LUCAS POV
The words hit me like a slap across the face.
"I have already chosen."
Nicholas's voice was calm, almost conversational, yet it carried the weight of absolute authority. He rose slowly from his seat like a king who had already decided the fate of everyone in the room. His gaze swept dismissively over the seven virgin girls we had brought as offerings — beautiful, untouched, carefully selected — and then settled on Ivy with cold satisfaction.
"I choose my wife," he declared, his tone smooth but laced with cruel finality. "Lady Ivy Vault. She is the only one I want."
My blood boiled.
This bastard wasn't even pretending anymore. He was choosing her as punishment. A deliberate, public humiliation designed to remind me — and every elder present — that he held the power. That Ivy, my cursed, worthless daughter, was now his possession.
I shot to my feet, fists clenched so tightly my knuckles turned white.
