His Darkest Obsession; Our Dirty Little Secret

Met Him

HER

“Ma'am we're here.” The driver declared as he pulled to a stop.

Sera took a deep breath. She wasn't supposed to be here, but Sera was never one to do the things she was supposed to do anyway. The night looked gloomy and chilly at the same time, an odd combination that seemed to be the order of the day since she stepped into Sicily.

Sera watched as cars rolled up one after the other, engines humming low, and doors opening onto polished shoes and bare shoulders. She could see the diamonds that caught the light before the women wearing them even stepped fully into it. For a gathering of disgusting criminals, laughter floated too easily in the air, practiced and effortless, like everyone present had learned long ago that appearances were just as valuable as the crimes that funded nights like this.

The fakery made Sera want to puke into a wine glass and shove it down their throats. But instead, she stepped out of the car as elegantly as she could muster. The driver lingered for a second, as though expecting acknowledgement, but she was already moving, already blending into the stream of guests approaching the estate as if she had arrived with them. As though she had always been meant to be part of this. But, she wasn't. In fact, the invitation she showed to the grumpy-looking line of security guards was stolen just thirty minutes before she arrived.

The memory of her cornering the daughter of a drug lord on the highway and threatening her for the invitation rose to the surface and tried to mess with her conscience, but Sera brushed it away. She felt no pity for anyone who was part of the underworld. They just didn't deserve it.

The building rose ahead in white stone and gold-lit windows, tall and indulgent, every inch of it designed to impress and intimidate at the same time. It wasn’t just a venue, it was like a huge barrier between the normal world and the twisted underworld. She had seen places like this before, even burned some of them, but never entered. Her heels met the marble steps quietly as she moved forward, her reflection briefly catching in the glass doors before she stepped through them. She wore red. Everything on her body had a hint of red, too much to be honest, but who cared. Well, from the confused looks the guards flashed her, they did. Most women present were dressed in warmer, less daring colors, contrasting with her choice. It made her stand out and that was the point.

Once inside, the air changed. It was thicker and tenser, saturated with perfume, expensive alcohol, and something underneath it all that never quite left rooms like this. Something metallic that clung to the walls no matter how much it was dressed up. It just felt… Different. The orchestra played from somewhere elevated, their violins weaving through the numerous conversations, the music smooth enough to mask anything that didn’t belong. Gatherings like this always had an orchestrated performance for some reason, as if it would lighten the mood. Pathetic, Sera thought to herself. She didn’t stop to take it in like the others did.

Instead, she walked, oblivious to the scary looking men who spoke too confidently, their hands resting too easily on the waists of women who smiled like it was expected of them. A waiter offered her a glass of champagne. She took one without looking at him, the glass settling between her fingers as naturally as if she intended to drink it.

She didn’t. Gatherings like this could be the death of you if you weren't smart.

Her eyes moved around instead, slow and deliberate, mapping the room in a way no one noticed. The entrances, exits, and the placement of guards who tried too hard not to look like guards. Of course, she was already planning an escape in case something went south, and she had a feeling it would, at least for her. Sera wasn't dumb enough to think the stolen invitation wouldn't be reported soon. She didn't kill the drug lord's daughter, of course, and that meant the spoiled brat would ramble to her daddy about the theft. Then, they'd report it, and the security would be alert. She had limited time here.

“Your dress… It's bold,” a voice suddenly called out.

Sera looked to her side to find a man smiling at her. He was short and average looking. “That was the intention.”

“Well I like it.” He said.

“I don't care. Please leave me alone,” Sera snapped. She was dismissing him, and he got the message because he left her alone.

Her back found a column near the edge of the ballroom, the marble cool through the thin fabric at her shoulders. From there, she watched without being watched, the untouched glass still resting lightly in her hand. For a while, nothing happened. Or rather, everything did, but it was insignificant to her. The kind of everything that came from a room full of people pretending to be something they were not. A woman laughed too loudly at something that hadn’t been funny. A man adjusted his gold cufflinks as though the small movement might remind everyone else who he was. Another pair joined the dozens of people on the dance floor, their bodies aligning in practiced familiarity, their smiles never quite reaching their eyes. Sera almost rolled her eyes at the fakery. She hadn’t come for them. She was here to see the devil's companion for herself. She'd only heard of him, and seen pictures, but never in person.

