Chapter 1: The Man Her Father Sent
1490 Words
Rue hated being watched.
You learned things when people thought you didn’t notice them. The nervous twitch of a liar’s hand. The way fear changed someone’s breathing. The silence before bad news arrived.
And lately—
Someone had been watching her.
She felt it the moment she stepped into the lobby of the high-rise building, heels striking against polished marble in sharp, measured clicks. Midnight reflected across the towering glass walls, swallowing the city in silver lights and shadows.
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
Rue adjusted the sleeve of her black coat as her gaze swept across the lobby. Security guard near the entrance. A tired receptionist pretending not to yawn. Two businessmen arguing quietly near the elevators.
No threat.
Yet the feeling remained.
Like eyes following her from somewhere unseen.
Her jaw tightened.
Again.
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime.
Rue stepped inside alone, pressing the button for the underground parking garage. The mirrored walls reflected back a woman who looked calm on the outside and exhausted underneath it.
Long dark hair slightly messy from the rain outside.
Sharp eyes.
Controlled expression.
A detective’s face.
The doors began closing.
Then a hand appeared between them.
The elevator stopped instantly.
Rue stiffened.
The doors slid back open slowly.
A man stepped inside like he owned the air around him.
Tall.
Broad shoulders beneath a dark coat.
Dark hair slightly tousled like he either didn’t care about appearances—or knew he looked good enough not to bother.
And his eyes—
Gold.
Not brown.
Not hazel.
Gold.
Rue immediately disliked him.
The stranger leaned casually against the elevator railing, completely at ease beside a woman glaring at him like she was debating murder.
Then he smiled.
Lazy. Dangerous. Amused.
“Always this grumpy,” he asked smoothly, “or am I special?”
Rue’s expression flattened instantly.
“Who are you?”
The elevator descended.
Silence hummed between them.
The man watched her reflection in the mirrored wall instead of looking directly at her.
“Atreus,” he said finally. “And apparently, I’m your new problem.”
Rue crossed her arms slowly. “That supposed to mean something to me?”
“Not yet.”
The elevator lights flickered briefly overhead.
Rue noticed immediately.
So did he.
Interesting.
Atreus glanced upward before smirking faintly. “Building has terrible energy.”
Rue narrowed her eyes. “You always talk like a serial killer?”
“Only on weekdays.”
She turned toward him fully now.
“Listen carefully,” she said coldly. “I don’t know who you are, and I’m not interested enough to find out. So whatever weird introduction this is? End it before I call security.”
Atreus looked genuinely entertained.
“That’s adorable.”
Rue blinked slowly.
“Adorable?”
“Tiny bit terrifying too,” he admitted. “But mostly adorable.”
She took a step toward him.
“And now you’re insulting me.”
“No,” he corrected calmly. “If I insulted you, you’d know.”
The elevator dinged softly as it reached the underground garage.
The doors slid open.
Rue stepped out immediately.
Fast.
Annoyed.
Unfortunately—
So did he.
She stopped beside her car, turning sharply toward him.
“Why are you following me?”
Atreus shoved his hands into his pockets lazily. “Because your father told me to.”
Rue stared at him.
Then groaned quietly toward the ceiling.
“Of course he did.”
Lucian Genovese.
Overprotective. Controlling. Impossible.
Her father had a talent for solving problems by creating larger ones.
Apparently tonight’s problem had golden eyes and an ego problem.
Rue unlocked her car. “You can tell him I’m alive, healthy, and not interested.”
Atreus walked around the vehicle casually.
“Can’t.”
“Can’t?”
“Contract.”
Rue deadpanned. “What are you, a mercenary?”
Atreus opened the backseat door and slid inside smoothly.
“A little.”
Rue froze.
Slowly—
Very slowly—
She looked over her shoulder at him.
“You just got into my car.”
“At this point,” Atreus said comfortably, “it feels like our car.”
Rue inhaled deeply.
Exhaled slowly.
“Murder is illegal,” she reminded herself under her breath.
“I heard that.”
“Good.”
She slammed the driver’s door shut harder than necessary and started the engine.
