"Now that I have you in my arms again, be mine."

​Maya stared at the man in front of her who was always cold and indifferent. Now, he had her pinned against the bed, his weight pressed against the mattress, his warm breath teasing her earlobe as he whispered words she least expected to hear from him.

​The image of her fiancé and her stepsister, Stephanie, together in bed made her heart clench painfully. The man she had loved all her life cheated on her with her stepsister.

​The thought brought tears to her eyes, making her look wronged. He wiped her tears from her face and kissed her cheeks tenderly. "Under me, you'll never be bullied ever again."

​All her life, her parents had given everything of hers to Stephanie. If Stephanie did something wrong, she would be the one to be blamed.

​Her family never noticed her. Everything was only ever about Stephanie. She belonged to no one. Now, someone wanted her; someone was willing to take her in.

​Maya stared at the man who seemed like he could go against the world just for her. She felt she could trust him with her broken heart.

​She pulled him closer and lightly pressed her lips against his. Lucien was shocked by her reaction. He expected her to reject him, to tell him her heart belonged to his nephew, her fiancé.

​But instead, she kissed him. What could this mean? His body tensed beneath her. Maya broke from the kiss, her face flushed. She could feel his bulge pressing against her thighs.

​The look in his eyes deepened as he clenched his jaw. "I want an answer, Maya." His husky voice made her shiver and feel a slight heat between her legs.

​"Yes…" she stuttered. "I'm yours."

​He looked at her with a look of uncertainty. "Are you sure?"

​Maya nodded her head, her eyes filled with determination.

​Lucien tried to search for any form of hesitation on her face. After seeing none, he smiled and leaned in to kiss her.

​She returned the kiss, and as they kissed, she felt his desire. She let her hands roam around his body, feeling every muscle.

​She gave herself to the devil, because the only way to stay safe is to make a deal with the devil. Lucien suddenly pulled back and skillfully took off his shirt. As he did that, she began to unbutton hers.

​She sighed and relaxed as she felt him kiss and adore every inch of her skin. Marcus, her fiancé, had never made her feel special the way Lucien was making her feel by just kissing her.

​He held her with a certain fragility, like she'd break with one touch. He slid into her, causing her to yelp.

​"Does it hurt?" he asked her as his hands flew to her waist, massaging it.

​She tried to shut down the pain, but it was too much. Tears filled her eyes as she nodded, letting him know it hurt.

​He thrust in and out slowly, and soon the pain disappeared. The two shared a blissful, intimate moment. During this time, she also saw a vulnerable part of the man who pushed everyone out with his coldness.

​The next morning, Maya woke up. Her body felt sore, like it had been crushed by something heavy. Her mind flashed to the events that took place last night.

​Remembering everything made her heart skip a beat. She slept with her fiancé's uncle, the family head of the Blackwood family. She immediately turned to her side to see a peaceful Lucien sleeping soundly.

​He looked calm, unlike his usually cold self. Not wanting to be here when he woke up, Maya slowly got up from the bed and rushed to the bathroom to freshen up.

​Her legs were wobbly and sore, but that didn't stop her from running away before he woke up.

​By the time she got home, everyone was already in the sitting room waiting for her. "And where do you think you're coming from?" her father, James, asked.

​Her clothes were disheveled and her hair was messy. "I got stuck somewhere," she replied calmly, her eyes landing on Stephanie and Marcus.

​The image of them together in bed came back to her mind. Even though she tried to make it not affect her, it still did in the most painful way.

​"You got stuck where, huh? Or you were with another man in a hotel, you slut!" her father scolded as he rushed up to her, landing a hot slap on her cheek.

​Maya stood there stunned, both by the slap and how he knew where she was. She felt someone move her hair that she used to cover her hickey.

​"Look, Dad, while Marcus was busy worrying about her, she was busy having fun with another man, can you imagine that?"

​Marcus frowned upon seeing the hickey on Maya's neck. "Maya, who did this? Are you cheating on me?"

​Maya scoffed upon hearing his question. "And what right do you think you have to ask me that question?"

​Upon hearing her words, Marcus paused. Maya's eyes held a certain coldness he wasn't used to.

​"Did something happen?" he questioned himself, but the hickey evident on her neck brought out a surge of protectiveness that someone had touched his property. It made him forget everything else that crossed his mind.

​He walked up to her and grabbed her arm roughly. "I am your fiancé. I have every right to ask you if you are cheating on me. Now tell me, who did this?"

​Maya smiled and looked at him in a way that unsettled him. "That's none of your business." She removed his hand from hers, not wanting him anywhere close to her.

​"Dad, Mom, yesterday I caught your perfect daughter, who can never do anything wrong, in bed with my fiancé."

The room froze upon hearing her confession.

"Mom," Maya walked up to her mother, tears pouring down her face. "Your daughter is hurt by her own sister. Mom, this time, she's wrong," Maya said, moving closer to hug her mother, but her mother stopped her.

"That's enough! I've had enough from you. If it weren't for the fact that your father already slapped you, I'd have slapped you myself. Not only do you go around sleeping with other men, but you also accuse your sister of something so despicable. I'm disappointed in you, Maya," Celene, her mother, said as she pushed Maya away from her.

"Mom, I'm telling the truth," Maya said frantically. She turned to Marcus, who refused to meet her gaze. "Marcus, after six years of being together, you decide to cheat on me with my sister? Marcus, I saw you two that day. Tell my parents the truth!"

