Seraphine studied Santiago carefully, her gaze steady, her breathing even, while a quiet certainty settled deep in her chest, because something about his confidence felt incomplete, like he was standing in the middle of a storm he didn't even realize had already begun to tear everything apart outside those walls.
"I'm not marrying you," she said, her voice calm but unyielding, every word landing with quiet force. "And you're not doing anything to me."
For a brief second, silence stretched between them, thick and charged, before Santiago let out a low exhale, the kind that carried impatience wrapped in control.
"For the last time," he said, his tone tightening, "marry me." He took a slow step closer, his eyes dark with intent that made the air feel heavier. "We harvest organs, expand everything I've built, and you use that charm of yours to bring in more children…" His lips curved into something disturbingly satisfied. "Then we run the underworld together."
