Part 1Beyond the Smoke

Anton Ryder took three bullets for me. Each one should have been fatal. He practically offered his life to my father in exchange for my hand in marriage.

Seeing his raw desperation, my father finally relented, offering the Syndicate’s Patriarch's Seal—the ultimate symbol of power—as my dowry.

But the day before our wedding, war broke out on our borders. Anton had to lead the charge.

Before he left, he kissed me hard. "Wait for me, my love," he whispered. "When I come back, I promise you won't be leaving our bed."

Three years later, he returned.

I took our two-year-old son deep into the desert territories to welcome him home.

But when his convoy arrived, he stepped out carrying a frail, beautiful woman in a white dress.

One of his men asked what was to be done with me.

Anton took a long drag from his cigarette, a lazy smile playing on his lips. "Her old man's dead. Who else does she have to rely on but me? Besides, the Patriarch's Seal is in my hands now. I can marry whomever I please. And anyway," he added with a chuckle, "she's already given me a healthy son. She’ll be begging me for a proper title soon enough."

The men around him erupted in laughter.

He seemed to have forgotten one crucial detail. The Seal was merely a symbol.

I am the one and only heir to the Vance family.

And my son can live without a father.

* * *

The jeering laughter continued, only to be cut short by the woman's soft cough.

Anton's voice was instantly laced with concern. "Sera, my love, what is it? Are you feeling unwell again? Don't worry, I'll have a doctor see you right away…"

Seraphina shook her head. "I'm fine. It's just… the air here. I'm not used to it yet."

"I'm so sorry, Sera. That's my fault," Anton said, his tone apologetic. "The air in your room is too dry, it won't help your recovery. Don't worry, Elara's room is the best in the entire compound, it gets the morning sun. I'll have her switch with you."

Seraphina demurred softly, "Wouldn't that upset your wife?"

Anton's voice was laced with a pained tenderness. "I told you, don't call her that in private. You've been my woman for a long time now."

At this, the men in the room broke into another round of lewd, knowing chuckles. Seraphina, blushing, buried her face in Anton's chest.

When Anton had carefully carried her from the vehicle, his story to me had been different. He’d claimed she was a sister he’d adopted on the road.

"Elara, her entire family was captured and executed by the enemy," he’d explained. "If she hadn't risked her life to bring us intel, you'd be waiting for my corpse right now. She's been frail since she was a child and suffered with me on the front lines for three years. With her family gone, I took her in as my sworn sister. You don't mind, do you?"

If she were truly just a sister, of course I wouldn't have minded.

But it was clear now. It wasn't a sister he'd adopted, but a wife he'd already taken.

Suddenly, one of the men voiced a concern. "The First Lady has always had a fiery temper, boss. She loves you so much. If she finds out, all hell is going to break loose."

Another chimed in. "Yeah, she waited three years for you. What are you going to do if she demands her title?"

Seraphina's tone was laced with worry. "He's right, Anton. Please don't fight with the First Lady over me. I couldn't live with the guilt."

But Anton just laughed, completely at ease. "Don't worry, my love. I've already thought of everything. She's used to being the princess. She'll definitely throw a fit when she finds out, and I don't want her taking it out on you. So, here's the plan: I'm marrying you, that's set in stone. On the day of the wedding, I'll announce that we're throwing a big birthday party for our son."

"She'll never refuse that," he continued, a smug look on his face. "By the time the party's over, you and I will be officially married, the papers signed. It'll be too late for her to do anything. With a two-year-old son, she'll have no choice but to swallow her pride and stay by my side, without a title, for the rest of her life."

His words were met with murmurs of admiration. "Brilliant, boss! Only you could think of something like that!"

"No wonder you had the boss's daughter wrapped around your finger, willing to give you a son and wait faithfully for three years!"

The room exploded with laughter once more.

And through it all, Seraphina's playful voice. "Oh, Anton, you're terrible! You had me worried for nothing!"

Anton stroked her hair. "Then let me make it up to you right now."

With that, he cupped the back of her neck and crushed his lips to hers.

I turned away in silence.

The old me would have kicked down the door, smashed everything in sight, and put a gun to Seraphina's head, forcing her to kneel, apologize, and get the hell out.

But motherhood had changed me.

The sand you can't hold, you let fall. The people by your side are what matter most.

As the Vance heiress, my life has always been shadowed by danger. Anton had saved me countless times, taking bullets to his waist, his chest, even the back of his head.

Each time, covered in his own blood, he would hold me tight and soothe me. "Don't be afraid, Elara. I'm here. Anyone who wants to touch you will have to step over my dead body."

He loved me more than his own life. Or so I believed.

But not all truths are meant to last forever.

As I turned to leave, the door behind me creaked open.

Anton's voice, sharp with panic. "Elara?"

"When did you get here?"