AUTHOR
Two years had passed, not just on a calendar, but in the very fiber of Nicole's being. The girl who had once moved like a ghost through the halls of the Soma estate was gone.
In her place was a young woman of eighteen, whose light-skinned Black features—high cheekbones, full lips, and a confident tilt to her chin—had blossomed into striking beauty.
The careful nutrition and freedom from fear had filled her out, giving her curves that turned heads wherever she went. Her curly hair, once a matted burden, was now a vibrant crown she wore with unconscious pride.
The physical scars on her ribs were pale, silvery lines, history written on skin that now glowed with health. The deeper scars were carefully locked away, a vault she rarely opened.
Today, the vault was shut tight. The air in Nemu's bedroom was thick with the scent of hairspray and giggles. Gowns of silk and tulle lay across the bed like spilled rainbows.
They were in the final, frantic stages of preparing for their senior prom, a pinnacle of a normal high school life Nicole had never dared to dream of.
"I can't believe it's almost over," Nicole said, her voice laced with a wistfulness that was new. She carefully applied a coat of gloss to her lips, watching Nemu's reflection in the vanity mirror. "The final days of high school. It feels… weird."
Nemu, perched on the edge of her bed and struggling with the clasp of a delicate silver necklace, let out an exaggerated sigh. "I know, right? It's like, one minute we're first-years getting lost on campus, and now… poof! We're almost adults. It's terrifying and exciting all at once." She finally secured the clasp and flopped back onto the pillows. "What are you even going to do after graduation? Apex Innovations? You're basically already Kenji's most efficient assistant."
Nicole shrugged, a casual gesture that belied the complexity of her situation. "I don't know. Maybe." Her future was a nebulous thing, still tied to the man who had saved and caged her. She changed the subject, deftly turning the focus back to Nemu. "But you! You're going to design school in Paris. That's the real excitement."
Nemu's eyes lit up. "I know! I can't wait." She sat up, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "But before that… prom! Speaking of which… you never know, Nicole. You might meet your special someone tonight. There's going to be guys there from other schools too. Super cute ones!"
Nicole let out a soft, dismissive laugh. It was a free, easy sound that would have been impossible two years ago. "My 'special someone'? I think my dance card is pretty full with just surviving calculus." She turned from the mirror, a playful glint in her eye. "But you… you're one to talk. Don't think I haven't noticed you trying on every dress in Tokyo just to impress a certain someone with brown eyes and an annoyingly perfect smile."
Nemu's cheeks flushed a bright pink. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Oh, please," Nicole teased, leaning against the dresser. "Your crush on Tokito is the size of Mount Fuji. You practically vibrate when he's within a ten-meter radius."
The bedroom door, which had been slightly ajar, swung open fully.
"Is that so?"
Tokito stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his signature lazy grin. He was already in his tuxedo, looking effortlessly handsome. His eyes, the very brown ones Nicole had just mentioned, sparkled with amusement. "A crush the size of Mount Fuji? I'm flattered, Nemu. I had no idea I inspired such geological comparisons."
Nemu looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her whole. She buried her face in a sequined pillow, emitting a muffled groan of utter embarrassment.
Nicole, however, held his gaze, a smirk playing on her lips. She had grown brave enough, comfortable enough in this strange world, to tease him. "Eavesdropping is rude, you know."
"It's not eavesdropping when people are discussing your overwhelming charm at a volume the whole compound can hear," he retorted, stepping into the room.
His gaze swept over Nicole, taking in her gown—a deep emerald green that made her skin glow—and for a fraction of a second, his playful expression softened into something genuine. "You both clean up nice."
"We do, don't we?" Nicole said, her confidence genuine. The scared girl was still there, but tonight, she was wearing a mask of emerald silk and it fit perfectly.
Tokito's smile returned, but it was a little more thoughtful. He looked directly at Nicole, his tone light but his words carrying a subtle, unspoken weight. "But just so you know, Nicole-chan… around here, finding a 'special someone' usually isn't about who you meet at a dance. It's about who's… already chosen you."
The lighthearted mood in the room shifted almost imperceptibly. Nemu peeked out from behind her pillow. Nicole's smirk faded slightly, replaced by a thoughtful, slightly wary expression.
Tokito's words were a casual comment, but they were also a reminder, a gentle tap on the invisible bars of her gilded cage. He gave a final wink, then turned to leave. "The car will be ready in ten. Don't keep the world waiting."
After he left, the room was silent for a moment. The excitement was still there, but it was now tempered with a dose of reality. Nicole turned back to the mirror, not seeing the beautiful young woman in the green dress, but for a fleeting second, seeing the girl who belonged to Kenji Soma.
The prom was just a dance. But her life was a much more complicated game.
A half-smile touched Nicole's lip, followed by a soft, incredulous chuckle. The whole situation was just too absurd, too funny in a dark, unfathomable way. "It's just... weird," she said, shaking her head. "I haven't even seen him since the night I was brought here. Not once. Not a glimpse."
Nemu sat up, the embarrassment over Tokito momentarily forgotten, replaced by wide-eyed curiosity. "Really? Not at all?"
"Not at all," Nicole confirmed, her gaze drifting to the window as if she might see him standing in the garden below. "I mean, I know he's there. People talk. Things get done because he orders them. But him? I don't even know what he's like. What he sounds like when he's not giving a command that ends with someone dying." She shivered slightly, wrapping her arms around herself.
Nemu sighed, a complex expression crossing her face. She bit her lip, fighting a clear internal battle about how much to say. "He's... difficult," she started, choosing her words with extreme care. "And different. Not like other people." She paused, a dreamy look flickering in her eyes despite her caution. "And... very, very handsome." She added the last part quickly, as if admitting a secret.
It was clear Nemu's knowledge was based on distant observation and clan gossip, not personal experience.
Her voice then took on a tone of awe. "He's the next family head, Nicole. The Soma head. And he chose you. Out of everyone, he saw you and brought you here." She looked at Nicole with genuine, uncomplicated admiration. "That's amazing. You're so lucky."
Nicole listened, and some part of her, the part that had craved safety and belonging for so long, did lighten up at the words. Chosen. Amazing. Lucky. They were seductive concepts. For a moment, she allowed herself to imagine it as a fairytale.
But then her mind's eye conjured them: those piercing blue eyes from four years ago. Not warm, not kind, but intense and all-consuming. They hadn't looked at her with admiration or affection. They had looked at her with a cold, focused calculation. The memory was a splash of cold water on the fairytale.
She managed a small, non-committal nod. "Lucky," she repeated, the word feeling strange on her tongue. She turned back to the mirror, adjusting a curl.
The beautiful girl in the emerald gown stared back, but behind her eyes was the ghost of a fourteen-year-old, forever locked in a gaze with a boy who had ice in his veins and ownership in his stare. The prom was tonight, but that gaze was a lifetime sentence.