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The hall had grown too quiet. Even the clink of glasses had stilled. All eyes followed Elder Volkov as he leaned back in his chair, his cane resting against his knee.
“Bring it,” he said, voice gravelled with command.
A maid hurried from the side doors. In her hands lay a small velvet tray, the fabric worn with years of reverence. And resting on it, gleaming beneath the chandeliers, was a ring.
The air shifted. Gasps rippled through the family, hushed but unmistakable.
It was not just any ring.183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFy808A8nCc
It was the Volkov maternal ring, passed only to the bride of the heir. The symbol that the next generation of the family had been chosen, marked, secured.
The maid approached slowly, as though the weight of the jewel might crush her hands. She lowered the tray in front of Raven.
Raven didn’t move at first. His face was a mask, stone-grey, unreadable. His eyes dropped to the ring, its gold band thick, set with a single oval of dark garnet. For a long moment, his hands remained at his sides, cufflinks glinting under the chandelier.
Then, without a word, he took the ring.
Lisa stood poised, crimson lips curved in the faintest smile. She lifted her hand delicately, offering it like an actress waiting for her cue.
Raven slid the ring onto her finger. The motion was precise, without warmth. His fingers brushed hers only as long as the act required, then pulled away.
Lisa let her smirk linger. She turned her hand, letting the garnet catch the light, making sure the family saw how it gleamed against her pale skin.
A cousin at the back let out a sharp breath. Someone muttered a curse under theirs. Elder Volkov’s mouth twitched, satisfied.
The engagement was no longer rumor. It was carved in stone.
The pair turned from the elder’s chair to walk back down the length of the hall. Family shifted as they passed, stiff claps beginning, applause that rang hollow.
Halfway, Lisa faltered. Her heel slipped against the marble, her body tipping with a gasp. Before the family could react, Raven’s hand shot out. His grip closed firm around her waist steadying her.
Lisa’s lashes lowered. Her lips curved into a coy smile, as though the stumble had been rehearsed. Raven dropped his hand at once, setting her back on her feet. His jaw tightened.
From the side, Maximus muttered under his breath, too low for anyone but those nearest to hear. “Fucking theater.”
A giggle escaped one of the younger cousins, too loud in the silence that followed. Lisa’s head snapped in their direction, her glare sharp as glass. The girl’s laughter died instantly.
The applause resumed, stiff and clipped. The air thickened with something unsaid.
The ring was on her finger. The Volkov heir had chosen…or been forced to choose. And the presence of that ring told the room more than words ever could.
It wasn’t just an engagement. It was a claim. A warning. A shift of power sealed in garnet and gold.
And though Raven’s face remained carved from stone, though his eyes betrayed nothing, the hall no longer felt like it belonged only to him.
The last echo of applause died as Raven turned on his heel. He didn’t wait for his father’s dismissal, nor for the family’s murmured farewells. His strides cut through the marble hall, sharp and unhurried every step a statement.
Lisa barely had time to dip her head toward her parents before he passed her. Adam and Sarah Arsenyev pressed polite smiles, but Raven didn’t so much as glance their way.
“Raven,” Lisa called softly her heels clicking as she followed. “We should leave together. It will look…” She let the sentence trail, lips curving faintly. “Better.”
He stopped just long enough to turn his head, his eyes cold steel in the chandelier’s light.
“Know your place,” he said, voice low, measured. Then he stepped out into the night air, the matter closed.
Lisa’s smile froze for only a heartbeat before she gathered herself again. She leaned in to kiss her mother’s cheek, her hand lingering in her father’s. Then with a flutter of skirts, she followed Raven toward the waiting convoy.
~~~~
Outside, the estate’s grounds lay cloaked in mist. Engines rumbled as the line of black cars idled by the steps, headlights burning white into the night. Guards stood in silence, their postures rigid under Raven’s shadow.
Raven slipped into the back seat of the first car without hesitation. Lisa reached for the same handle but Maximus stepped neatly into her path, flashing an easy grin.
“Sorry, princess,” he said, voice mocking-light. “Boss doesn’t share rides.”
Lisa’s eyes narrowed. “I am his fiancée. You think—”
“Think you’ll get your own car.” Maximus pulled the door shut before she could argue. The engine hummed as Raven’s car rolled forward, gravel crunching under the tires.
Lisa’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t argue again. Another car door opened behind her, and she slipped inside, her fake smile returning like a mask pulled back into place.
The convoy moved in formation, black silhouettes carving through the night. The estate lights faded into the distance replaced by the stretch of empty roads and shadowed trees.
Inside his car, Raven leaned against the seat eyes fixed on the darkness beyond the glass. His hands rested calm in his lap, cufflinks catching the glow of the passing streetlights. He didn’t speak.
