My father found me too rebellious, so he gave me to Marco, tasking him with making a lady out of me.

To the outside world, Macro was the ruthless boss to a Mafia empire, but to me, he was just a man with a perpetually stern face.

I tried everything to defy him.

I smashed his car. Then I swapped his PPT for the lowbrow stand-up he hated most. And he opened it during a company meeting.

Yet, every rebellion ended the same.

He cornered me, his massive frame dominating mine on the silk sheets of his king-sized bed, the polished oak of his desk, or the leather confines of the car's backseat.

His hot skin against mine, his fingers tracing fire along my curves. He moved with a primal hunger that left me breathless.

My body arched in unwilling ecstasy, in a dance of punishing pleasure, until my fight dissolved into moans, my will shattered under his relentless claim.

I fell for him hard, convinced this was love, and he was the beacon of my dark world.

But the truth shattered me: it was all a calculated game to tame me, to stop my war with my sister Karen.

My guiding light went out, or maybe it never existed at all.

So I became a good girl. I stopped fighting back.

He thought he had me tamed, chained to his will.

But in the end, I slipped free, leaving him alone with his shattered heart.

Seraphina POV

I was the daughter of the Grant family. My father controlled half the city's underworld.

Gunfire and bloodshed were the currency of his business, the leverage he held over everyone.

And I was meant to enjoy the wealth and privilege that came with it, to never know a day's worry.

Until my twelfth birthday, everything changed.

My parents brought home a girl who looked disturbingly like me, claiming she was my long-lost twin sister, Karen.

She hadn't had an easy life, wandering outside our world.

My parents' guilt washed over them like a tidal wave. To make amends, they poured everything they could into her hands.

And Karen, as if she were owed the world, simply pointed a finger.

My room, my cherished dolls, my favorite dresses, even my parents' love and attention—everything that was mine was now hers.

Then she set her sights on Marco, the youngest, most promising Mafia boss in the city.

She demanded that I give up my position as his fiancée.

This time, I refused.

I rebelled with a fury I had never known.

After a massive fight with my parents, I set the curtains on fire, smashed five cars in our garage, and destroyed half the house.

In a fit of rage, my father sent me to Macro.

"Turn Seraphina into a proper lady—then she won't have to come back. If she fails, she'll never return."

My world plunged into darkness.

But I wasn't about to give up. I turned my fury on Macro.

I splattered paint across his ceilings, floors, walls, and all his expensive furniture.

And he grabbed me in the bathroom, pulling me tight against his chest, his hot lips pressing against the side of my neck.

"Sera... be a good girl."

Sera?

My parents hadn't called me that since Karen came home. They would only ever yell my full name, Seraphina.

A sharp ache hit me, and I returned his kiss, turning all my resentment and pain into wild, urgent desire.

Though he seemed cold on the surface, Marco always cared for me in a way no one else did.

He remembered my preferences without me having to say a word.

He'd shield me from a troublesome suitor at a dinner party.

Once, when a landslide buried our car, he dug me out with his bare hands and carried me for five miles until we found help.

Slowly, I stopped fighting him. I was falling in love.

One night, I walked to his study with a gift I had carefully prepared, intending to ask him about our wedding.

But at the door, I overheard him on a video call.

"Marco, your fiancée's been so much better. When are you going to marry Karen?"

"Karen was there for me when I was at my lowest. It's a debt I have to repay. Just make sure Sera behaves so she doesn't get in Karen's way."

"You seem so close to Seraphina... I thought she was going to be your wife."

There was a faint amusement in Marco's tone.

"That spoiled little girl? She's not fit to be my wife."

Each word struck like a blade, piercing straight through my chest. My heart stopped.

Marco's heart had always belonged to Karen. And I... I was just a willful playmate to be trained.

I threw the gift aside and locked myself in my room, shivering in the darkness.

I once believed that lacking my parents' love didn't matter, because I had Marco.

But the man I thought was my only light in the dark... was nothing but a fantasy.

Everything I had, everything I trusted, turned out to be nothing.

The door creaked open, and the lights flicked on.

Marco leaned over, cupping my chin, meeting my desperate gaze with a faint smile on his face.

"So... planning to tempt me into bed again?"

Seraphina POV

Macro's thumb traced along my lips as he leaned in, his warm breath brushing my face.

If I hadn't just overheard that call, I would have thrown myself into his arms, completely lost to his touch.

