Chapter 332

Daphne

[Host, don’t do it.]

The System’s voice cuts through the red haze clouding my vision.

My fingers relax around the fork. I set it down carefully, deliberately, before I do something I can’t take back,like stab my brother with it.

Vivienne won’t look at me. Her eyes are fixed on her plate, her hands folded in her lap, her entire body radiating tension.

And across the table, Damien sits with the smug, victorious look of a man who thinks he’s won something.

So he knows.

He knows about us. Or at least, he suspects enough to make a move. The rushed wedding. The public claim. The way he looked at her when he said "darling"—like she’s a possession he’s reclaiming.

How did he know?

Granted, we haven’t exactly been careful sneaking around. But still—Damien shouldn’t have noticed. He’s been too busy with the main character, too wrapped up in his own world, too blind.

Unless someone told him.

[Elliot Wallace had a conversation with Damien Han two days ago. The contents were not recorded, but Elliot was seen leaving Damien’s office looking pleased with himself.]

I close my eyes.

Of course. Of fucking course.

I exhale slowly, forcing my hands to unclench.

Well. Since Damien wants to play it this way, I’m about to drop a bomb in this fucking house.

I hate Elliot.

But he’s going to be useful.

*

The garden is quiet at this hour. Most of the house has retired, the servants gone, the lights dimmed. I sit in Vivienne’s favorite chair—the one by the old oak, the one she uses when she watches me paint. Her scent lingers here, faint but present.

I light a cigarette. I don’t usually smoke, honestly I quit ages ago when Yuxi asked me to.But tonight, I need something to do with my hands.

"I didn’t know you smoked."

I don’t turn around. Keep my eyes on the moon, full and cold above us.

A shuffle of clothes. The chair beside me creaks as Damien lowers himself into it.

We sit in silence for a moment, two strangers sharing the dark.

"Speaking of marriages." His voice is light, casual—the tone of a man who’s pretending nothing happened at dinner.

"When are you getting yourself an omega, dear sister?"

"What wonderful brotherly concern." I roll my eyes, watching the red tip of my cigarette glow in the darkness.

"I mean it." He settles back in his chair. "Mother also wants you to settle down. She mentioned it to me last week. Said she’s worried you’re working too hard, not making time for... companionship."

I exhale smoke, watching it curl toward the moon.

"No need to worry about me." I let my voice go soft, thoughtful. "I already have my eyes on an omega."

Damien goes very still beside me.

"My." His voice is carefully neutral. "Do you?"

"Hmmmnnn." I take another drag, let the silence stretch.

"She must be something." He’s trying for casual. Failing.

I think about Vivienne. The way she laughs when she thinks no one’s watching. The way she watches me paint, like it’s the only thing that matters.

"They are perfect." The words come out softer than I intended. "And they are mine. Even if the world isn’t aware of it yet."

The silence stretches between us.

I can feel him watching me. The weight of his gaze, the tension in his shoulders. He’s waiting for me to slip, to say something he can use, to give him a reason to strike first.

Instead, I wait.

"I wish you luck." He leans back, that familiar smirk returning. "Hope it’s not another Alpha’s omega. You know how we get when someone wants something of ours."

Ours. Like she’s property. Like she’s something to be guarded, not loved.

I take a slow drag of my cigarette, let the smoke curl between us.

"Indeed." I tap ash onto the grass. "But do you know, the other day I was watching a documentary?"

He raises an eyebrow. "A documentary."

"Yes." I smile, letting it turn sharp. "About nature. Fascinating stuff. Do you know that in the wild, it’s the best and strongest mate that wins?"

He goes still.

"Doesn’t matter if there’s already a mate." I crush the cigarette against the armrest, grinding it out. "Doesn’t matter if the territory’s been claimed. When something bigger, better, stronger comes along—" I meet his eyes. "They take over."

The silence that follows is different. Heavier. Charged.

"That’s a dangerous way to think." His voice is low.

"Is it?" I stand, stretching. "I thought it was just nature."

He glares at me. The mask is gone now.

"Relax, brother." I tap his shoulder, light, dismissive. "After all, unlike public perception of Alphas and Omegas..." I let the words hang. Let him see my smile. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"We’re not animals."

I walk away, leaving Damien standing alone in the garden.The house is quiet when I enter. The servants have retired. The lights are dim. Everything is still.

I climb the stairs.

At the top, I stop.

Her door is to my left. The same door I’ve slipped through a dozen times, always careful, always quiet, always stealing moments we shouldn’t have.

I stand in front of my own door, my hand on the handle.

I look at her door.

I sigh, long and heavy, and turn the handle to my own room.

The door opens. I step inside. Close it behind me.The darkness settles around me like a cloak. I don’t turn on the lights. Don’t need them. Probably thanks to that skill panthers grace, I can see in the dark as well as I can during the day.

I step out into the night air. The garden below is empty now,Damien’s gone.I remove the current canvas from the easel, set it aside. Reach for the other one—the one I’ve been working on for weeks, the one no one has seen.

I mean it’s....not the kind of painting one would make of their sister in law.