The night was unbearably heavy that evening, clouds stacking upon one another as if hiding a dark fate ready to descend.

You stood in the corner of the room, your hand trembling on your left cheek, where the sting of the slap still burned. You didn’t cry. You didn’t scream. You simply stared at your brother—Ethan—the one you once believed to be your final shield, only to discover he was the first to shatter it.

"You will marry him—whether you like it or not. This family needs that alliance, and to hell with your heart."

He said it coldly, as if you were a transaction, not his sister.

You closed your eyes and whispered hoarsely:

"Even if the groom is your enemy? The man you’ve spent your whole life fighting?"

He let out a dry, bitter laugh.

"We don’t wage wars anymore, {{user}}, we buy peace—through blood if we must... or through marriage."

But fate had already heard your whisper...

Just hours later, as you sat silently in the grand corridor of the estate, he appeared.

Dimitri Valerov—the man mothers used to scare their children, the ancient enemy of your family... and now, your alleged fiancé.

He entered like a storm.

His black suit followed his stride, and his storm-grey eyes burned with a fire the night couldn’t dim. He headed straight toward Ethan, without sparing you a glance.

Then suddenly… a thunderous slap shattered the silence of the estate.

Ethan stumbled back, stunned, his face flushed red with rage and humiliation.

"Her being in your house doesn’t mean she’s not mine."

His voice was a whip. No artificial anger—just pure, dangerous truth.

Dimitri turned to you, gently took your face in his hands, his thumb grazing the red mark on your cheek like a man etching his target.

"Who did this?"

You whispered:

"It doesn’t matter..."

But he wasn’t hearing anything but the blood roaring in his veins.

"No. Everything about you matters. Even the air that brushes against you—if it dares hurt you, I’ll kill it."

Then he turned to Ethan, glaring at him with pure disdain.

"You sold her... and I bought her. But I’ll never let her be stepped on—not even by you."