Liviana
The sun hovered high above the compound as the sleek black car pulled up to the portico, its polished surface reflecting the pale heat of the day.
I stood on the steps in a pale blue sundress, the hem dancing around my knees in the breeze, one of the housekeepers had ironed it this morning, Daphne, of course, she said it made my eyes stand out, I didn't argue, there were only so many pleasures allowed in this life, and compliments from Daphne were rare and worth treasuring.
Today, we were going clothes shopping, or at least, that's what I was told, I never truly chose where I went, everything was scheduled, guarded, monitored, the two women flanking me now, Marcella and Gia, might have looked like friends, but I knew better, they were eyes and ears for my uncle. Always watching, always reporting.
Still, I clutched the thin strap of my purse tightly, pretending I had some autonomy, even if just for the car ride, even if only for the quiet illusion of normalcy.
Marcella gave a curt nod to one of the guards, and he opened the rear passenger door for me, I ducked inside, settling into the leather seat, the engine purred to life, the air inside was already cool, a small mercy.
We pulled away from the front steps, tires crunching over gravel, and turned onto one of the winding paths that led toward the compound's outer gate. As the house disappeared behind us, I let my head fall against the window, the sunlit trees outside blurred past in streaks of green and gold.
Then, a sound disrupted the usual calm.
Engines.
Not the whiny kind you hear from work trucks or the occasional delivery van, but deep, powerful ones. Refined. Controlled.
Curiosity stirred, uncoiling in my chest.
I leaned forward slightly, craning my neck toward the front windshield, another car, no, a convoy, was moving slowly along the main path, just ahead of us, approaching the mansion we'd just left.
They weren't part of our household fleet. I would have remembered cars like those. Black, gleaming, armored, polished to perfection.
Whoever they were, they weren't from here.
The vehicles passed by our car one by one, and I couldn't help myself. I turned to look.
That was when I saw him.
One of the back windows rolled down slightly, as if the person inside was just as curious about us as I was about them. And then our eyes met-his and mine-across the dusty air between the vehicles.
Everything stilled.
He had grey eyes, the kind of grey that didn't dull with distance or dust or shadow, they pierced straight through the tinted glass and locked onto me, storm eyes, fierce, unreadable.
His face was sharp, symmetrical in a way that felt almost unfair, high cheekbones, a jawline like it had been carved from stone, his black hair was artfully tousled, like he didn't care,but somehow it looked like perfection.
A tattoo crept up one side of his neck, disappearing beneath the collar of a crisp shirt, not loud or ostentatious, just enough to make a statement.
Who was he?
For a moment, the world melted away,the guards, the compound, the shadow of my uncle's empire, I was just a girl in a car, and he was the most striking man I had ever seen.
Then the moment passed.
His car rolled forward, swallowed up in the direction of the mansion.
I turned quickly, pretending to fix the strap on my dress, but my heart was thudding violently beneath my ribs.
"Did you see that?" Gia asked softly, from beside me.
I shook my head, feigning ignorance. "See what?"
She gave me a strange look. "Nothing."
But I knew she had seen it too,the way our gazes locked, the pause in time, she'd report it, she always did.
Still, I couldn't shake the vision of him, those storm-grey eyes, that quiet, lethal intensity.
I wanted to ask questions, but I knew better.
So I sat still, biting the inside of my cheek, and waited for the car to carry me out beyond the gates.
The drive into the nearby city should have felt like freedom, the sky was wide, the roads open, and the walls of my uncle's estate were now far behind us, but I couldn't escape the feeling that the world itself was watching me.
We stopped at a luxury boutique nestled between modern glass buildings, Inside, an assistant greeted us with practiced smiles and obsequious charm, I tried on dress after dress while Marcella and Gia lingered by the entrance, murmuring into their phones.
They weren't here for the clothes, they were here for me.
I slipped into a silky champagne-colored gown, the fabric whispering over my skin like a promise. I studied myself in the mirror, but all I could think about were those eyes.
Grey. Watchful. Knowing.
Who was that man?
Why was he here?
I left the store an hour later with several dresses boxed up and placed in the trunk of the car, as we climbed back in, Gia whispered something to Marcella that I couldn't hear. Whatever it was, it made her glance back at me, her mouth pressed into a tight, unreadable line.
As the car turned back toward the estate, I kept my face impassive. But inside, I was unravelling.
The compound had never felt so suffocating.
We returned just before dusk. The air was cooler now, and the guards at the gate moved with more urgency, checking vehicles, inspecting trunks, double-checking credentials.
Something had changed.
The cars from earlier were still parked along the front of the mansion. I recognized the one he had been in. Still gleaming, still sleek.
I swallowed hard and looked away, heading up the stairs as Daphne opened the door and ushered me inside.
"You're back," she said, trying to sound cheerful. But there was a tightness around her eyes.
"I saw someone today," I murmured.
Her brows lifted slightly. "Oh?"
"In a car, man, not from here."
Daphne hesitated. "Tall? Black hair? Tattoos?"
My eyes widened. "You saw him too?"
She nodded, her voice dropping to a whisper. "He's inside. Meeting with your uncle."
My heart skipped. "Do you know who he is?"
She shook her head. "But men like that don't come here for small talk."
That night, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. The air smelled faintly of lavender from the sachets Daphne tucked into the dresser drawers, but even that calming scent couldn't settle me.
My fingers toyed with the hem of the sundress now hanging neatly on a hook, I'd seen men come and go from this place,dangerous men.
Powerful men.
But never one who looked at me like that,Like he saw through the walls, through the lies.
I didn't know it then.
But he wasn't just a visitor.
He was going to change everything.