Three days passed.
Lucien didn't kiss her again.
He didn't touch her. Didn't scold her. Didn't even hover.
But his distance felt intentional — like a leash being yanked tighter every time she moved too far.
Ariella felt it in his eyes.
In the way he watched her when he thought she wasn't looking.
In the extra guards he assigned when she left for her solo shopping trip.
And definitely in the message left on her bed:
"Dinner. 8PM. Wear red."
She almost didn't go.
But she was tired of hiding from the fire between them.
So she wore the red.
It hugged her curves, dipped dangerously low in the back, and made her legs look like sin. When she walked into the restaurant lounge, Lucien was already seated — suit sharp, glass in hand, eyes cold.
Until he saw her.
His jaw clenched. His fingers froze. And for a second, she swore she saw heat flash behind that calm, ruthless gaze.
But before he could speak, someone else did.
"Ariella?"
She turned to find a man approaching — tall, confident, good-looking in a charmingly unpolished way.
She smiled faintly. "Jason?"
He grinned. "Didn't expect to see you here. Wow. You look… stunning."
She laughed lightly. "It's been years. You look good too."
Lucien said nothing.
Jason's eyes flicked to him. "Friend of yours?"
Before she could answer, Lucien rose slowly, stepping beside her like a shadow. His arm slid around her waist with smooth, lethal precision.
"I'm the man who owns her time," he said calmly.
Jason blinked. "Excuse me?"
Lucien's voice dropped a tone. "I don't repeat myself."
"Lucien—" Ariella started, but he leaned down and whispered against her ear:
"You wore the dress to tease me. But I don't share."
Jason gave her an awkward smile. "I should… go."
He walked off quickly. Smart man.
Ariella turned to Lucien, fire rising in her chest. "What the hell was that?"
Lucien's expression never changed. "A lesson."
"In what? How to scare off the only person who treated me like a human being tonight?"
He leaned in close. "You're not here to be treated like a human being. You're here because I paid for you."
The words hit hard.
Too hard.
She stared at him for a long second. Then stepped back, pulling his coat off her shoulders and dropping it onto his chair.
"Then congratulations," she said coldly. "You just wasted your money."
She turned and walked away — through the restaurant, through the whispers, through the ache in her chest.
And for the first time since she arrived in Lucien Kane's world…
He had no idea what she would do next.