightened. “Then why am I not?” For a moment just a moment something shifted in his expression. That same flicker. That same unexplainable recognition. “I’m figuring that out,” he said quietly my breath caught. Before I could respond, the door opened. Marco stepped back in but he wasn’t alone. The other man from yesterday followed behind him. The one with the sharp eyes. the dangerous smile. Enzo was his name I think He leaned casually against the doorframe, arms crossed, gaze locked on me like I was something interesting. “Well,” he said lightly, “this is getting more fascinating by the minute.”

Lucian didn’t look at him. “You weren’t invited.”

“And yet here I am,” he replied easily. “You should be thanking me. I bring entertainment.” I stiffened. I didn’t like him not even a little. His eyes shifted over me slowly. “You look less terrified today.”

“I’m still terrified,” I said before I could stop myself.

His smile widened. “Good. I’d hate for you to get comfortable.” Lucian’s voice cut in, sharp and cold. “Enough.” Silence. Immediate.

The man raised his hands slightly. “Relax. I’m just observing.”

“You’ve done enough of that,” Lucian said.

There was something in his tone this time.

A warning. The man straightened slightly, his smile fading just a little. “You’re protecting her.” It was not a question but a statement. The room went still. Marco didn’t move. I didn’t breathe.

Lucian finally turned his head, his gaze landing on the man. “Watch your words.”

“And if I don’t?” he challenged softly. The air changed.

Shifted. Tightened. “You won’t like the outcome,” Lucian replied, simple, deadly and final.

For a second, I thought the man would push further.

But then he smiled again, lighter this time. “Fine. For now.” His eyes flicked back to me. “But I’m curious. And curiosity doesn’t go away.” A chill ran down my spine. He turned and walked out.

Marco followed, closing the door behind him.

And just like that it was just us again.

Lucian stepped closer. Too close.

“You will not speak to him,” he said.

I nodded quickly. “I won’t.”

“Not alone. Not ever.”

“Yes.” His gaze lingered on my face. Studying. Measuring.

Then “You’re adapting.”

I blinked. “I don’t have a choice.”

“Everyone has a choice,” he said.

“Not here,” I whispered.Something flickered in his eyes again. Gone just as quickly. “Maybe,” he said. Silence settled again. Heavy but different this time.

Less suffocating. More charged.

“I want to go home,” I said suddenly.

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Before I could think. Before I could be afraid of the consequences. The moment they left my mouth, I knew I shouldn’t have said them.

Lucian went completely still.

The temperature in the room dropped. “Home?” he repeated slowly.I nodded, my heart racing. “My family they’re probably worried. They don’t even know where I am”

“They don’t need to,” he cut in.nMy chest tightened. “But I do.” His gaze hardened. “You are not leaving,” he said. Not loud. Not angry. Just absolute.

Tears burned my eyes, but I forced them back. “You can’t just keep me here.”

“I can,” he said. And the worst part? He was right. My hands clenched. “Why?” That question again. Always that question. Why me? Why this? Why him? For a moment, he didn’t answer. He just looked at me. And then “Because I said so.” The words shattered something in me. Because there was no arguing with that..No fighting it definitely no escaping it. Lucian Alvero didn’t explain himself. He didn’t justify.

Hejust decided. And the world followed.

I turned away slightly, my chest rising and falling too fast.

“I hate this,” I whispered. He didn’t respond immediately. Then, quietly“You’re not supposed to like it.” I let out a shaky breath and silence filled the room again but this time It felt different because underneath the fear, underneath the anger something else was beginning to form. Something dangerous. Because I wasn’t just afraid of him anymore. I was starting to understand him. And that might be the most dangerous thing of all.