"I honestly must say that Seraphine Walker is a worthy contender, because I never expected her to last even a single second against , yet she managed to stay in the ga longer than almost anyone I have ever faced across a chessboard."
The statent rolled through the room in Voren’s calm, asured voice, and the mont his words settled into the heavy air of the gathering hall, applause erupted from several corners of the space, the sound spreading like a ripple across the polished marble floors and high vaulted ceilings where the wealthiest n in the room had been silently observing the match.
The applause did not please everyone. Ravyn felt irritation coil tightly inside his chest while the clapping continued around him, his jaw tightening as he stared toward Voren with a look that carried a mixture of disbelief and growing suspicion, because in that mont he genuinely could not tell whether Voren was still standing on his side or whether the man had sohow begun leaning toward Seraphine instead.
The sight that irritated him even further ca from Seraphine herself, who stood there with that calm, composed smile resting on her lips as if none of the tension in the room had ever been directed toward her in the first place.
That smile grated on his nerves far more than the applause.
What truly made his blood burn with resentnt had nothing to do with the chess match or the admiration spreading among the billionaires who had gathered to watch the spectacle unfold.
It had everything to do with the man standing beside her.
The fact that Seraphine, a forr Luna whose status had once placed her among the most respected won of their kind, had chosen to involve herself romantically with a human being still felt like a deep insult that Ravyn could not easily swallow.
In his mind, if Seraphine had truly fallen so far after their separation, he might have expected her to attach herself to soone weaker or less influential within their world, soone who would remind everyone of how far she had fallen from the position she once held beside him.
Yet the man she had chosen was not weak, nor was he soone who could be dismissed easily.
Leon carried himself with intelligence that was difficult to ignore, his manners polished and refined in a way that made him respectable even among the ruthless businessn who filled the room, and beyond that charm lay a financial rise that had begun attracting attention across powerful circles.
If Leon’s rapidly growing wealth ever rged with the imnse fortune his father controlled, then the combined power of their assets would place him in a position where he could stand financially above Ravyn himself.
That reality irritated Ravyn more than he cared to admit.
He leaned slightly toward Voren, his voice lowered so the surrounding n would not overhear the sharp edge of frustration creeping into his tone.
"Voren, what exactly are you doing right now?"
Voren did not turn his head fully toward him, although his teeth pressed together in a tight line while he responded in a voice so low it barely traveled beyond Ravyn’s ear.
"I am saving your ass again."
The aning behind those words did not fully reach Ravyn until monts later, when Voren lifted his head and directed his attention toward Seraphine instead of continuing the argunt beside him. "Do you want to make a bargain?"
Seraphine’s smile widened slightly, and the expression in her eyes carried an amused gleam that suggested she had been expecting this exact mont from the very beginning.
"I always knew you were smart," she replied smoothly.
Although the words sounded like a complint, Voren did not appear pleased by the direction the conversation was taking, and his gaze rested on Seraphine with a quiet tension as she continued speaking without hesitation.
"For what Ravyn attempted earlier, I demand compensation in the amount of fifty billion, or you can allow to move forward with marketing my product."
Seraphine had clearly thought through the situation carefully before stating her terms.
If she had demanded a smaller sum without presenting any leverage, Ravyn might have simply paid the amount to silence the matter and prevent her from gaining the opportunity to showcase her work in front of the powerful figures gathered in the room.
However, if Ravyn proved foolish enough to agree to paying fifty billion in order to avoid her presentation, the loss would place a massive dent in his finances, one that would not go unnoticed by the very n who constantly asured each other’s wealth and influence.
Leon watched the exchange with quiet amusent curling along the edge of his mouth, the expression revealing that he finally understood why Seraphine had confidently assured him earlier that she could handle the situation on her own.
Ravyn’s expression darkened imdiately after hearing the demand, his features tightening while his fingers curled at his sides as if he had to resist the urge to reach forward and strangle her where she stood.
"Sera," he said through clenched teeth, forcing the na out despite the humiliation building inside him, "isn’t that amount a little excessive?"
Seraphine’s eyes hardened in an instant, the warmth in her smile vanishing as her voice dropped into a tone cold enough to cut through the room.
"Oh, so you believe attempting to force into stripping and performing a lap dance for your amusent should co with a cheap price tag?" she asked with biting sarcasm before continuing without softening her gaze. "If that is the case, perhaps I should demand ten trillion instead."
Voren leaned closer to Ravyn imdiately after hearing that response, his warning voice barely above a whisper although the threat behind it was unmistakable.
"I dare you to open your mouth again and argue with her, Ravyn, because if you do then you can deal with the consequences on your own."
The tension drained from Ravyn’s posture in a way that made him look as if he might collapse under the weight of humiliation pressing down on him.
For a fleeting mont he even looked close to tears, the reality of the situation finally settling into his mind as he realized that he had just been publicly outmaneuvered by the woman he once believed he had completely broken.
Instead of appearing crushed by everything he had forced her to endure in the past, Seraphine now stood in front of the wealthiest n in the room looking stronger and more impressive than ever.
"Sera, you may go ahead with your presentation," Voren announced firmly.
The announcent imdiately triggered an angry reaction from Alpha Gray, whose frustration had been building steadily throughout the confrontation.
"What exactly is she planning to present?" Gray snarled loudly while glaring toward Seraphine. "There isn’t even a single docunt in her hands."
Seraphine released a soft scoff, her eyes locking onto Gray with a look that made it clear she found his comnt outdated and foolish.
"I think you might be a little old fashioned," she replied calmly. "Who actually carries stacks of docunts around in this day and age?"
With that, she opened the small, elegant clutch she had been holding and reached inside before pulling out sothing that initially looked nothing more than a sleek tube of lipstick.
Gray’s brows pulled together in confusion, and he seed ready to mock her again until Seraphine twisted the base of the costic tube and revealed a hidden compartnt on the back that contained a USB connector.
A quiet murmur passed through the room as several of the n leaned forward with visible surprise, including Voren himself, whose eyes widened slightly while watching her reveal the device.
Seraphine walked behind one of the chairs positioned near the presentation area and located the port hidden along the console attached to the equipnt, sliding the lipstick device into place with effortless familiarity.
"Now that is what I call a high-tech woman," Gordon remarked with clear admiration in his voice while observing how confidently Seraphine navigated the situation that had been designed to trap her earlier.
A faint, satisfied smile appeared along Seraphine’s lips once again.
The mont the device connected successfully, the lighting in the room adjusted automatically and a holographic projection materialized in the center of the space where she had been standing earlier.
The glowing display revealed the opening interface of a fully developed ga.
"No way," Voren breathed out in disbelief as the realization of what she had created began forming inside his mind.
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