ALEXANDER'S POV,
She moved like she belonged here—heels clicking softly, posture perfect, smile effortless—but there was something in the way she carried herself that made me pause.
Most of the women here tonight were easy to read. All polish and ambition, rehearsed charm. They pushed, they flirted, they tried too hard. Predictable. Transparent. Boring.
Not her.
And am used to women who are always pouting over me, so what makes him an exception.
Maybe it's because she is new here,but it seems like she is also looking for something. I wonder what it is.
She was different. Subtle. Deliberate. And somehow… innocent. Not naive, but untouched in a way I couldn't ignore. I have been watching her navigate the room, eyes sharp, movements controlled, like she was studying everyone else as much as they were studying her.
My interest piqued. I had seen this before—girls trained to impress, to seduce, to beg for attention.
But she… she didn't beg. She didn't try to catch eyes with obvious moves. She just was. And that, in a room full of ornaments, was dangerous.
A part of me wanted to test her. To see if that composure would crack under pressure. Another part wanted to pull her close, to trace the edges of the restraint she wore like armor, and see what lay beneath.
There was a tension around her, subtle but electric. I could feel it like a current. Every step she took, every glance she spared, was calculated—but there was also a flicker of curiosity, maybe even thrill. I wondered if she realized just how much of herself she was showing without knowing it.
I have seen how these other men are looking at her, and l don't like it, because l don't like it when someone takes what's supposed to be mine.
And the more l see her the more my body keeps on taunting me with these thoughts.
The others around her, the women who threw themselves at me like moths to a flame—they were easy.
Forgettable. This one… she wasn't. She lingered in my mind without trying.
She intrigued me. And for the first time tonight, I didn't want to look away.
I wanted to see her more clearly. I wanted to push, just enough, to watch how she would react. To take her innocence, test her limits, and see if she could survive me.
And I knew, with a certainty that both thrilled and unsettled me, that I wouldn't have to wait long. She was already walking right into my game.
But l must get more creative than this.
I had managed to slip away from the main hall, quietly following the two men I had overheard talking about the west wing. The corridors stretched long and narrow, lined with portraits of the Qinn ancestors.
Their eyes seemed to follow me, silent witnesses to every step.
I moved carefully, heels clicking softly against the marble, but after a few minutes, the pain began.
Whoever had decided this was my size clearly didn't care about comfort—my feet were screaming at me with every step.
I crouched quickly at my ankle, wincing and adjusting the strap of my shoe, biting back a soft groan.
And then, before I could even finish, I felt it—a presence. A shadow in the dim light, silent, deliberate.
"You look like you're in pain," came the familiar low, smooth voice.
I froze, slowly raising my head. There he was. Alexander, standing just a few feet away, leaning against the wall like he had all the time in the world, deep grey eyes fixed on me. Calm. Controlled. Dangerous.
"Ah… yes," I said, forcing a soft laugh as I straightened, brushing imaginary dust off my dress.
"These heels… they don't seem made for walking."
He raised an eyebrow, faint amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Interesting choice," he said lightly. " Lemme see." he said kneeling down and took my feet in his hands checking my ankle , it was already swollen.
I let a small, flirtatious smile curve my lips.
Fine, I thought. I'll play along. After all, I'm one of them tonight. If I don't act like an escort, he'll notice something's off—and I can't afford that.
"I suppose I wanted to… stand out," I said lightly, tilting my head. "Appear elegant... And more appealing to someone,but l guess,it's all going down the drain."
His eyes lingered on me, studying the subtle curve of my smile, the way his fingers brushed against my ankle, with his warm fingers but cold on the outsdie l felt the pain somehow shutting down—and maybe it was, but only slightly.
" Appealing," he repeated slowly. "That's a dangerous look here."
I let the words hang in the air, soft and teasing.
" Maybe I like danger," I whispered, glancing up at him, letting my eyes hold his just long enough to catch the faintest spark of curiosity.
He took a step closer, deliberately slow, like he was circling, measuring, testing.
"Danger suits you," he said.
"But don't think I'll make it easy for you."
I laughed softly, brushing the hair from my face, playing the part with every fiber of me.
"Oh, I wouldn't want you to," I said. "It would ruin the fun if it were easy, wouldn't it?"
He studied me for a long moment, and I felt it—his interest, sharp and magnetic, like a force pulling me in.
And for the first time tonight, I was genuinely enjoying his company,but l pulled myself again.
I have to make the act believable so yeah l should be . Just a little.
Because tonight, I was an escort for tgem. The Lady of Distinction. And I was walking a dangerous line, with Alexander Qinn watching my every move, and I intended to play him as carefully as I played the mission.
Even if the line was razor-thin.
There was this tension between which screamed both danger and calmness between us. I did want to make an excuse and then leave trailing those men but it seems like it won't happen that way because he is right Infront of me thinking l am hurt, even though I can manage it.
I have handled much worse than this.