The house was quiet again.
Too quiet.
Aria stood in the hallway, arms crossed, jaw tight, listening as Lucien finished speaking to her parents in the living room—calm, respectful, terrifyingly in control. When he finally turned toward the door to leave, she spoke.
"Wait."
Lucien stopped.
"Alone," she added. "If you actually have any respect for me."
A pause.
Then Lucien nodded once. "Five minutes."
He followed her into the small study room—bare walls, old bookshelf, nothing luxurious. The contrast between them was brutal. He closed the door behind him.
Silence.
Aria turned on him, eyes blazing. "Why."
Lucien raised a brow slightly. "You'll need to be more specific."
"Why me," she snapped. "Out of all the women in this city—why me?"
Lucien studied her for a long moment. Not her body. Her stance. Her defiance. The way she didn't back away even now.
Then he spoke.
"Because," he said calmly, "someone called me Lucien in a club."
Aria blinked. "…What?"
"And called me darling," he continued, voice steady, eyes sharp, "in front of half the city."
Her breath hitched. "You can't be serious."
"You used my name illegitimately," Lucien said, matter-of-fact. "You claimed familiarity you didn't have."
Aria stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "That was acting. To save ourselves."
"I know," he said.
That made it worse.
"So," Lucien continued coolly, "I decided to make it legal."
The room felt suddenly too small.
"You're marrying me," Aria said slowly, "because of your ego."
"No," he corrected. "Because you didn't flinch. Because you didn't beg. And because when you said my name—"
He stepped closer. Not touching. Never touching.
"—you weren't afraid of what it carried."
Aria laughed once, sharp and humorless. "You're insane."
"Possibly," Lucien agreed. "But you walked into my world first."
She shook her head. "I didn't choose this."
Lucien's gaze darkened, just slightly. "Neither did I. My family wanted a wife."
"So you picked a stranger and trapped her?"
"I picked someone," he said evenly, "who can survive being trapped."
Silence stretched.
Aria looked him dead in the eye. "I won't love you."
"I didn't ask you to."
"I won't obey you."
"I don't need obedience."
"I will fight you every step of the way."
For the first time, something like interest—real interest—flickered in Lucien's eyes.
"Good," he said quietly. "I'd be disappointed otherwise."
She swallowed, furious, cornered, burning.
Lucien straightened, already done. "Rest today," he said. "Tomorrow, your life changes."
He opened the door, then paused.
"Oh—and Aria?"
She glared at him.
"If you're going to keep calling me darling," he said smoothly,"you might as well mean it."
He left.
And Aria stood there shaking—not with fear, but with the terrifying realization that she had just challenged a man who never lost.
Y Café sat at the corner of a quiet street, half-hidden by old trees and soft yellow lights.
It wasn't fancy. It didn't try to be.
Warm wooden tables, mismatched chairs, and a chalkboard menu written in messy handwriting. The air always smelled like coffee, vanilla, and something freshly baked. Soft music played in the background—low enough to ignore, comforting enough to notice when it stopped.
It was the kind of place where time slowed down.
Where students hid from deadlines. Where tired people came to feel human again.
Aria loved it.
She pushed the door open and the bell chimed gently, like it was happy to see her.
Kaya was already there.
Same corner table. Two mugs waiting. Hair tied up. Jacket thrown over the chair like she'd claimed the place.
"You look like you survived a natural disaster," Kaya said as Aria dropped into the seat.
Aria wrapped her hands around the warm mug. "I feel like one."
She took a sip, eyes closing for half a second as the warmth settled her nerves.
"Okay," Kaya said, leaning forward. "Start from the part where you wanted to throw him out the window."
Aria sighed. "He walked in. Calm. Polite. Deadly rich energy. And then—boom. Marriage."
Kaya winced. "Straight to the point. Hate that."
"He didn't even argue," Aria continued. "He just… decided."
Kaya stirred her drink slowly. "Rich men love deciding things."
Aria scoffed. "He thinks I'll just accept it."
Kaya met her eyes. "And you won't."
"No," Aria said firmly. "I won't."
She glanced around the café—people laughing softly, a barista calling out orders, life moving normally.
"How does someone like him even exist," she muttered, "in the same world as this?"
Kaya smiled slightly. "That's exactly why we start here."
Aria looked at her. "Here?"
Kaya tapped the table. "Public place. Safe. Neutral. Where rich spoiled brats don't usually belong."
Aria's lips curved. "You're planning something."
"Always," Kaya said calmly. "First step—we learn."
Aria nodded, eyes sharp now. "Then we ruin his expectations."
Kaya lifted her mug. "To chaos."
Aria clinked hers against it. "To chaos."
Outside, the city moved on.
Inside Y Café, two girls sat quietly—planning a storm they didn't yet know was already being watched.
Lucien leaned casually against the door of his black car, cigarette in hand, calm and still like he owned the night.
Aria and Kaya crouched a little behind a streetlight, eyes sharp. They had barely learned anything about him so far—just a few hints of his preferences, nothing concrete. It wasn't enough, so here they were, following him.
"Looks like he's waiting for someone," Aria whispered.
Kaya nodded, keeping her eyes on him. "Probably. Always seems… untouchable."
A sudden roar of an engine drew their attention. A sleek, luxury car sped down the street and stopped smoothly behind Lucien's car.
A man stepped out. Designer clothes. Hair perfect. Face so sharp it could crush armies. Presence lethal.
Kaya's eyes widened immediately. "That's… Ron," she breathed.
Aria squinted. "Lucien's friend?"
Kaya nodded. "Seems like these rich brats really do stick together."
The two girls exchanged quiet words, barely moving, observing.
"What a pair…" Aria muttered, almost to herself.
Unbeknownst to them, Ron's eyes had already caught sight of the two girls, hiding behind the lamppost.
And just like that… the hunter became aware of the hunters.