Chapter 1: Arrival

Fillip's POV:

A knock broke the silence of the room me and Luc were working in. "Enter," I said with an angry tone. Whoever that was, better be careful. I said I was not to be interrupted while working. Everyone knew better than to disobey me. Then I saw him. Him again. Didn't he learn from the last time I kicked him out of the house in front of everybody? Doesn't he have any self-consciousness?

"For what do you grace me with your face, Alberto?" I sneered at him, not standing the smug look on his face.

Fillip, it's always a pleasure to meet you," he said, pride lacing his voice as it always did.

"Always not," I shot back, not bothering to look up from my papers. He scoffs, and that brings a small smirk to my face. Just the mere irritation of this man brings me satisfaction.

"I asked you a question, or would you like to get kicked out like last time?"

"I came here to offer you something," Alberto answered, and my face turned from a smirk into very much that of a psychopath ready to kill.

Raising his hand as if in surrender, Alberto continued quickly, "Now before you kill me with that look on your face, it's not a work deal, it's something better." He waited a second before he invited someone into my office.

Who the fuck did he invite into my office? I had no idea, so I waited as curiosity got the best of me. Seconds later, a line of women was standing in my office. I sat back in my chair, exhaling fully while grinning. I saw Alberto smirk back at me while holding his hands out, presenting the women in front of me, saying, "I'm here to propose a gift... a truce maybe, so what do you think, hmm?" He asked.

"I don't know. What do you think, Luc?" I asked my brother. Me and Luc liked to play, and he knew I'd accept nothing from Alberto.

Giving me a grin, he answered, "I like them, brother." With that, a proud smile formed on Alberto's face. The poor man thought he had done something.

"Let's choose then," I said, taking my sweet time standing up from my chair. I walked in front of every girl and inspected them. There were good ones, not going to lie, but then again, this man, I'd never put my hand in his.

After finally reaching the end of the line, I saw her. She looked different. Something made her stand out—something made her seem alien to be in such a place. The other women's appearance was different. They looked confident as they looked me in the eye as if they wanted to be there, but she didn't. She was looking at the floor, shaking her legs as if waiting to get the hell out of there, as if being here was so beyond her. That intrigued me.

I kept staring at her, my eyes taking in every inch of her body. She looked frail, maybe sick; where has she been? Coal-black hair was covering her face just like a curtain covering the sunlight, which intrigued me even more. I wanted to see her face.

I gently put my hand under her chin and raised her head to take a better look. It shouldn't have, but for some reason, the breath got knocked out of me when I found those icy blue eyes staring back at me. They looked fragile, like broken glass. I didn't find sunlight waiting for me; I found light skin and perfectly drawn eyes and nose. I saw the moon.

After realizing my hands had stayed for longer than they should have, I lowered them as she held my gaze. There was this look she gave me—something I really couldn't make out, something so close to disgust.

I finally backed away as I asked, "Name?" and that moron answered me, "Fleur, her name is Fleur de Lis."

"I was asking her. Care to speak another word without being spoken to, I won't hesitate to shoot your brains out of your fucking skull." That was warning enough to shut Alberto up. After assessing the girl, whom I now knew as Fleur, one last time, I called for my second-in-command, Christian.

"I want you to take our guest here, Miss Fleur, to the room next to mine; it's hers now," I ordered, walking back to my chair and desk. Christian didn't waste time as he took Fleur in his hands and started dragging her out of the room.

"So does that mean we have a deal?"

"Wasn't this a gift, Alberto, or am I mistaken? I accepted it. Now you can take your whores and get the hell out of my house before I do it myself, and you know how this ends."

Not wasting any more time or energy trying to convince me of his deal, Alberto took his woman and got out of my office.

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Fleur's POV:

I was dragged out of the office room by someone, whom I suppose is Christian. He was tall, had golden skin that glowed in the sun, and a broad chest. His long, dirty blond hair hung loosely in a man bun; it suited him. On a side note, he was also strong; my arms were hurting while being dragged by him upstairs and through corridors. So I protested. I probably shouldn't have since these people look more dangerous than Alberto's men, but I am also not a puppet to be dragged around.

"Can we go slower?" I requested, and he didn't so much as spare me a glance; hell, he even went faster. So I jerked my arm out of his hand and stopped moving. That's when he glared.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" He questioned me, angry with what I had just done.

"I asked you to go slower." I talked back; I didn't really care. It wasn't my first time in dangerous people's houses. The faster you can piss them off, the faster they will let you go. He closed up to me and looked like he was about to kiss or hit me, but given the situation we were in right now, he was definitely going for a hit.

I backed away slowly, but he caught my arm in his hand again and said, "You better follow the rules around here, bad girl; otherwise, not-so-pretty things would happen to you." He was now pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear, and all I did was nod quickly. He was intimidating, I'll give him that.

