Amidst the applause of the audience and the loud music, she stood in her long black dress, holding her diploma in her hands, tears burning her cheeks. It wasn't supposed to be a day of sorrow, but it was… because she saw him. She saw him gracefully bending down to place the engagement ring on the finger of a girl he hadn't chosen—but his parents had chosen for him. Their eyes didn't meet, but she noticed a slight tremor in his hand as he held his fiancée's hand. Was he thinking of her? It no longer mattered… not anymore.

She wiped away her tears violently and decided that this night wouldn't be a night of sorrow. She took the arm of the man who had been trying to get close to her for weeks, and whispered to him with a bold smile: "Let's go somewhere more fun."

In the bar, the dim lights danced through the cigarette smoke, and the loud music filled the atmosphere. She sat with him at a table in the corner, spinning her glass between her fingers, laughing at a silly joke he told. She was trying—trying to feel something other than the pain in her chest. But with each glass, the confusion began to grow, her laughter became more sarcastic, and her movements slower.

Then suddenly, she felt a gaze burning her back.

She turned… to see him standing at the entrance, his breath unsteady, his eyes filled with something that looked like… jealousy? No, it was more than that. He was angry. Possessive. A storm he could barely contain.

He didn't give her a chance to think. In a moment, he was there, approaching her quietly, completely ignoring the man sitting next to her, and gently reached out his hand towards her.

"You've had enough fun," he said in a low voice, full of concern.

She tried to back away slightly, but her words were unclear: "Leave me, Aldric… you have no right to do this..."

But there was no room for argument. He came closer to her, and said in a quiet, decisive tone: "You're coming with me."