ALINA’S POV

still

skin My eyes shot open in sheer terror, and I let out ba /bscream, tears streaming down my cheeks. The burning sensation on bmy /bthere, and bas /bI frantically tried to w at my body, I realized, my hands were cuffed to the headboard of the bed I was lying on

Panic surged through me as I blinked away the tears, my eyes darting around in confusion like a scared mouse, desperately trying to make sense of what was happening.

“What’s going on? Let me go!” I yelled, my voice trembling with fear as I struggled against the cold metal bcuffs/b, my wrists already raw from my frantic attempts to break free.

I wasn’t dead

I wasn’t in that burning warehouse.

1 bwas /b!--

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alive. Cuffed, but alive.

“Adrian‘ Seraphina!” I called out, my voice cracking under the weight of my emotions.

Was this their doing? Another one of their sick games? Had theye up with new ways to torment me?

A deep, angerden voice sliced through the silence, sending chills down my spine.

b“/bbIt’s /bbad enough that you tried to elope with your lover on the night of our engagement, but calling out for him? You really are testing my patience, doll.” Only one person ever calls me that.

A figure stepped out from the shadows, emerging into the dim light.

Lucian

My breath caught in my throat. My heart raced in my chest.

He wasn’t dead.

He was here, balive/b.

Wait.. I had been reborn.

“bYou/b… you’re alive.” I managed to choke out, tears of relief spilling down my face. “Please, uncuff me.” I pleaded, my voice thick with

emotion

All I wanted to do was to wrap my arms around him.

Lucian scoffed, his tone icy. “You think crying will bmake /bme uncut you?” bHis /bbcold /bhazel eyes were filled with nothing but resentment and anger

And I couldn’t me him

I had humiliated him.

Memories of this night four years ago flooded back to me. I remembered it all too vividly. This was supposed to be our engagement ceremony, but I had listened to Seraphina’s venomous binstigations /band tried to run away with Adrian. Lucian had caught us before we could escape.

“Lucian, please.” I whispered, my tear–filled eyes locking onto his

A flicker of surprise danced in his eyes. I understood why, I’d never actually called him by his name before. Not once. I always stuck to Mr. ckwood, even though I knew how much he bhated /bit. This was the first time I bhad /bever uttered his name aloud.

But bjust /bas quickly as the shock appeared, it faded, reced by his familiar cold indifference.

“You’d do anything just to be with your loverb, /bwouldn’t you?” He scoffed. “Too bad I’m not falling for your tricks. You’ll stay cuffed bto /bthat bed until you realize that beside me is where byou /bwill always belong.”

“I won’t run away again, Lucian. I promise.” My voice was soft,ced with sincerity.

627 AMP.

For a fleeting moment, his icy gaze softened, but he quickly masked it.

He turned to leave, but I couldn’t let him walk away like this,

I had been given another chance, a chance to make things right. And I refused to let history repeat itself.

“My wrists hurt.” I murmured, barely above a whisper, a pout forming on my lips.

Lucian froze mid–step. Slowly, he turned to face me. His eyes lingered on my pouted lips for just a moment before shifting to my bpale /bwrists, now raw and reddened from my desperate struggles against the cuffs.

A flicker of pain crossed his face.

Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he rushed to my side.

If there was one bthing /bI remembered about bLucian/b, it was bthat /bno matter what I did to him in the past life, he could never stand to see me in pain.

“I’m sorry.” He said, his deep voice softer this time. He pulled a small key from his pocket and unlocked the cuffs.

My eyes never left his face.

The moment my wrists were free, he stepped back, creating distance between us, aware of how much I bhad /bhated him being close to me in our past life.

But before he could retreat any further, I threw myself into his arms, wrapping him in a tight embrace, my face buried in his neck.

I held onto him as if my life depended on it.

Because this time, bmaybe /bit really did.

Lucian’s whole body tensed against mine, but honestly, I didn’t care. He was alive, that was all that bmattered /bto me right now.

“I’m going to protect you this time. I’ll stay right by your side. I won’t go anywhere.” I whispered into his ear, my voice shaking with determination.

I knew he might think I bwas /brambling or that the chloroform they used to knock me out earlier was still clouding my mind. But I meant every single word.

After what felt like an eternity, he pulled hack, his hands gripping my shoulders as his piercing hazel eyes searched my face. bFor /bwhat, I couldn’t say. And truthfully, I didn’t care.

All I wanted to do was to love him better in this life.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He asked, his voice low and filled with suspicion

“I’m not letting you leave the mansion if this is your idea of another little bstunt/b, doll.” His tone had a bwarning /bedge, bbut /ball I could do smile.

He had always said I looked like a porcin doll–with my wless pale skin, big gray eyes, and delicate features. I used to hate that nickname, but now, hearing him bsay /bit made my heart swell.

WILS

His expression shiftedb, /bconfusion mixed with something deeper, something I couldn’t quite put my finger bon/b. His gaze had been more intense since the moment I saw him, his presence heavier, more possessive. It felt like he was hiding something

I pushed that thought baside /bband /bmet his gaze with unwavering resolve.

“I don’t want to go anywhere, Lucian,” I said softly, my smile bright bas /bI wrapped my arms around his neck again. “I want to stay right here with byou/bb. /b

His entire body went stiff.

“Stop it. Just bstop /bit!” He growled, roughly prying my arms from around him and taking a few steps back.

“Stop what?” bI /basked, confused, moving toward him again. “You want me by your side, don’t you?”

Suddenly, his hand wrapped around my throat–not tight enough to hurt, but just enough to keep bme /bbstill/b. His eyes burned into mine, dark and zing with furyb. /b

6:27 AMP.

“You really expect me to believe that, out of nowhere, you suddenly want to be obedient?” He said, his voice dropping to a dangerously low tone. “You’ve been pushing back against me, defying me since the very first moment crossed paths. And now, just like bthat/bb, /byou

want to y nice?”

He leaned closer, his bbreath /bwarm against my skin, his grip firm and unyielding.

“Whatever game you’re ying, you’d better cut it out. Because I swear if this is just another trick, I’ll kill that lover of yours and make sure those pretty legs of yours are broken so you can’t escape me ever again.”

Let him kill Adrian. Honestly, I didn’t care.

I was nning to take that bastard down myself soon enough.

Right now, the only thing that mattered was earning Lucian’s trust.

“I don’t bcare /bbabout /bAdri-“I began, but he interrupted me sharply..

b-Don’t /byou

dare bsay /bhis name in front of me

Before he could finish his thought, I grabbed his face and pulled him in for a kiss.

bAD/b