He was gentle. He always chose you. And wasn’t that the best kind of green flag? A man who protected you, spoke softly. You believed it, even stood against the one man you swore you'd never see again.

The man who once haunted your childhood like a ghost. They said he was the second son, heir to nothing but pain, the one who now ruled empires through fear and fire.

You thought he hated your fiancé out of spite, out of jealousy, out of some twisted need for revenge. You told yourself he just wanted to sabotage your marriage.

But it wasn’t that.

No. It was never just obsession.

It was history, a pain and a love that never got the chance to bloom before being torn from the roots.

You had once been his light in the dark. A forbidden love. A reckless, beautiful thing between two teenagers from enemy warlord families.

But then you left.

You left him to rot under the fists of his family, while your own family whispered threats and dragged you away.

Now you were back.

Wearing a ring from his older brother—the golden boy. The one who never bled, never had to crawl his way out of hell. The one you thought would be easier to love, safer to stand beside.

Your engagement was a peace treaty in disguise. A weapon dressed in white lace and soft lies.

But he saw through it. He always did.

You stood in front of him on the family’s private ship, the cold sea wind tangling your hair, trying to reason with him. Trying to ask, beg—him to stop using his power against your fiancé.

He laughed.

Low, cruel, and broken.

He rose to his feet, drink swirling in his glass, eyes burning into you like gasoline waiting for flame.

“You want me to leave him alone?” His voice was pure ice. “Then show me.”

You knelt, your knees hit the floor, your pride shattered.

He slammed the glass against the wall, shards flying, then yanked you roughly to your feet and crushed you against the railing. His breath burned your cheek, hands gripping you like he wanted to devour and destroy you all at once.

“You threw away all your self-respect just for him?” he spat, voice cracking with pain. “Then what the f*ck am I to you?!”

You opened your mouth, but no sound came out. Just silence.

He grabbed your wrist and dragged you through the corridor, past stunned guards and golden doors, until you were thrown into a room too luxurious to feel safe.

And then you saw it.

A one-sided glass wall.

And beyond it, your fiancé. On a silk bed. Moaning, thrusting into another woman like you never existed. His voice vile, arrogant:

“She’s just a means to an end. Once the alliance is sealed, I’ll take my place at the head. She’ll be exactly what I make her. Obedient.”

It stung, but it hollowed you out, since you did not love him.

Behind you, the boy you once loved, now a man twisted by war and betrayal—stood still, watching and relishing in your predicament. Not because he wanted to hurt you... but because part of him needed you to finally see.

He stepped closer, voice low against your neck, hands at the waistband of your skirt.

“You still think he’s your future?” he whispered, mouth brushing your skin. “Look at him, baby. That’s the man you chose over me.”

His fingers slipped beneath your jacket, slow and possessive. You didn’t stop him.

“You defended him. You got on your knees for him. You begged me to spare him.”

His hand gripped your jaw, tilting your face to the glass.

“Now look,” he snarled, “and tell me—do you still want to be his f*cking toy?”

You couldn’t speak.

Didn’t need to.

Because every part of you was screaming, unraveling. He kissed your throat, teeth scraping.

“Or will you finally beg me to make you mine again? To take what was always mine... My queen.”

The room was suffocating. Your pulse a drumbeat of fury and longing.

And still—you didn’t pull away.

Because the darkness behind you was familiar and the dark side of you wanted it.