Vivianne's stomach churned the moment her gaze met his. There he is, the alpha who had made her life a living hell in her past life. Just the sight of him brought a sour taste to her mouth, a memory she wished she could erase but could never truly forget.
His eyes are still the same as before, sharp and hungry, filled with that same dark greed she remembered all too well. He stared at her as though she's something to be possessed, something to be claimed, and the weight of it made her skin crawl.
She remembered that gaze clearly. It's the exact look he had given her when she had been in Liselotte's place, standing in the empire's court as a prize rather than a person. Back then, she had been powerless beneath it, unable to resist or turn away, trapped by the fate. Now, even though her circumstances are different, the memory of that helplessness twisted deep inside her, stirring an old hatred that burned as fiercely as the day it was born.