Rain hammered softly against the windshield as silence filled the car.
Rue gripped the steering wheel tightly.
Atreus lounged in the backseat like an expensive problem sent directly from hell.
Then—
“So,” he said casually, “you always drive this aggressively or am I making you nervous?”
Rue glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
“You assume your existence matters too much.”
“Ouch.”
“You’ll survive.”
“At this rate? Unclear.”
Rue rolled her eyes and pulled out of the garage.
The city blurred around them in streaks of neon and rainwater reflections.
Atreus watched the passing streets quietly now.
Too quietly.
Rue noticed.
“What?” she asked suspiciously.
“Hm?”
“You stopped talking. It’s unsettling.”
Atreus smiled faintly. “You noticed.”
“I notice everything.”
“That explains the detective thing.”
Rue’s fingers tightened slightly on the wheel.
“How do you know that?”
Atreus met her gaze in the mirror again.
“Your father talks.”
That somehow annoyed her more.
Her phone buzzed suddenly on the console.
A text message lit the screen.
Good morning, beautiful.
Atreus saw it instantly.
“Boyfriend?”
Rue grabbed the phone face-down immediately.
“None of your business.”
“Hm.”
“What does ‘hm’ mean?”
“It means either boyfriend… or someone you’re pretending not to like.”
Rue gave him a flat look in the mirror.
“You are deeply annoying.”
“And yet,” Atreus murmured, “you haven’t kicked me out.”
She almost swerved the car out of irritation.
By the time they arrived at her office building, Rue’s patience had completely evaporated.
She parked sharply and turned toward him.
“Listen carefully,” she said. “I do not need protection.”
Atreus tilted his head slightly.
“Everyone says that before something terrible happens.”
The teasing tone was gone now.
Rue noticed immediately.
Something colder slipped briefly into his expression.
Older.
Dangerous.
Then it vanished beneath another smirk.
“You done glaring at me,” he asked lightly, “or should I give you another minute?”
Rue hated that she was curious about him already.
That irritated her most of all.
She climbed out of the car without answering.
Predictably—
He followed.
The lobby elevator opened again moments later.
Rue stepped inside.
Atreus entered beside her.
“You planning to stalk me forever?” she asked dryly.
“Depends.”
“On?”
“How entertaining you remain.”
Rue pressed the button for her office floor harder than necessary.
The elevator rose smoothly.
She could feel him beside her like static electricity.
Not threatening exactly.
But powerful.
Controlled.
Like something pretending to be harmless.
“You know,” Atreus said suddenly, “for someone constantly in danger, you’re surprisingly stubborn.”
Rue frowned. “What danger?”
His eyes flicked toward her briefly.
Then away.
“…You’ll see.”
The elevator doors opened.
Rue stepped out immediately.
Fast.
Atreus followed at the same unbothered pace.
Employees glanced nervously between them as Rue stormed through the office floor toward her glass-walled office.
She shoved the door open.
“Atreus,” she said sharply, turning toward him, “leave.”
Instead, he leaned casually against the doorway.
“No.”
Rue stared at him in disbelief.
“You can’t just say no.”
“Sure I can.”
“You work for my father, not me.”
“Exactly.”
Rue dropped into her chair with a frustrated groan.
This was going to be a nightmare.
Atreus glanced around the office curiously before his gaze landed on the framed photo beside her computer.
A younger Rue.
Lucian beside her.
Both smiling.
Something unreadable flickered across Atreus’s face.
“You care about him,” he said quietly.
Rue’s expression cooled instantly.
“Careful.”
Atreus looked back at her.
There it was again—
That strange feeling.
Like he knew more than he should.
Then he smiled lazily once more, ruining the moment entirely.
“Relax,” he said. “I’m charming, not suicidal.”
Rue grabbed the nearest object on her desk.
A stapler.
Atreus saw it immediately.
“Now that,” he said with amusement, “feels aggressive.”
She threw it anyway.
He caught it effortlessly midair.
Rue blinked.
Atreus placed the stapler gently back onto her desk.
Then grinned.
“Oh,” he said smoothly, “this is going to be fun.”
- Writer
