Lucian couldn't stop thinking about her how her gaze had been soft on his, how she hadn't been afraid of him, how she'd looked almost… at peace, the girl in the yellow dress.
He had heard her friend call her name that evening. Riah. It rolled off his tongue too easily, almost like it belonged there, "Riah," he whispered again into the quiet of his apartment , testing the sound of it, letting it settle in the air like a secret he wasn't meant to keep,the one whose smile felt like sunlight through glass soft yet strong enough to burn through the cold edges of his immortal heart,
He had lived for centuries, seen beauty in every form imaginable, but none of them stayed in his thoughts the way she did,
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her standing in the garden under the golden lights, lost in thought, unaware of the storm she had awakened inside him,her hand almost touching his cheek, her eyes shimmering with a softness that had no place in his world,she had looked at him as if she knew something he didn't, he tried to shake her off tried drowning himself in the silence of the glass-walled apartment, the hum of the city below, but even here, even in the quiet meant to calm him,that low, airy sound, warm and free, "Who are you?" he whispered to no one, but even his voice sounded different when he said it — gentler, weaker, touched by a longing he didn't understand. Lucian Fox didn't believe in longing, he believed in control — of empires, of people, of himself,yet this stranger had undone him with nothing but a look.
That night, as the city slept, Riah dreamed.
She stood once again in that garden the same one from the fundraiser, where the air smelled of woody smoke and rain. The night was silver and still, the world seemed to breathe slower there, and in front of her, he stood — the man with the piercing blue eyes. The one who shouldn't have felt familiar, but did, his gaze held hers, steady and unreadable, her heart thudded, not in fear, but in something else entirely something that pulled her closer before she even realized she'd moved, her hand lifted, trembling, reaching for his cheek, she could feel the warmth radiating from his skin, shr wanted to touch him. Needed to. But before her fingertips met his face, a flash of light the same kind that separates dream from waking swallowed her, riah's breath caught as she opened her eyes, her room dim, her pulse racing,"Who are you…" she whispered into the dark, her own voice shaking.
The clock blinked 4:07 a.m, she rubbed her face, frustrated, this was the first night she'd dreamed of him, she pushed herself out of bed, deciding that sleep wasn't an option. Maybe a run would help, the morning air was crisp, scented faintly of wet concrete and early mist. Lucid City was barely awake, streetlights still burned, and the world was quiet except for her sneakers hitting the pavement, Riah ran until her lungs burned, until the strange ache in her chest dulled enough for her to breathe again, but no matter how far she went, his face followed her those eyes, that look, that unexplainable calm, by the time she got home, the sun had begun to rise,she showered, cooked breakfast for her mother and Nessa, cleaned, and packed for her evening shift, the day unfolded like every other smiles at work, laughter with the kids, gentle words for the sick, but behind her smile was that question that refused to fade. Who was he?.
weeks had gone by, but Lucian hadn't been able to collect his thoughts from that unfamiliar feeling, It was chaos inside him a train wreck he couldn't control, how surprising for him a man who had known no fear, no worry, no weakness to be so undone by something so small, so gentle, so breathtakingly human, how could someone so petite, so tender, stir such a storm inside him?
Days passed, but the thought of her didn't fade, he needed to clear his head,He had looked into her, he tried to make sense of it. He gathered information about her Riah Chris, twenty-one, nurse at Lucid General Hospital, single, no public record of scandals or ties, dead dad,Nothing remarkable, and yet, everything about her was,"She's just an ordinary girl," he muttered to himself, but the words felt hollow, Because ordinary girls didn't leave ghosts behind when they smiled,when the ache became too loud, he decided to escape the only way he knew.
It had been months since he'd stepped foot in one of his clubs. But that night, he found himself there sitting in the dim VIP area of Eclipse, glass in hand, staring through the haze of smoke and light,Laughter rippled through the air, champagne fizzed, and the beats thumped against the walls. Yet even in that chaos, he felt… nothing, all he could see my he, Lucian Ray was, after all, the most powerful man in Lucid City owner of almost every major business, every building that touched the skyline.
But that night, he wasn't there as a king he was there as a man trying to silence the noise in his mind.
The moment he stepped into the club, the heavy bass and flashing lights did little to distract him but she still haunted him… sweetly and Painfully.
Riah, on the other hand, had no clue her presence had disrupted the world of a man who wasn't entirely human.
It had been a week since the fundraiser, and the hospital was quiet the children home for the holidays. For once, she could rest.
So when Nessa dragged her out of the house, Riah didn't protest much.
They went shopping, strolled through the fun park, ate cotton candy that stuck to their fingers, and laughed until their ribs hurt.
For a few hours, Riah forgot about loss, duty, and heartache she was just a girl having fun with her best friend.
As evening rolled in, she decided to pick up groceries for her mother. The city glowed in amber lights; laughter filled the air as people hurried home or out for the night.
Her arms were full of shopping bags when Nessa's voice echoed over the phone.
"Riri, let's go out tonight!"
"Out?"
"Yes! Clubbing! You've been too serious. You need to live a little!"
Riah sighed. "You know that's not really my thing."
"Pleaseee," Nessa begged dramatically. "Just this once. You owe me for the yellow dress!"
Riah laughed softly. She couldn't argue with that.
So, against her usual nature, she agreed,Nessed beamed with joy as she hung up and got ready.
The other side of the club Lucian poured himself a glass, trying to drink away the thoughts clawing at him and then it hit him that familiar scent that has somehow registered in his brain.
Lavender… and chocolate.
The exact same scent he'd noticed a week ago.
His body went rigid. His mind blank.
His dark blue eyes scanned the room sharply searching, hunting for the source of that scent.And there she was.
Riah Chris.