“No dad! Mom come on you too? I've always done everything this family wanted but not this. This is the height of it. I'll not marry a man I don't love. Talk more or less of knowing him.” Lily cried out.
“Yes you will.” Her father replied “You're the eldest daughter. Or should we marry off your kid sister? We can't hide it from you anymore. We need to save our company. Or I may not even have the face to work at hospitals anymore. We need this pharmaceutical company to keep the respect I have. Please!”
“ B–but Mom….”
“I'm sorry sweetheart, it's the only option we have as of now.” Her mother said as her eyes looked watery and her lips heavy.
Lily stormed out of the house and speed dialed on her phone.
Daou: Hey babe, how are you?
Lily: Where are you? I'm on my way.
She said as she let out heavy sniffs and tears rolling down her eyes.
Daou: Are you okay? I'm downtown at Dom's place. Pull up
Lily: Okay . Hangs up.
“I can’t do it,” she gasped against his chest, the chill of her breath matching the storm inside her. “They’re selling me, Daou. Like I’m... like I’m nothing.”
Daou’s jaw clenched. He held her tighter, his fingers digging into her back like he could anchor her to something real. He had always known the Cruz family operated in shadows, behind locked doors and sealed contracts. But this—this was a different kind of cruelty.
“You’re not nothing,” he murmured, kissing the crown of her damp hair. “You’re Lily Cruz. You’re everything they wish they could control.”
“But they can control me,” she said bitterly, pulling back to look at him. Her eyes—so fierce, so full of fire just weeks ago—were now rimmed red, drained. “They chose Leo Kavinsky. Do you know what that means? He’s not known to be a kind man and is 8 years older than me. He owns arms factories, Daou. Factories. And he smiles like death when he walks into a room.”
Daou flinched at the name. Of course he knew. Everyone did. Leo Kavinsky wasn’t a man; he was a machine in a designer suit. Ruthless, methodical, the kind of power that didn’t need to raise its voice to silence a room. Known for his attraction to high class women and well known for one night stands and how he didn't respect women.
“You’re not going to marry him,” Daou said, the words steel in the soft night.
She gave a hollow laugh. “And how am I going to stop it? Run away? They’d find me before I even hit the county line. You can't escape Cruz blood.”
“We’ll find a way.”
Lily stared at him. There was a flicker—something ancient and wild in her. Then it vanished.
“Daou, don’t promise me things we can’t have. Please. Not tonight.”
But even as she said it, her fingers wouldn’t let go of him.
The next morning, Lily stood before her mother, dressed in a gown that shimmered like betrayal. Pale lavender silk wrapped around her like a noose, cinched at the waist by a diamond belt older than the estate itself. Celeste Cruz eyed her with the approval of a queen inspecting a sacrifice.
“Hold your head high,” Celeste said, adjusting one of Lily’s earrings. “You are not a girl anymore. You are the future of this family.”
Lily wanted to spit the words back. But she’d learned better.
“I hope the future can sleep with monsters.”
Celeste paused, her hand frozen mid-air. “Leo is not a monster. He is efficient. Strategic. Powerful. I'm sorry and I know you don't want this. But trust me it's all worth it.”
“He’s a butcher, Mother. He sells war.”
“He sells order, Lily.” Her mother’s voice sharpened. “And he keeps men like your little friend Daou in check.”
That did it. Something in Lily cracked, a blade sliding out from years of forced silence.
“Don’t you dare say his name like that. Daou is more manly than Leo could ever pretend to be.”
Celeste’s face went cold. “And that... is why you will never see him again.”
Lily’s heart thudded like a death sentence.
Inside the Cruz estate, the engagement party had begun.
The ballroom sparkled with chandeliers and deceit. Leo Kavinsky stood at the center like a king, smiling at Lily with the calculation of a man who had won a game before it began.
His voice was low, smooth, rehearsed. “You look radiant.”
“And you look hungry,” she replied coldly. “I suppose we’re both playing our parts.”
Leo’s smile didn’t falter. “I admire your honesty. It’s a rare quality. One I will... break gently.”
She froze.
Leo leaned in, brushing his lips near her ear.
“Your rebellion is charming. For now.”
Lily’s throat tightened.
She looked up—and saw Daou.
At the far edge of the ballroom, beyond the guards, behind the curtain of people who didn’t care about love, he was there.
He had come in through the servant wing, dressed in black, unnoticed.
Their eyes met. It was only a second. But it felt like forever.
Lily stepped forward. Leo caught her wrist.
“Don’t,” he warned softly.
“Let me go.”
His grip tightened.
And in the blink of an eye Daou disappeared.