Elara woke up to silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
The heavy kind.
The kind that felt expensive.
Her lashes fluttered open.
The ceiling above her was white marble, carved with gold edges. A chandelier hung above — crystal, grand, blinding in the morning light.
She shot up instantly.
This was not her room.
Her breath quickened.
Memory crashed back.
Gunshots. Fire. Screams.
Him.
Ares Valentino.
Her hands trembled as she looked down. She was no longer wearing her engagement dress. Instead, she had on a soft silk nightgown.
Her stomach dropped.
The door opened.
A woman stepped inside — tall, elegant, composed.
"Relax," the woman said calmly. "If he wanted to harm you, you wouldn't be sleeping in the safest room in this house."
Elara's throat went dry. "Where am I?"
"In Mr. Valentino's private estate."
The name made her pulse jump.
"Where is he?"
As if summoned by her fear, a deep voice answered from behind.
"Right here."
Elara turned.
He stood near the door.
Black shirt. Sleeves rolled slightly. No tie. No weapon visible.
But power radiated from him.
Ares Valentino looked even more dangerous in daylight.
His silver eyes studied her carefully.
"How are you feeling?"
The audacity.
"You kidnapped me!" she snapped.
His eyebrow lifted slightly.
"I saved you."
"I never asked you to!"
"You would have been dead by now."
Silence fell.
The woman near the door cleared her throat softly. "I'll leave you two."
She exited.
Now they were alone.
Elara's heartbeat grew louder.
"I want to go home," she demanded.
"You can't."
Her anger flared. "You don't control my life!"
Ares walked closer.
Slow steps.
Measured.
"You were engaged to a man who sells women like products," he said quietly. "Going back means walking into his protection."
She shook her head violently. "You're lying."
He stopped in front of her.
Close.
Too close.
"Do you want proof?"
Her lips parted but no words came out.
He pulled out his phone.
Tossed it onto the bed beside her.
A video was playing.
Dark warehouse.
Girls crying.
Men shouting.
And then—
Rayan.
Clear. Visible. Giving orders.
Elara felt the world tilt.
"No…" she whispered.
Her body went cold.
"That's edited. That's fake."
Ares' voice hardened.
"I don't fabricate evil. I eliminate it."
Tears filled her eyes.
She pushed the phone away.
"This is a nightmare…"
Ares watched her break.
And something unfamiliar flickered in his expression.
Restraint.
"You have two choices," he said calmly.
"Stop saying that!" she cried.
"Listen to me."
His voice wasn't loud.
But it commanded attention.
"You stay here. Under my protection. Until I dismantle his network."
"And then?"
"And then you decide your future."
Her chest rose rapidly.
"Why?" she whispered. "Why are you helping me?"
For a moment, his face went blank.
Then colder.
"Because your fiancé made a mistake."
"What mistake?"
"He touched something that belongs to me."
Confusion flashed in her eyes.
"What?"
Ares leaned slightly closer.
"You."
Her breath stopped.
"This isn't protection," she said shakily. "This is control."
A faint smirk touched his lips.
"Protection and control are very similar in my world."
She hated the way her heart reacted.
Fear.
But something else too.
A strange pull.
"You think I'll just trust you?" she asked.
"I don't expect trust."
"Then what do you expect?"
His gaze darkened.
"Obedience."
The word hit like fire.
Her chin lifted stubbornly.
"I'm not one of your soldiers."
"No," he agreed quietly.
"You're something far more dangerous."
Her pulse stumbled.
"And what is that?"
His eyes traced her face slowly.
"My weakness."
The room fell silent.
The air shifted.
This was no longer just about safety.
This was something deeper.
More dangerous.
Suddenly, a knock came at the door.
A man entered quickly — serious expression.
"Boss. We found movement near the southern gate."
Ares' face transformed instantly.
Cold.
Lethal.
"Rayan's men?" he asked.
"Yes."
Elara's blood froze.
"They followed me…" she whispered.
Ares turned toward her.
"No."
His voice was calm again.
"They followed me."
Gunshots echoed faintly from outside.
Her heart slammed in panic.
"You said this place was safe!"
"It is."
Another gunshot.
Closer.
Ares moved toward the door.
"Stay inside."
"You can't just leave me—"
He paused at the doorway.
Turned slightly.
And for the first time, his voice carried something personal.
"No one touches what's under my protection."
Then he left.
The door shut.
And Elara realized something terrifying.
She wasn't just caught between two powerful men.
She was the reason they were about to start a war.