Lilith woke with a violent jolt.
Her head throbbed, her mouth was dry, and none of what she saw around her made sense. High ceilings. Expensive decor. A room that didn't belong to her or anyone she knew.
Panic surged. She stumbled out of bed, heart racing, limbs shaky. She searched for her phone, then the door, then any explanation that didn't feel like a nightmare.
Footsteps echoed down the hallway.
She turned just in time to see him.
Arnold Blaze.
Immaculate. Composed. Dangerous.
His eyes met hers without warmth. "You're awake."
Lilith backed away, heart hammering. "Where am I?"
"My home," he replied coolly. "You collapsed at the club last night. I brought you here. No one else was sober enough to claim responsibility."
She scanned his face, searching for a crack—something that would prove him a liar, a predator, anything.
"Why didn't you take me to a hospital or a police station?"
"I considered both," Arnold said without hesitation. "But I don't waste time on systems that are inefficient. You weren't harmed. Just drunk. I had no intention of dealing with paperwork or interrogation."
Her fingers curled into fists. "You didn't touch me?"
He raised a brow, expression unreadable. "You passed out in my guest room. Alone. There are security cameras in the hallway if you need reassurance."
The statement, delivered so flatly, made her shiver.
Lilith stepped back toward the bed, her voice small. "I want to go home."
"Then go," he said. "Or wait. My driver will be ready when you are."
Something about his tone told her this wasn't kindness. It was indifference.
She glanced around the room again. Her phone lay on the nightstand, charging. Her purse sat undisturbed on the chair.
Lilith grabbed the phone, tried calling Athena. No answer. She tried again. Still nothing.
"You'll need the address," Arnold said. He offered a small black card with an embossed logo and an address scrawled on the back. "She can find you here."
Lilith hesitated. "Why are you even helping me?"
Arnold didn't blink. "Helping you implies personal investment. I don't make a habit of leaving unconscious strangers in public spaces. That's all."
His detachment wrapped around her like ice.
She sat down slowly. "I didn't even want to go out last night."
He said nothing. Just stood there.
"I was forced," she added bitterly. "Dragged to the club. Fed drinks. Abandoned."
Arnold studied her. No sympathy. Just evaluation.
"I see."
She flinched at the coldness in his voice.
"I don't need your judgment."
"You're not important enough to be judged," he replied flatly. "But your choices are sloppy. And sloppiness gets people hurt."
Lilith turned away, swallowing down the lump in her throat.