"Alright, what's happening here?" I heard a strong voice calling ahead of us. Whipping my head towards the speaker, I saw it was the same man from the office, not the one that looked women up and down as if they were his toys. This was the one he called brother.

"Luc..." Christian called and looked at him strangely. As if this was a surprise to him to find this man following us. "Is there something wrong? Did Fillip change his mind? Should we throw her in the basement instead?" he said, giving me a sideways glance and a mean smirk. When I spotted that smirk on his face, I almost leaped on him to slap it off. Unfortunately, I didn't.

Luc shook his head smoothly, and I could tell from that small movement, the way he stood with his hands in his pocket, and that smile plastered on his face that he was a graceful person. Letting my eyes settle on him for a while, I noticed he was young—younger than Christian, but as intimidating as he was, maybe even more.

Luc had grey eyes, the ones he shared with Fillip; they were the only thing I could focus on when his hand lingered on my chin gently...longer than it should have. It was also the only thing that even I couldn't pull my focus off Luc's face. I must have stared for too long because now he was staring at me directly while smiling. For a moment, it could trick you and make you think it was kind, but I knew better than to trust anyone in houses like this.

"I heard you were giving Christian trouble; why don't you let me escort you to your room?" Luc didn't wait for a response as he took my hand and pulled me with him. I didn't take that as a good sign. Despite that, I had no other choice but to walk with him and linger slowly at his tail so I wouldn't be walking beside him. Even though he had this soft, easy smile and graceful movements, I didn't like him; in fact, I didn't like anyone in this house.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we reached a door. Luc leaned forward and opened it for me. Without saying thank you, I rushed inside, wanting to get away from him. Sighing a sigh of relief that I was at last alone, I turned around to take a look, and then here he was standing there staring at me. I hadn't the slightest idea what to do, so I stood there looking at him while he eyed me up and down like I was his prey. I knew he was up to no good.

Tick tock tick tock, I could hear the clock ticking. I held on to its sound and focused on it. It was the only thing that kept me grounded and sane—the only thing that stopped me from running past him and out the door.

Well, the silence is too awkward," he chuckled under his breath, but I said nothing. If silence made him uneasy, then I'll gladly stay that way; as I said, the faster you piss them off, the faster you're gone, but he was not finished here. Not even close. I wish he was, but he wasn't. Slowly, he began taking small steps towards me, and in contrast, I took one backward. In an attempt to avoid hitting any walls, I turned in circles. Somehow I ended up in his original place, and he was in mine.

Without a second thought, I was running for the door. For a mere second, I thought maybe I had escaped. Perhaps I won't have to go through this on my first day here. Maybe I had been successful and outsmarted him, but it didn't last long. I felt a strong hand find mine, and all my hopes were shattered. I cried out as I was slammed against the nearest wall with bone-shattering strength. My head landed with a bang, and immediately pain spread through it like a tumor.

I pushed and pushed and pushed, but I was unsuccessful in getting him off of me. Luc was smirking now, his soft, warming smile long gone.

"Where are you going, darling?" He purred in my ears, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine. He had started leaving wet trails of kisses on my neck, collarbone, and jawline. Deciding pushing him would do me no good, I went for the thing no man can handle... I kicked him in the crotch.

Luc yelled in pain as he backed off, a string of curses coming out of his mouth. I'm pretty sure it was something close to fucking bitch. I now knew better than to try and run again, so I screamed as loud as I could for anyone. When he realised what I was doing, he immediately advanced towards me, putting his hand around my throat—hard enough for me to know it would leave a bruise tomorrow.

"Shut the fuck up, bitch," Luc snarled viciously in my face as he pressed his hands harder into my neck, cutting off my air supply. Things around me started to swim, and looking into Luc's grey eyes felt like being faced with a storm with all his anger focused on my throat. Soon enough, I was choking, and just as fast, I felt consciousness slip away.

Just before I was about to pass out, Luc was off of me, and I was on the floor struggling for breath. Muffled voices were in the room, and when I looked up with teary eyes, I saw two other figures in the room. I didn't even hear the door open.

One of them was Christian, for his long blond hair made it easy to recognise him. I wasn't able to recognise the other one towering over Luc, but as my vision returned to normal again, I knew it was the man from the office. Fillip. The man who bound me to this cursed place

Did I hate him? I thought as I looked up at them from the floor. I thought of his hand, gentle when it shouldn't have been, and the place where he had touched me, burning, reminding me of his touch. But he is the reason I am here, having chosen me from the bunch of women Alberto had brought to him.