But now... all I felt was deep disgust.

"Get lost," I said, my voice ice.

I returned home and told my father and Karen, "I'm willing to give up my engagement to Marco. Karen can have him."

They exchanged a glance,and a smirk crept onto their somber faces.

My father sneered, "Looks like Macro's discipline worked after all."

I kept my expression neutral. "Give me Two billion."

My father's smile froze.

"Are you insane? You want me to go bankrupt?"

A faint smile touched my lips.

"Two billion to get the chance to marry Marco. You'll make that back a hundred times over from his casinos, his illicit trades, and all the businesses you can't touch. Two billion is nothing. But if you don't want to, then forget it."

Karen timidly tugged at his sleeve, her eyes watering.

"Father, just ignore her. She's only trying to cause trouble.."

My father's face twisted with reluctance, but he finally clenched his jaw and agreed, cursing under his breath.

"You were raised for nothing! Ungrateful little brat... Karen's far more sensible."

Before he could finish, a heavy glass ashtray flew at my head.

I instinctively raised my arm, the impact jarring my bones.

The ashtray curved through the air and hit Karen's forehead with a sickening thud. Blood ran down her face.

She screamed. My father roared behind me, "Look what you've done!"

Without looking back, I walked out of the study, pulled out my phone, and booked a flight out of the country in two weeks.

My home had become a place not worth staying in.

I looked around the room, remembering when Karen first arrived. I had felt so much pity for her, sharing all my favorite things.

But her return gift?

She shattered my father's most cherished possession, his horse racing trophy, the symbol of his pride, and pinned the blame on me.

She smashed my mother's beloved jewels and hid the fragments under my pillow, ensuring I would be the one to pay.

She even threw herself down the stairs, not once, and whispering that I was the one who pushed her.

Time and again, I tried to defend myself. But my parents refused to listen.

In their eyes, I was the jealous, spoiled child. Only Karen was their pure, innocent daughter.

Just as I reached the door, Macro came in. He froze when he saw me.

Karen rushed from behind and threw herself into Macro's arms, crying.

Macro's gaze darkened.

"What did you do to Karen?" he asked, blocking my way.

"You saw it yourself," I pushed past him, my heart filled with disgust.

I finally understood why he always took Karen's side.

As I walked out into the courtyard, someone struck me from behind.

My vision went black...

I woke up to the sound of the wind, every muscle in my body tense.

I opened my eyes and found myself on a narrow platform, hanging forty stories above the ground on the side of Macro's office building.

My vertigo hit me instantly, and I froze, unable to move. My heart hammered against my ribs. I tried to scream, but only a choked gasp escaped my lips.

Then I heard Karen's voice from an open window.

"Macro said if he doesn't discipline you, you'll never become a lady."

"This is a lesson for you. Let's see if you'll dare to cross me again."

She laughed and walked away.

My fingers trembled as I repeatedly called Macro's number, but he never answered.

Instead, a few photos from Karen popped up in my chat.

They showed Macro carefully cleaning her wound and putting a bandage on it.

It was just a small cut, but his eyes were filled with deep affection.

My chest ached as if a giant hand was tearing it apart.

Macro knows I have a fear of heights. He wouldn't do this to me. He wouldn't...

I tried to convince myself. But the self-deception was too weak.

I had thought his care was all mine. But compared to what he showed Karen, it was nothing.

He didn't even ask for my side of the story.

Based on Karen's word alone, he had hung me on the side of a forty-story building just as punishment for her.

My breath became more and more difficult. The wind cut through me, making my body shiver, but my heart was colder than ever.

Finally, as I began to lose consciousness, the platform was slowly pulled back.

Through my blurred vision, I saw Macro.

He scooped me into his arms. I struggled with every ounce of strength I had.

Disgust.

Resistance.

He held me tightly and whispered in a low voice.

"It's fine. I've got you."

Seraphina POV

Tears welled up in my eyes, but almost immediately, I found it ridiculous.

In my darkest, most terrifying moments, Marco had always been there to say those words.

Those same words that had once given me comfort, courage, and a deep, aching sense of belonging.

But did he really love me?

Just one whispered word from Karen, and he would punish me without a second thought, not caring if I lived or died.

"Don't touch me!"

I thrashed wildly, but his grip on my hands was unbreakable. In a fit of desperation, I bit him.

