Chapter 5 Under The Ice

• Leona's POV
• The morning sun was hotter than usual, searing through the heavy curtains.
• I sat at the window of the great sitting room, holding a coffee cup made of chipped white porcelain.
• The bitter heat was my only comfort in this icy new world.
• Lucien was absent, and his silence was oppressive.
• I wondered where he was heading so early, vanishing before the rest of us were awake.
• Had he lain awake all night, planning? Or was he simply pushing me away, as he always did?
• I could no longer make sense of him.
• The husband I had married was a pillar of ice—every glance was cold, and every word was sharp like a dagger.
• But beneath the frost, I sensed a storm brewing.
• My mind replayed our wedding night.
• He had not desired to touch me and had dared me to look out for myself.
• Was it cruelty? Or was it something else?
• I hated being a pawn, pushed around by Lucien and by the mistakes of my family.
• And yet, I was drawn to the man behind the mask. I saw a glimmer of vulnerability in his gaze when he thought I was not looking.
• That frightened me because, beneath the terror, something else was brewing.
• A fatal hope. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
• If this marriage was a battlefield, I would become a warrior.
• Not merely to survive—but to take back myself. To show Lucien that I was not the broken thing he thought I was.
• That I was more. Far more.
• And maybe, just maybe, there was room for something that neither of us was yet ready to admit in the bitter and cold revenge.
• The dining room was daunting. Icy light from chandeliers danced on the icy marble floor.
• Lucien sat at the table's head, flanked by his most devoted men – tall and unobtrusive.
• I rose, took a breath, and entered the room. Heels clicked soundly. Eye turned to welcome me, and there were whispers in the room.
• It was my first sit-down official with Lucien's inner circle—an ordeal I did not want to face, but one that I did.
• Lucien's gaze locked with mine, his expression unchanging.
• I pushed closer to him, and he growled, "Sit."
• I sat down, but with a flash of rebellion in my eyes.
• I spoke of nothing about the meeting, overhearing every word and every glance.
• When one of his own loyal deputies had questioned my family loyalty, disguising his mistrust thinly, I had blown my top.
• "I am not a traitor," I said, hard and even. "Neither was my family. You can question us, but here I stand before you today, and I will do everything in my power to regain your trust."
• There was silence.
• Lucien's face shifted—surprise, laughter, or respect?
• He said not a word, but there was tension arcing between us.
• I withstood his glare unflinchingly.
• Something was different for the first time since the wedding.
• I was no longer a piece on a board. I was a player.
• I went back to my suite with my heart racing. The wariness in the meeting still haunted my mind.
• The suspicious stares were a battlefield disguised as dinner.
• But I had stood up for myself. That was a small triumph.
• I closed the door, and doubt crept in like a shadow. Was I strong enough?
• Could I survive in this world of icy men and knives?
• My reflection in the mirror was unfamiliar to me—my eyes fierce but troubled.
• I extended my hand to touch my wedding band, feeling its heaviness.
• Lucien's cage wasn't just on my wrists. It was in my head as well.
• I was only starting to understand what freedom would cost me.
• —
• Lucien's POV
• Leona shattered the silence to bitter relief with words.
• I watched her standing tall in front of my men, fear raw and unadorned.
• A flame of admiration burnt me, but so did a warning.
• She was more dangerous than I realized.
• But that did not mean I would ease my control, not yet.
• Good.
• I finally said in my heart she will need that fire.
• I always appear strong before her. Yet, beneath it, there was something fragile—an unspoken challenge.
• A game had begun.
• I had a glass of whisky while I researched. The fires flickered against the walls, but the real storm churned inside me.
• Leona had surprised me.
• Not only with bravery, but also with the way that her words stirred something deep inside me.
• Respect.
• I did not approve of it. I did not approve of the way it unsettled me.
• I slowly drank and put the glass down on the table with force.
• I needed to remain focused.
• Revenge remained my goal.
• But now, the pawn was master.
• And the king had to choose—
• Whether he would break her. Or she would break him first.
• The silence in my office was broken only by the clicking keys.
• My gaze glared intensely at files on my monitors, searching for information on Leona Valencia—her life, her family, and not-so-dark secrets.
• I was expecting a battered, innocent girl—weak, mouldable.
• What I found shook me.