Chapter 758 – You Think too Small of Yourself
His gaze held hers.
Steady. Unapologetic.
"You think too small of yourself."
She blinked quickly.
"You think too small of ."
The honesty in that stung.
But it also felt warm.
Dangerously warm.
The dance slowed. Their steps shortened. They were closer now than before. Her breath brushed his jaw.
For a second, everything else dissolved.
The music. The crowd. The speculation.
Just his hand at her waist.
His eyes on her mouth.
Her heart racing loud enough she was sure he could hear it.
She wanted to kiss him.
She wanted to see if that possessive edge would lt or sharpen.
She wanted to know what it ant to belong to soone like him.
And if she could survive it.
Her fingers curled slightly into his shoulder.
His head tilted just a fraction.
The distance between them shrank.
And then...
"Ariel."
Lux did not sigh.
But internally? Yes. He absolutely did.
Sirena stepped in like a perfectly trained chess piece. Smooth. Elegant. Strategic. She did not shove. She did not raise her voice. She simply inserted herself between them with the kind of confidence only a heiress raised in boardrooms could manage.
Her smile was flawless.
Her eyes were not.
No scene. No drama. Just a silent interception.
Lux straightened, adjusting his cufflinks lazily as if nothing had happened. As if he had not been a breath away from testing whether Ariel would lean in or pull back.
Sirena faced him fully now. "Lux Vaelthorn."
He inclined his head slightly. "Miss Avariel. Do you need sothing from ?"
Her smile sharpened a little. "No, nothing."
Polite. Proper.
But it was the kind of smile that ca with fine print.
"Our parents just need to speak with her."
Ariel blinked. "They are?"
Sirena nodded gently, not breaking eye contact with Lux.
"Yes. The guards will take you there."
Lux watched Ariel process that. The hesitation. The glance she threw him. Brief. Searching.
He gave her a small nod.
Go.
She left.
The guards moved smoothly around her, parting the crowd like water. The music continued as if nothing significant had just shifted.
Lux felt the space beside him cool.
Sirena did not move away.
Instead, she extended her hand. "May I have this dance?"
It wasn’t a request.
He looked at her hand.
Then at her.
There it was.
Not jealousy.
Assessnt.
Fine.
He took her hand. "Of course."
The orchestra adjusted tempo as if sensing the tension. They moved into position. Sirena stepped closer than Ariel had dared to.
Her grip was firr.
Confident.
They began.
Her technique was flawless. She matched him easily, no hesitation in her turns.
"Don’t think," she began lightly, "that your handso face and your rit of finding her ans you can do what you want to her."
Lux almost smiled.
Ah.
So this was the angle.
"I don’t recall claiming that right."
"n rarely do."
He guided her into a slow spin. She returned smoothly.
"I did so investigation," she continued conversationally. "You stay with so heiresses in your mansion."
Lux did not flinch.
"You collect them like trophies."
He chuckled softly.
"I am."
She blinked once.
That was not the answer she expected.
"But," he added calmly, "they aren’t my trophies."
Sirena’s fingers tightened slightly at his shoulder.
"Explain."
"They chose to be there."
"That’s what all powerful n say."
Lux leaned slightly closer, his tone lowering just enough to make it personal. "You think your sister is naïve."
"I think she’s soft."
"She’s braver than you give her credit for."
Sirena’s jaw shifted faintly.
The dance floor rotated them through beams of afternoon light pouring from the high windows. Gold against marble. Perfu in the air. Whispers in the corners.
Lux was acutely aware of eyes on them.
Good.
Let them watch.
"She just found her place," Sirena said quietly. "She doesn’t need to be swallowed by soone like you."
Swallowed.
Interesting word.
"I don’t swallow," he replied calmly. "I invest."
Sirena nearly laughed despite herself.
"You’re insufferable."
"I’ve been called worse."
She studied him. "You don’t look threatened."
"By you?"
"Yes."
He shrugged. "You’re protecting her."
"And that doesn’t concern you?"
"It does." A beat. "But not in the way you think."
Sirena’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Then in what way?"
Lux guided her into a tighter turn. Their proximity closed again, but his expression remained composed. "I don’t compete with family."
Her brow lifted. "aning?"
"aning if she chooses , it won’t be because I overpowered you."
Sirena held his gaze. "And if she doesn’t?"
"Then I leave."
The simplicity of it unsettled her more than arrogance would have.
"You would."
"Yes."
"No bargaining. No pressure."
"I don’t need to."
The music swelled again.
Sirena’s internal calculation was almost visible. She was sharp. That much he respected.
"You’re confident."
"I’m patient."
She exhaled slowly.
"I found informations," she continued. "how the people that opposed you quietly disappeared. Vanished. Including the Delmars." Her lips twitched. "You’re dangerous."
He did not deny it. "And yet," he said calmly, "I’m dancing with you instead of storming after her."
Sirena tilted her head slightly. "That’s supposed to reassure ?"
"It should."
The dance slowed toward its close.
Sirena’s expression softened just a fraction.
She searched his face for sothing reckless.
She found none.
Just steady intent.
"That makes you worse," she muttered.
"Maybe."
The final notes approached.
Sirena took a slow breath.
"If she gets hurt," she said quietly, "I will not smile like this."
"I wouldn’t expect you to."
The music ended.
They separated smoothly, applause fluttering lightly around them.
Lux released her hand first.
"Thank you for the dance."
Sirena studied him one last ti.
"You’re not what I expected."
"Neither are you."
A small pause.
Then he added, voice level, not confrontational.
"Just a reminder... The decision is in Ariel’s hand."
Sirena’s eyes flickered.
"Not mine."
Silence.
"Not yours."
He stepped back, adjusting his jacket as casually as if they had just discussed weather.
The room resud its hum.
Lux glanced toward where Ariel had disappeared earlier.
Territorial? Yes.
Possessive? Absolutely.
But he would not drag her.
He would not cage her.
He would stand.
And wait.
Because if she walked toward him on her own?
That would an everything.
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