Beside him, Maximus exhaled smoke from the half-burned cigarette between his fingers. “That was fun,” he muttered, amusement laced with bitterness. “They didn’t even give you a chance to pick your poison. Just shoved the glass in your hand and said drink.”
Raven’s gaze didn’t shift. “Enough.”
Maximus smirked faintly, but let the silence return.
Hours blurred past in quiet, broken only by the steady hum of engines and the occasional crackle of the radio from the lead car. By the time the convoy rolled through the gates of the Volkov mansion, the clock had crossed past two.
The mansion loomed against the night sky, black marble catching the headlights in hard reflections. The fountains had long since gone silent, the gardens still and shadowed. Guards straightened as the cars pulled into the drive, opening the doors without waiting for orders.
Raven stepped out first, adjusting his cuffs with slow precision. His expression betrayed nothing .
Lisa emerged from the second car. She looked at the mansion with quiet awe, her eyes tracing the height of its columns, the gleam of its windows. When her gaze returned to Raven, he was already walking inside, not sparing her a glance.
She followed, her heels sharp against the marble floor.
At the door, Maximus lingered just a step behind her. “Pick a room,” he said with a lazy shrug. “Boss doesn’t care where you sleep so long as it’s not in his.”
Lisa’s eyes tracked Raven’s retreating figure as he climbed the grand staircase, his steps soundless despite the vast hall. Her smile returned, faint and unreadable.
“I’ll choose the one opposite his,” she murmured.
Her gaze stayed locked on Raven until he disappeared from sight.
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The staircase carried Lisa upward in slow, deliberate steps. She didn’t pause to ask which rooms were prepared. She already knew which one she wanted, the one directly across from Raven’s.
Her hand closed around the polished handle and without hesitation, she pushed the door open.
The room inside was not what she expected. It wasn’t lavish or welcoming. Instead, it was modest almost plain: clean sheets, simple furniture, curtains drawn heavy against the night.
And in the bed, half-buried in blankets, sat a young man.
He blinked up at her startled, his hair messy and soft against his forehead. His shoulders were narrow, his skin pale in the dim light, and a silver lip ring caught the glow as he bit down on it nervously. His wide eyes shimmered, red-rimmed from tears he hadn’t managed to hide.
Lisa stepped in without hesitation, her chin lifting slightly, her gaze trailing over him in open appraisal.
“Well,” she said smoothly, voice laced with amusement. “You’re certainly not family.”
The young man scrambled upright, clutching the sheets to his chest as if they could shield him. His lips parted, trembling. “Wh-who are you?”
Lisa didn’t answer. She let the question hang as she took another step closer, her dress whispering across the carpet. She tilted her head, studying him as though he were an object misplaced, something fragile and delicate that had no business here.
“Pretty,” she murmured, the word sliding out like silk.
The young man flinched at it, his fingers tightening on the blanket. His gaze darted to the door then back to her, chest rising fast.
Lisa’s smile curved sharper. “So. Raven keeps you here?”
A voice came from the hall. “Miss.”
Mira appeared at the door, her arms full of folded linens. Her eyes went first to Lisa, then to Luca, a flicker of unease crossing her face. She stepped quickly inside, setting the linens against the dresser.
Lisa didn’t take her eyes off Luca. “Who is he?”
Mira hesitated. “He… came with Master Raven.”
Lisa turned then, finally meeting Mira’s gaze, her brows lifting just slightly. “Came with him? As what?”
Mira’s lips pressed into a thin line. “He is… kept here. His room is locked.”
Lisa let out a soft laugh, low and knowing. “Locked. So not a guest, then.” She glanced back at Luca, who seemed to shrink smaller beneath her stare. “More like a captive.”
Mira stayed silent, her hands folding together in front of her apron. Lisa’s smile returned, poised and dangerous. 183Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhr3ME7knqu
“Well, this is the room I want. Move him elsewhere. The servants’ quarters will do.”
Luca’s head jerked up, his eyes wide, pleading, though he didn’t dare speak.
Mira’s jaw tightened. “Miss, this–”
Lisa cut across her with a single glance, sharp as a blade. “Do it.”
The order landed heavy in the air.
Mira held her gaze for a moment, then lowered her eyes. “Yes, Miss.”
Lisa smoothed her dress with both hands, satisfied. Her eyes lingered one last time on Luca, drinking in his trembling shoulders, the way he bit hard on that silver ring as if it might keep him from breaking.
Then she turned, her heels clicking sharp against the hall floor as she swept out, leaving the scent of her perfume and the weight of her command behind.
In the silence that followed, Luca’s breath hitched. He pressed his forehead against his knees, arms locking around himself as though he could vanish into nothing.
Mira stood still for a long while, staring after Lisa, the lines of worry deepening around her mouth.
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