The punishment worked. For a time, Eva reined in her hostility and stopped openly antagonizing me.

To quell the gossip within the family, Kevin officially swore his allegiance to me, the rightful heiress.

He wore a perfectly tailored bespoke black suit. The corners of his eyes and mouth were always slightly upturned, giving him the air of an elegant and refined bodyguard.

Looking at him, I felt a stir of delight.

But right after he pledged his loyalty to me, the first name to slip from his lips was "Eva."

"I'm here!" Eva came running from the end of the long hallway and jumped into his arms. "Kevin, were you just thinking about me? Do you remember when we ran away together?"

Kevin caught her steadily, a rare tenderness softening his gaze. "I remember. I remember everything about you."

My parents stood to the side. They sighed helplessly and patted my shoulder in a gesture of comfort.

After learning that I was his true master, Kevin was sullen for a long time.

He obeyed me in everything, but he was always half a beat slow in responding to my security commands.

I tried all sorts of ways to placate him, and slowly, he began to warm to me.

But we could never be close. He wouldn't let me inspect his weapon, and he didn't wait up for me to come home like other bodyguards did.

But with Eva, he was always watching, looking for any opportunity to see her, his ears acutely attuned to the sound of her footsteps.

I would just watch their intimacy. It stung to realize that even the one person given specifically to me didn't truly belong to me.

His loyalty would never be entirely mine.

Every time Kevin failed in his duties, my father would deposit a huge sum of "compensation" into my account. They thought that would make me feel better.

But lately, a new need had surfaced. One that was purely physical.

Kevin wouldn't even let me touch the hem of his clothes. Since Lucas was now completely obedient to me, there was no reason to deny myself.

"You're sleeping in my room tonight." I took Lucas's hand and led him toward the master bedroom. "Tomorrow, I'll have some proper suits made for you."

"And him?" Lucas stopped abruptly. "Will he mind?"

I looked back at him. "Who?"

"Kevin." Lucas lowered his head. "Elite bodyguards are very territorial."

"He won't. He thinks the stink of the streets never washed off me."

Lucas seemed to have thought of something. He gripped my wrist in return, his calloused palm searing hot. "Are we... going to do that again tonight?"

"Do what?"

I knew what he meant, but I liked to tease him.

The tips of his ears turned a faint red. "Get a release."

"I want to, but my whole body is sore," I said honestly.

"I have the stamina," he murmured. "You just need to lie back and enjoy it."

"Sounds exhausting. Aren't you tired?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No."

After another night, I happened to leave my room the next morning at the same time as Kevin.

"Alessia?"

He frowned, his critical gaze sweeping over me. "What was all that noise last night? It went on all night. Were you tearing the place down?"

I wasn't angry. I answered pleasantly, "Sorry, I'll be quieter next time."

His expression softened a little. He was silent for a moment, then asked, "Did you have a nightmare? Are you still scared because of the ambush? I thought I heard you crying last night."

That was from pleasure, I thought to myself.

"If you're still scared, tonight I can—"

"Kevin!" Eva's coquettish voice suddenly cut him off.

Kevin's expression instantly changed. He strode over and wrapped a cashmere shawl around her shoulders.

"Why aren't you dressed properly? You'll catch a cold!"

"I left my clothes in your room last night, remember?" she replied.

Kevin stood in front of her and pulled the shawl tighter, then smoothed down her hair.

Only after doing all this did Kevin start to head upstairs to the bathroom.

"Alessia, if you're going for breakfast, grab an extra cup of hot coffee."

"For Eva, to warm her up."

I ignored him and turned to leave.

As I passed Kevin, he suddenly grabbed me.

"What's this?"

His gaze was sharp, fixed on the open collar of my shirt.

The next second, his arms were around my waist, pulling me into his chest. He leaned in close to my neck, his warm breath hitting my earlobe.

His expression shattered into utter disbelief, looking exactly like an abandoned, betrayed dog.

"Alessia," he demanded, "this mark on your collarbone... Who is he?"