He frowned and carried me back to his house, and wrapped me in a blanket on the sofa.

I was about to yell at him, but he handed me a cup of hot cocoa.

"Drink this," he said softly. "You need to warm up."

I curled up, keeping as far away as I could, my body still trembling.

"Stay out of my business. Just leave me alone!" I snapped.

He smiled lightly.

"Leave you alone? You really think you can live without me?"

His eyes and the slight curve of his lips were filled with the smug satisfaction of a victor.

I had hoped he would be my beacon, but he had brought me only deeper into the darkness.

Seeing me silent, Macro asked, "You hurt Karen today. What's your side of the story?"

"You saw it," I said flatly. "And you wouldn't believe me anyway."

I had long given up on explaining myself, from my parents to him, no one cared about my side of the story.

"I would believe you," he said. "But Karen is your sister. She's so fragile. Why do you have so much hostility toward her?"

I laughed, letting tears slip from the corner of my eyes. This was his idea of believing me.

"Mind your own business!" I shot back, storming into my room and slamming the door.

For the next two days, Macro ignored me.

From the constant photos Karen sent, I could tell he was there with her, comforting her.

I didn't care anymore. In two weeks, once all the paperwork was done, I could leave.

--

On the day of my college thesis defense, I woke early.

I felt a rush of excitement as completing this step would bring me closer to leaving.

Macro sat among the judges as the college's sponsor. But I knew he wasn't there for me.

Karen went first.

"Good morning, professors. The title of my thesis is..."

I froze. I jumped up and interrupted her.

"This is my thesis! It's exactly the same as mine!"

A murmur of confusion rippled through the room.

"Karen skips class all the time and never puts in half the effort Seraphina does. If their papers turn out the same, guess who's been copying."

"Plagiarizing a grad thesis? She'll get kicked out of college for that! She's got some nerve."

Karen's eyes filled with feigned tears.

"I wrote this myself. I stayed up nights. Don't you dare slander me!"

I was about to argue, but Macro's icy glare cut me off.

"This is a serious occasion," he said, his voice flat. "Don't cause a scene."

My heart sank. I finally understood.

I grabbed my water cup and slammed it into Karen's laptop.

A wisp of smoke rose and Karen screamed, covering her ears.

I ignored Macro and talked to Karen.

"Since you wrote it yourself, you should be able to defend it without your laptop."

A flicker of panic crossed Karen's face.

"The thesis is long... I... I don't remember it all clearly."

"Really?" I smiled. "Then let me go first. Professors, my thesis is divided into the following sections..."

Karen's face turned pale. She stumbled toward Macro and collapsed in front of him.

Marco held her and glared at me as if I were some evil witch.

The moment I finished my defense, Macro shoved me into a car and dragged me into his office.

I was fuming, and I needed an outlet.

"Marco, mind telling me why my thesis showing up on her laptop?!"

His voice was cold.

"Sera, I've spoiled you too much. You went out of line today. How dare you humiliated Karen in front of everyone."

Karen stood behind him. Her triumphant gaze cut into me like a knife, twisting deep in my chest.

Was defending myself "out of line"?

I grabbed a golf club from the corner and swung it hard at his cigar box, the family crest, and every expensive object in his office.

Karen screamed and fled the office, while Macro watched coldly, doing nothing.

Until the office was in ruins, papers and shards of glass scattered everywhere, I dropped the club, panting.

"Enough smashing?" he asked.

"I still want to smash you."

My phone lit up with a flight reminder. I fumbled to cover it, but it was too late.

Macro's face darkened.

"A flight? Where are you going?"

"None of your business! I'm going on a beach trip with a hot guy, so what?" I snatched my phone and stormed out.

He seized my hand, slammed me against his desk, and ripped the zipper on my dress down to the bottom.

"Looks like I haven't disciplined you for too long. You've forgotten who I am!"

My bare skin burned with shame, and for the first time, his body made me recoil in fear.

I sobbed, "Let go... this is the office. Not here..."

Macro leaned closer, voice cold and commanding.

"You need to remember who's in charge. Everything depends on my mood."

A chill ran through me.

I realized, with a sickening clarity, that I was just something for him to manipulate.

Tears streamed down uncontrollably, my body trembling with each sob.

He hesitated for a moment, then zipped up, his tone softening slightly.

"I'll let you off today. but next time, you won't be so lucky."