Cassian Vale arrived later than expected. The shift in the room was instant, like everyone had suddenly been bewitched. It started small, almost unnoticeable, in the way conversations faltered for a fraction too long before continuing, in the way certain men straightened without realizing they had done it, and in the way attention began to lean toward the entrance without anyone fully turning. Mara Vale, his sister, walked beside him, her presence sharp and almost as intense as his. Her expression was composed in a way that suggested she was already bored of everything she saw. She spoke to him as they entered, something low, and obviously meant only for him, but Cassian’s attention moved past her words as easily as it moved past the people who tried not to stare.

He didn’t acknowledge anyone immediately. It's better to say that everyone acknowledged him instead. The room adjusted itself around him without instruction, spaces opening subtly as people made space for him, as if they understood that his proximity was something only he granted. Sera noticed him the moment he stepped inside, because something in her stilled. Just a quiet shift beneath her skin, the kind that came from instinct honed too sharply to be ignored. There was just something about being in the same room with the most dreadful man of your generation, even worse if that said man ruled the empire you despised.

He was the kind of man who didn’t waste his movement, attention, or anything that could be used against him later. His suit fit like it had been made for him and only him, dark fabric molding over muscle that was impossible to notice. His posture was relaxed in a way that wasn’t careless, his shoulders steady, and his hands still unless there was a reason for them to move. Everything about him suggested restraint, and underneath it, violence.

Sera watched him as he moved further into the room, people stepping toward him, greeting him, speaking to him, their smiles careful, their words chosen with more thought than they would ever admit. He responded only when necessary. He obviously didn’t belong to the room. The room belonged to him. Her fingers tightened slightly around the stem of her glass before she loosened them again, the faint pressure grounding her as something older threatened to surface.

She didn't miss the way some men were watching her intently, their hands placed on the not-so-well hidden guns in their holsters. That meant she had stared too long and too obvious, grabbing the attention of his disguised guards, and posing a threat. That's what happens when you stare at the most powerful man in Mexico, Chicago, Sicily, the whole of Italy, and the freaking underworld for too long. They thought she was a threat, well she was, and her outfit wasn't helping her case.

Sera made a move to look away, but suddenly, his eyes moved and landed on her instantly, like his eyes knew exactly where to look. His gaze narrowed for a milli-second, probably taking in her bold appearance, then it settled. And for the first time since he had entered, his eyes stayed focused on something for longer than five seconds. Her. It stayed.

Cassian watched her like she didn't make sense, his gaze moving over details without appearing to linger. She watched him back, taking in every detail of his face. His deceptively sharp jaw, thick eyebrows, hard structured face, and intense dark blue eyes. Everything about this about the unusually tall, terrifying man she was having a stare down with was intense, so intense that she felt her heart almost stop. And that made Sera frown, her eyes hardening, not caring if he noticed. She never expected to be affected by his presence, and that bothered her. She'd heard people talk of his strange, intimidating aura, confident she'd be an exception because of her hatred for him. Wrong.

Cassian Vale stared for a second longer, then he looked away, dismissing her existence instantly. Sera resisted the urge to flip him off, mainly because she was suddenly aware that half of the room was now staring at her. Of course, they noticed their stare down, and now they wondered who the f**k she was. Pathetic. Something vibrated in Sera's purse and she knew it was time to go. She'd set a timer for how long she was going to stay before she had to leave. A smirk appeared on her lips as she dropped the untouched glass on a passing waiter's tray and made her way towards the exit, giving herself a mental nod for completing her set goals for the night. She'd attended her first ball in enemies territory and…she'd finally seen him in person, though far away, it wasn't nothing insignificant. The devil's companion was real, not a nightmare. Now the last goal of the night was to escape. Sera reached the door, and turned around, her eyes clashing with his once more, but this time, she was the first to look away. Barely a second later, she heard some guards rushing toward the entrance and whispering something in Italian, along the lines of, “Someone ambushed Aliana Markesh, and stole her invitation.” In a split second, the entrance was already being sealed off, guards rushing in as security tightened around the building.

Sera moved towards the waiting car, slipping in as fast as she could. It still surprised her that the guards hadn’t questioned her invitation. Well maybe no one would expect someone to ambush a heavily guarded drug lord's princess's car. But Sera wasn't just someone, and that's why she needed to get out of there fast.