So do I hate him? How should I feel about him? I had made a vow to myself not to trust anyone anywhere I went; this was not an option. I had ended up with a lot of horrible, dangerous people who could get me killed.

I could never say he was different, and neither did I feel it. The way he talked to Alberto and the way he was looking at women made it obvious. But also the way he looked angry, furious even with his brother for touching me, made a small thing entirely missable ignite in my chest. Was that hope? Or was it the spark of something else?

Before I could get lost in my sea of thoughts even more, someone kneeling in front of me pulled me back to reality. I backed away almost instantly and then cursed myself mentally for doing so. I am not supposed to show any weakness, and I am not supposed to yield, yet here I was shaking in front of Fillip while he inspected me slowly.

He reached out to touch me, but I didn't give him a chance—not again. I pushed his hand away, just as it was coming closer to my face. He immediately held my hand in his, twisting it a bit to the point where it would just start to hurt. I looked at him, and he raised one eyebrow as if I were challenging him.

We kept staring at each other while he still held my hand. Fillip noticed it again - the way he was staring at me when he shouldn't- and immediately got up. It was nothing close to the way he was holding my chin gently earlier, but he let go of me with some form of reluctance.

"Get Sebastian; he should take a look at her and you." Fillip turned, pointing at Luc, and said, "I want you in my office. Now." His voice left no place for argument, and Luc obeyed, walking out with Christian.

"Will you at least get off the floor?" Fillip asked, his voice filled with disbelief. Glaring at him, I stayed glued in my place, ignoring him, which earned me a frustrated sigh from Fillip as he aggressively rubbed his face with his hand. Oh well, he chose me, and he's stuck with me.

I wanted to say that I stayed on the floor purely to spite him, but in all honesty, I was too tired to get up. I don't know how long I haven't slept on a proper bed, and when I scanned the room, I realised how luxurious it was. It was, at least, five times bigger than the hell hole of a room Alberto threw me in for years. The king-sized bed in the middle of the room talked to me, and there was another extra door that I assumed was the bathroom. I wondered how big it would be. Maybe that too would be larger than the room at Alberto's.

The curtains were half-opened, and they let in a bit of light that illuminated not just the room but also Fillip. He had something about him; the grey of his eyes was as dark and melancholy as the ashes of the people he killed. Yet they glowed with something raw in them, begging to be set free. An emotion I couldn't possibly make out, for monsters like him didn't feel, and if they did, it was only wrath and anger. I wasn't willing to take chances to try and see beyond all this anger.

Minutes later, another man came rushing into the room and took a quick scan. His eyes stayed on me for a moment, and his face turned into a confused frown. "Fillip, Christian said you called for me; I didn't think it was for someone else," he said, looking at me again as if I were some alien or animal on their luxurious bedroom floor.

"I'm ok, Sebastian. She's not. Take a look at her. Give her something, maybe; I don't want her to go around kicking my men," he said, looking at me sideways as he smirked. It wasn't nice by any means. It looked sinister, as if warning me of the consequences of my disobedience and what I did to his brother. He deserved it, though.

How I wanted to leap on him too and slap it off, kick him, and run away. I did nothing of that; I sat there, and in return, I scowled at him. He could go fuck himself for all I care.

After he had walked out, Sebastian convinced me to get up on the bed. We talked a little; well, he did. I just sat there and listened to what he had to say. Silently assessing him. Sebastian had blue eyes, just like mine. They were sapphire blue, and honestly, they looked beautiful. He had stubble, and despite not liking how it looked on men, it suited how he looked. He was also not much shorter than Fillip; my god, why are all of them so tall?

He told me all about this place and Fillip, not that he was unknown. Ever since Fillip killed the don of New York and took over, he has been feared by everyone. I didn't know him when I first laid eyes on him. I had never seen him before; I had just heard the myths and stories of his glorious murders. I was surprised I would give him that; I expected him to look a bit more... terrifying, I guess?

Warnings were also something Sebastian loved to give. He warned me about every person he had spoken about. He also told me to behave and that this place was dangerous enough; little did he know that that was my plan: to piss them off and then escape. I refused to take the pills he insisted on me taking; they could be poisoned for all I knew. Then suddenly, I felt a sting in my arm. I looked at Sebastian wide-eyed, and then I saw a needle infiltrating my arm. All of a sudden, sleep hit me like a rock on the head, and I couldn't fight it. Looking at him one last time, he smiled at me as he laid me on the bed.

I thought, okay, maybe just for a bit I will relax and plan to escape here later. I wanted to sleep on that comfortable bed under the warmth of this comforter. But the thing I had no idea why I thought of as I drifted to sleep was him, Fillip, his hand holding mine, his cold grey eyes staring back at me. Then, I was finally enveloped by the darkness. What a strange thought to fall asleep to.