The Coldness in His Eyes.

Selene's POV

After Caius went, the room was oppressively quiet. The weight of the paper on the desk was palpable, and it was staring back at me as though it were challenging me to choose. It read simply: to be his lover... and nothing else. What was the meaning of that? Could I put up with that? Could I accept the fact that I no longer controlled my destiny? That I was already, as it were, trapped?

He had so much power over me, and I detested it. The sensation lingered in the back of my throat like a bitter taste. However, I couldn't resist the want to live. He was providing me with protection, which I had not had since I awoke in this mansion, in this strange life. But something felt off about it. Even when he smiled, the coldness that never really went away, the blackness in his eyes... On the inside, I didn't know who he was.

I wanted to know more. Regarding him. Concerning me.

However, as I gazed at the door he had just left, the anxiety continued to bite me. Would he return to ask me a question? How would it be if I didn't sign it? As I crossed the room, my fingers shaking, I reached for the contract, and the questions only got bigger.

I jerked my hand back in surprise when the door creaked open. Once more, the room was filled with Caius's presence, which was like an unsaid demand. I was shivering by the intensity with which his dark eyes evaluated me.

"Have you given it any thought?" he inquired in a cool tone that was tinged with an unidentified substance. Are you expecting? Or a colder one? I had no idea.

As I gulped, I tried to calm myself. "I am unsure of my ability to."

He entered and closed the door behind him with a smoothness that demonstrated that he had done this before—completely under control. However, he stopped and looked at my face, his eyes softening somewhat. He seemed to sense the conflict inside of me.

With a softer tone than previously, he said, "Selene," as though he were attempting to entice me. "This is more than just you and me. It concerns your future. Your security. Your ability to survive.

In my chest, my heart thumped. I detested his correctness. I was uneasy, though, because of the way he spoke and the way his voice sounded. There was no need for him to try to control me. He had already done so.

In an attempt to cling to what little independence I still had, I made myself look into his eyes. "You're giving me a life under your control. A contract. Caius, it's a cage.

There was a slow, deadly smirk tugging at his lips. You see, Selene, it's not a cage. Not when you're a wealthy person. Not when you have all you could require.

However, what about me? I lost it. "But what about me? Who was I before everything?

His face froze for a second, a very short second, and then froze again. "You're not sure, are you?"

The words sliced through me like a dagger, and I stepped back. Even when I didn't want to be, his eyes captivated me and held me captive. I wanted to yell, to strike out. But I was immobilized by the weight of my bewilderment.

With my voice hardly audible, I muttered, "No." "No, I don't."

His posture was calm but final, as he leaned against the desk. As a woman, you had a history. A woman who lost everything she owned. However, now that I'm here, you can have something fresh. Something superior. You simply must accept it.

The apprehension persisted even though the temptation was so intense that it felt like a bodily tug. In reality, what was he offering? What did he expect in exchange? The coldness in his gaze was too obvious for me to ignore. His gentleness simply helped to highlight the true terror of his authority.

With a calm but powerful voice, I stated, "I don't want to be your prisoner."

The smile that shot chills down my spine twisted Caius's lips. His tone was kind, even derisive, as he asked, "You think you have a choice, Selene?"

I froze as his comments hit a nerve I was unaware existed. Every breath seemed to push the concept of freedom farther away as if the walls surrounding me were closing in closer.

I reiterated, but my voice faltered now, revealing my internal hesitancy. "I don't want to be trapped." I didn't know where I was. The life I had known was no more. And I kept asking myself if this—him—was the only path I could take.

With his shadowy presence hovering over me, Caius got closer. Don't consider it a prison, then. Imagine it as a new chapter. The opportunity to begin anew.

My heart was pounding. The smoothness and persuasiveness of his words encircled me like silk. I still had the unshakeable impression that there was something more sinister below.

I gazed at him, attempting to interpret his expression and motivations. Was he truly trying to give me an escape route? Was this, instead, just another chain masquerading as something sweet?

"What happened to me is something I can't forget," I added, my voice shaking. "Even though I don't recall it, I can't forget who I was."

Before the hardness returned, his eyes briefly softened once again. You don't have to recall, Selene. You only have to decide. Select me. Decide on safety. Pick power. Pick everything.

All of it. What was the meaning of that?

The tense hush that hung between us was thick. Two options offered different types of cages, and I felt stuck between them. Was he someone I could trust? Could I believe in myself?

I forced myself to look into his eyes after taking a long breath. "Caius, what are you truly hoping to gain from me?" I said the question before I could stop myself.

The grin that appeared on his lips was slow and rapacious. "I desire you, Selene. But I want to keep you safe, too. No one else is capable. As if I could.

I recoiled when his words hit me with more force than I had anticipated. Was he interested in me? Or did he see me as simply another pawn in his scheme?

I said, almost beseechingly, "I don't trust you." "I am unsure of my ability to."

With a whispery voice, he answered, "You don't have to trust me." But you do require me. And that is all that is important.

Because of the tension between us, the air felt heavy. And he was correct. He wasn't someone I trusted. At the same time, though, I needed him. In a desperate manner.

With his voice hardening once again, Caius added, "Sign it, Selene." "You're short on time."

My heart thumping in my chest, I gazed at the contract. Should I sign, what would I lose? When I didn't, what would I lose?

I briefly caught a glimpse of something darker than usual in his icy gaze as it stared back at me. Something hazardous. I was also aware that my decision would force me to enter a world from which I would be unable to escape.

However, as my hand shook and I grabbed for the pen, a fresh voice resounded in the corridor beyond the study.

"Caius."

Before I had a chance to react, the door flung open. There was a woman, and she was just as dominant as he was. When she looked at me, her eyes were full of disdain and her hair was sleek and dark.

"Is she here?" With an air of contempt in her voice, she inquired.

Unable to interpret his face, Caius turned to face her. In a cold tone, he replied, "Yes."

As her eyes traveled over me, the woman's lip curled into a sneer. "She's just a distraction," she remarked scathingly. You are aware of it. I'm aware of it.

I tensed, the pressure of her words like a vice clamping down on me. She was who? What made her treat me as though I were inconsequential?

I turned to look at Caius, but he remained silent. His face could hardly be read as he stared at the woman.

There was an intolerable tension in the room. It was more than just me. I found myself amid something even more perilous.

"Who are you?" My voice was hardly more than a whisper when I asked.

It seemed as though the entire room was holding its breath as the woman's eyes narrowed.

"You'll learn soon enough," she stated icily.

I could feel the weight of the choice bearing down on me again, and the atmosphere between us was heavy with animosity. What was it I had gotten into?

Nothing in this estate was as it seemed, I knew for sure as I stood there, caught up in the tense moment. And I had to make decisions that went beyond just survival. The topic of them was power. Strength that would permanently mold my destiny.

I reached for the pen again, but the woman's cold eyes stared at me one last time. Whatever I chose, I knew from something in her eyes that the world I had entered was much more hazardous than I could have ever imagined.