Athens, Greece
The silence after the dinner lingered longer than it should have.
Seraphina felt it even days later, like a pressure beneath her ribs, subtle but constant. She had returned to her parents' house in Kolonaki, but her thoughts kept circling back to the terrace, to the city lights reflected in Alexandros Drakos's eyes, to the way he had said I won't stop you without meaning it.
Men like him did not let go easily.
Neither did families like theirs.
Seraphina tried to leave. Her suitcase was packed, her passport lay on the bedside table and she had already said her goodbyes.
At the Athens International Airport, the departure board blinked cruelly. FLIGHT CANCELLED.
She stared at the screen, pulse thudding. She refreshed her phone. No alerts. No weather warnings.
Only one missed call from her father.
When she answered, his voice was calm, too calm. "Come home, Seraphina. We need to talk."
Her hands shook as she lowered the phone.
This was not an accident.
When her phone rang later in the day, Seraphina already knew who it would be.
"Dr. Cross," Alexandros said when she answered. His voice was calm, measured, dangerously controlled. "We should talk."
Her fingers tightened around the phone. "About?" "Expectations."
She exhaled slowly. "That sounds ominous."
"Honest," he corrected. "Dinner tomorrow. Neutral ground."
She hesitated for only a second. "Fine.
The Dinner
The restaurant sat above the cliffs of Vouliagmeni, glass walls overlooking the Aegean Sea. Discreet, and deliberately chosen. Alexandros stood when she arrived, his expression unreadable.
"You tried to leave," he said without preamble.
"Yes," she replied. "And someone stopped me."
His gaze sharpened. "Not me."
She studied him, searching for deception, finding none. That unsettled her more than lies would have.
"Then say what you called me here to say," she said.
Alexandros exhaled slowly. "If this marriage happens, it will be a contract. Not a romance."
"Conditions," he continued. "You mind your business. I mind mine. No interference. No expectations."
She opened it, skimming quickly. Her lips curved, cold, precise.
"You forgot something." He raised a brow.
"There will be no sexual relationship," she said evenly. "I won't give my body to a man who doesn't trust me."
A beat. Then Alexandros nodded. "Agreed."
"And separate rooms," she added.
"Already assumed."
Silence followed, heavy, fine!
"Why agree at all?" she asked quietly.
Alexandros's jaw tightened. "Because my father believes this marriage will protect what comes after him."
"I'll marry you," she said. "On paper."
Their eyes locked, not tender, not warm.
But something shifted.
Wedding Venue
The wedding took place in Santorini, framed by White stones and endless Blue. Cameras flashing. A union celebrated by the world as a fairytale.
Seraphina wore her smile like armor.
Alexandros stood beside her, powerful and distant, his hand steady on her back as vows were exchanged, words that meant nothing yet weighed like chains.
That night, in a romantic decorated luxurious Hotel room, the newly wed looked at each other, then Alexandros said "You think I married you because I wanted you?" His voice was calm, cold and deadly.
She met his eyes without flinching. "No. You married me because your world was built on power and you thought I was weak enough not to ruin it." they parted without a kiss.
Without regret.
Three days later, Seraphina boarded a plane out of Greece. Her destination: Zurich, Switzerland. This time, no cancellations.
She returned to her laboratory abroad, burying herself in research, relief, and distance. Alexandros did not call. She did not expect him to.
Until she accessed Nikolaos Drakos's medical files. Her breath caught. This wasn't nature.
This was designed. The progression is too controlled. The treatments are misaligned. Someone had sabotaged his treatment.
Seraphina sat back, heart racing, She didn't tell Alexandros. She didn't tell anyone.
She rolled up her sleeves and went to work.
Because she hadn't married for love.
But she refused to let a man die for someone else's greed.
And when Alexandros Drakos eventually learned the truth would everything between them changed?