His weakness

chapter 7

The words didn’t leave the room. They stayed heavy, suffocating, final It will be dealt with. I stood there, staring at Lucian, my chest rising too fast, my thoughts spiraling in directions I couldn’t control. “You can’t do that,” I said, my voice shaking despite how hard I tried to steady it. He didn’t move didn’t react. Just watched me like he was measuring something invisible. “I already did,” he replied calmly. The simplicity of it made it worse. My hands clenched at my sides. “They’re my family,” I said, forcing the words out through the tightness in my throat. “They’re not part of this. They don’t even know anything.” “That’s not how this works,” he said. “It is for me!” I snapped before I could stop myself. Silence slammed into the room. The kind that made your heart stutter. That made you realize too late you’d crossed a line. Marco, who had remained near the door, shifted slightly, his attention sharpening. Lucian didn’t raise his voice. Didn’t step forward. But something in his eyes darkened. “Careful,” he said quietly. That single word carried more warning than a shout ever could. My pulse pounded in my ears, but I didn’t look away. I couldn’t. “No,” I said, softer now but no less firm. “You don’t get to threaten them. Not because of me.” A pause. Then Lucian moved slowly and Controlled Each step deliberate as he closed the distance between us. I felt it immediately the shift in the air, the way my body reacted before my mind could catch up. He stopped just inches away. Too close. “Everything connected to you,” he said, his voice low, “is now part of this whether you like it or not.” My breath caught. “That’s not fair.” “Fair?” he repeated, almost like the word didn’t belong in his vocabulary. “This isn’t your world anymore, Emilia. Fair doesn’t exist here.” My chest tightened painfully. “Then I don’t belong here.” The words slipped out before I could stop them. And the moment they did, I knew something had changed. Lucian went still. Completely still. Not angry. Not loud. Just still. And that was worse much worse. His gaze locked onto mine, sharper than before, deeper somehow. “Say that again,” he said quietly. My heart pounded. I should have backed down. I should have stayed silent. But something in me refused. “I don’t belong here,” I repeated, my voice trembling but clear. “I never did.” For a second for the smallest second I thought I saw something crack in his expression. Something real. Something human. But it disappeared so quickly I couldn’t be sure it was ever there. “You’re here,” he said. “That’s enough.” “It’s not enough for me,” I shot back. Marco shifted again, tension rising in the room, but neither of us looked at him. This wasn’t about anyone else anymore. It was just us. “You think you have a say in this,” Lucian said. “I do,” I said, even though I knew I didn’t. He studied me for a long moment, his silence stretching until it felt unbearable. Then unexpectedly he stepped back. The distance hit me instantly, like something had been pulled away. “Interesting,” he murmured. I frowned slightly. “What is?” “You,” he said. That wasn’t comforting. Not even a little. Before I could respond, Marco’s phone buzzed sharply in the quiet room. He checked it, his expression tightening almost immediately. “Sir,” he said, his voice lower now. More serious. “We’ve confirmed it.” Lucian’s attention shifted instantly. “Who?” A brief pause. Then “It’s her family. And someone else.” My stomach dropped. “Someone else?” Lucian asked. Marco nodded. “A man. Not police. Not official. But he’s asking questions in places he shouldn’t be.” The room went cold. I felt it. That shift again. Dangerous. “Name,” Lucian said. “We’re working on it,” Marco replied. “But he’s persistent. And careful.” Lucian’s jaw tightened slightly. “Find out who he is,” he said. “And make sure he stops asking questions.” My heart slammed against my ribs. “No,” I said quickly. Both men looked at me. I swallowed hard, but I didn’t back down. “You said you wouldn’t hurt them,” I said, my voice shaking. “If this man is helping them” “He’s not helping them,” Lucian cut in. “He’s interfering.” “He’s trying to find me!” I argued. “That’s not interference that’s” “Enough.” The word sliced through the air. I fell silent instantly. Not because I wanted to but because something in his tone demanded it. Lucian’s gaze stayed on me for a moment longer before shifting back to Marco. “Handle it,” he said again. “But carefully.” Marco nodded. “Understood.” He left the room without another word. And just like that it was quiet again. But not the same kind of quiet. This one was heavier. Charged. I turned back to Lucian, my chest tight. “You’re lying,” I said quietly. His eyes flicked to mine. “About what?” “About not hurting them,” I said. “You say one thing, but everything you do says something else.” A pause. Then“You’re learning to read between the lines,” he said. “Then tell me the truth,” I pushed. “What happens if they don’t stop?” Silence. Long. Uncomfortable. Then finally“Then they’ll be stopped.” The words hit exactly how I feared they would. I shook my head slowly. “You don’t even hear yourself, do you?” I said. “You talk about people like they’re problems to fix.” “That’s exactly what they are,” he replied. “Not to me,” I said. Something in his expression shifted again. That same flicker. That same hesitation. “That’s your weakness,” he said. “No,” I whispered. “That’s what makes me human.” The room went still. Completely still. And for the first time since I’d been here Lucian didn’t respond immediately. He just looked at me. Really looked at me. Like he was trying to understand something he’d never needed to before. And that scared me more than his anger ever could. Because anger was predictable. This wasn’t. “Go back to your room,” he said finally. His voice was quieter now. Not softer. Just different. I hesitated. “Lucian” “Now.” I didn’t argue. I couldn’t. I turned and walked toward the door, my legs unsteady, my thoughts racing. But just before I reached it “Emilia.” I stopped. Slowly, I turned back. He was watching me again. That same unreadable expression. “They won’t die,” he said. My breath caught. It wasn’t a promise. It wasn’t reassurance. But it was the closest thing to it I’d gotten. And somehow that made it worse. Because now I had something to hold onto. Something to hope for. And in his world hope was dangerous. I nodded once, then stepped out of the room. The door closed behind me with a soft click. But the weight of everything that had just happened stayed with me. My family was searching. Someone else was involved. And Lucian was already moving to stop it. Our worlds weren’t just colliding anymore. They were crashing into each other. And I was right in the middle of it. With no way out. And no idea what would survive when it was over.