"It's not a cri," Lux said. "It's inefficient."
Fiera rolled her eyes. "There it is. The CFO logic."
He smirked faintly.
"I thought," he admitted after a pause, "that getting a lap dancer might reduce my stress. Physical stimulus. Environntal distraction. Money removes tension from the equation."
"And?" she asked.
"And it worked about four percent."
She choked slightly on her drink. "Four percent?"
"System estimate."
She stared at him. "…You asured it?"
"I asure everything."
She leaned back, tail flicking lazily behind her.
"I see…"
He swirled his wine, watching the deep red catch the dim lighting.
"But the part where they were only there for the money?" he added quietly. "That's the turn off. I don't mind being desired. I mind being reduced."
Fiera's expression softened slightly.
"You're a billionaire," she said flatly. "People are going to reduce you."
"Not the ones I keep," he replied.
That hung in the air.
She didn't argue.
Instead, she shifted slightly closer on the couch.
"That female fox earlier…" Lux said after a mont. "Is Aelitha, right?"
Fiera's jaw tightened.
"…Yeah."
He raised a brow. "Making problems again?"
She exhaled sharply through her nose.
"I saw it…" she said. "The live stream."
Lux took a sip of wine. "Did she go to Vincent Albrecht?"
Fiera snorted. "Oh, she tried."
He looked at her more directly now.
"She demanded compensation from the Albrecht family for her pregnancy," Fiera continued. "Claid it was his."
"And?"
"And she got turned down too."
Lux humd. "The Albrechts are facing bankruptcy. Can't bla them."
"Yep. Vincent's scandal tanked their last liquidity buffer. Investors pulled out. The family's scrambling."
Lux's eyes glead faintly. A smirk blood.
"I heard."
Fiera leaned forward, elbows resting on her knees.
"Our family investigated her claim," she continued. "Because honestly? Her testimony sounded like garbage."
"Too convenient," Lux said.
"Too fast," Fiera corrected. "The pregnancy tiline didn't add up. We ran tests."
"And?"
"She faked it."
Lux's lips curved faintly.
"I assud."
Fiera gave him a sideways look. "You assud?"
"The acceleration in her story was sloppy," he replied calmly. "Emotionally dramatic but structurally weak."
"She bought a fake scan," Fiera said. "Paid so back-alley dic to fabricate it. When we confronted her…"
"She ran."
"Yeah."
Lux leaned back again, exhaling slowly.
"And now she's here," he said.
Fiera nodded. "I just got the alert. She maxed out her card. Drinking like crazy. Refusing to go ho."
"So those n—"
"Family bodyguards," Fiera confird. "We weren't going to let her spiral publicly again."
Lux glanced toward the hallway.
"She looked ss up."
"She always does when consequences show up," Fiera replied dryly.
He studied her profile.
"You care."
She shot him a look. "She's an idiot. But she's still family."
Fiera hadn't ant for her voice to soften at the end, but it did anyway.
Lux studied her for a mont. Not in that detached, analytical way he looked at dancers. This was different. Slower. Almost thoughtful.
"I guess," he said quietly, "you have a kind heart."
Fiera blinked.
"…Excuse ?"
He leaned back casually. "You ca personally. You didn't delegate it to a manager or a lawyer. That's not efficient."
She rolled her eyes, trying to hide the small flutter in her chest. "Not everything has to be efficient."
He gave her that faint, dangerous little smile. "It usually does."
She ignored how warm her face suddenly felt and took a sip of champagne.
"…Thanks," she muttered.
Then she straightened slightly, expression turning more serious.
"Lux," she said, clearing her throat. "I'm sorry. For all the ss Aelitha caused."
He tilted his head slightly.
"She dragged your na everywhere. dia. Streams. That ridiculous pregnancy stunt." Fiera's ears dipped briefly. "Our family will clear your na properly. We'll make an official statent."
Lux stared at her for two seconds.
Then he laughed.
Not a polite chuckle.
An actual laugh.
Fiera frowned. "What?"
"I already bought the dia," he said.
She blinked.
"…Your PR team?"
"No."
"You bribed them?"
He laughed again, shaking his head. "Bribe?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell you intimidated them."
"I bought the companies."
Silence.
"…Companies?" she repeated slowly.
"Three of them."
Her brain stalled.
"…Three," she echoed.
He emptied his wine glass and set it down casually, like he'd just said he bought coffee.
"If you need so narration," he added lightly, "I could create it for you."
Fiera stared at him.
Speechless.
Her brain replayed the sentence several tis.
You bought… three dia companies.
"I thought you only did your family's funeral business," she said weakly.
Because that was what everyone thought.
Lux Vaelthorn.
Funeral conglorate CFO.
Quietly rich.
Slightly intimidating.
But still… niche.
He smirked.
"Nah. I have a bank now."
She froze.
"…A bank."
"And three dia companies."
Her ears twitched.
"Oh, and a small VR ga developnt studio."
Her champagne almost slipped from her fingers.
"W-What?"
He shrugged. "I was bored."
She stared at him like he'd just told her he owned the moon.
"You were bored."
"I had money," he said simply. "So… why not?"
Her entire ntal frawork about this man cracked in half.
She'd known he was rich.
But this?
"You just… buy industries when you're bored?" she asked faintly.
"Diversification," he corrected calmly.
She leaned back into the couch, tail twitching erratically.
"Lux," she said slowly, "do you realize how insane that sounds?"
He poured himself another drink.
"Completely."
"And you're just casually sitting here in a strip club."
"Like now," he said, lifting the glass. "Yes."
She stared at him.
"You're bored?"
"No," he replied.
"Then why are you here?"
He swirled the wine once, thinking.
"Because if I go ho in this condition," he said calmly, "they'll tie up again."
Fiera blinked.
"…What."
He took a sip.
"On the bed."
Her brain short-circuited.
"W-Wait," she sputtered. "You got tied up?"
He nodded casually.
"For a week."
Her entire body went rigid.
Her imagination, traitor that it was, filled in the blanks imdiately.
Mira.
Naomi.
Rava.
Ely.
All of them surrounding him.
Lux tied to a bed.
Her face burned instantly.
"Sha no one rode though," he added with complete seriousness.
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