Marcus turned to look at Maya, his eyes holding guilt, hesitation, fear, and something more. "Maya, you are mistaken. I have nothing to do with your sister. It is you that I love."

"Maya," Stephanie said, walking towards Marcus and linking her arm with his. "Yes, we are together. Marcus, why do you have to be scared of her? She's not worth it. She claims to love you, but she has another lover outside. Marcus, it's I who truly love you. Admit to it and end your relationship with her."

Upon hearing her words to Marcus, Celene yelled, "And what do you mean by that? Maya is right? You have been sleeping with Marcus?"

"Yes, Mom. We love each other. I was willing to give him my first time, unlike her, who kept him waiting for so long. Mom, we love each other, please don't separate us," Stephanie spoke, tears streaming down her cheeks as she begged, making people want to protect her.

Maya turned to her mother. "Now do you believe me? Your daughter did something so despicable. She took my fiancé, Mom."

Maya moved forward to hug her mother once more, but was stopped.

"So what if they slept together?"

Her mother's words made Maya extremely shocked. So what? Maya thought.

"They love each other. It's normal for them to get involved with each other intimately." Her mother's cold words made Maya question if she really was her mother. Her daughter was just cheated on in a relationship of six years, and that was all she had to say? So what?

"Mom, is that how much you hate me? Something so big that she's done, yet you side with her. But me staying out makes you ashamed of me?" Maya laughed, knowing she really had no place in anyone's heart in this world.

Then, her mind unintentionally flew to Lucien, the man who made her feel loved, important, and cherished all in one night. She refused to spend another second with them. Maya stormed upstairs to her room and slammed the door.

Marcus was about to chase after her to explain when Stephanie held him back. "Marcus, where are you going?"

Marcus looked at the timid and pitiful Stephanie, but the image of hickeys on Maya's neck made him unsettled. Who was she with last night? The thought irritated him that she gave her first time to another man, yet he had been trying for the past six years.

At the Hotel

Lucien woke up to see an empty space beside him. Where was the woman he was with last night?

He dressed up and called his assistant, who came within minutes. The assistant watched his boss, who was always cold, looking different from his usual self. "Boss, are you sure she's the one from the orphanage?" the assistant asked.

"Yes, I'm sure she's the one," he replied. "She was adopted by the Ewell family nine years ago. Now that she's finally back in my arms, I'm going to protect her. I want you to watch her every move and report it to me," Lucien ordered.

After the assistant left, Lucien took out a half-heart bracelet, his mind going back to the time they were together at the orphanage.

"I promise when I come back, I'm going to marry you and make you Mrs. Blackwood," young Lucien had said with a stern face as he got into the luxurious car, leaving the young girl standing there. "Hold onto that bracelet. I'll come back and get you." With that, the car drove off.

Years later, after finally inheriting the head-of-family title, Lucien went back to the orphanage to get his beloved, only to find out that she had been adopted by the Ewell family. He found the half-heart bracelet with Maya during his banquet, and he saw how her family treated her. They could only treat someone so poorly if they weren't flesh and blood.

There's no way anyone else can be my beloved if not Maya. Her timid and flushed face during their intimate moment came back to his memory, making him smile.

Back at the Ewell Family House

The next day arrived, and Maya was planning to step out for some fresh air when Stephanie blocked her path. There was a provocative smile on her face, which unsettled Maya.

"Well, well, well," Stephanie said as she walked closer to Maya. "How did it feel? How did it feel that your own parents chose me over you? Your fiancé chose me over you. I told you, everything that belongs to you will be mine. And I'm just getting started."

Maya's heart clenched painfully. Stephanie wasn't wrong, she was right. She had taken her parents' love from her; she had taken her fiancé of six years. What else was left that she wanted to take from her?

Maya looked at Stephanie. "There's nothing else for you to take. You've taken everything from me already. What more do you want?"

Maya's mind immediately went to Lucien. Did she find out about him? Does she know about him? Maya's heart immediately became unsettled. That can't be possible.

Stephanie watched as Maya's face tensed up. What could she be thinking? Stephanie thought as she squinted her eyes suspiciously.

"Anyways, I'm just getting started." With that, she walked off. Maya watched Stephanie's retreating figure, thinking deeply about what she meant.

Just then, a message popped up on her phone. Hey, the message read. Seeing the message, she knew it was from Lucien. She instantly replied, Hi.

She stared at the screen as the chat indicated that he was typing. Later on, his response came in: I'm outside.

Maya's heart skipped a beat. He's outside? What if he runs into Stephanie and she tries to steal him away from me as well? Maya decided to take a deep breath and hope for the best.

I'm meeting him again after last night, how do I even face him? Maya questioned herself as she rushed downstairs.

Maya opened the front door and walked outside. The morning air hit her face, but her cheek still burned where her father had slapped her. Her legs were sore from last night with Lucien, making it hard to walk fast.

She looked around the street, feeling nervous. She was scared Marcus or her parents might see her leave.

Then she saw the black car parked across the road. The lights flashed twice to call her over. Maya let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. He was really waiting for her. She hurried over to the car.

She was wearing an old, oversized sweater that Stephanie didn't want anymore and had thrown away. Maya pulled open the car door and sat down inside.

It smelled nice and clean. "How are you?" Lucien asked, his deep voice filling the quiet car.

He reached over and gently rubbed her head, messing up her hair a little bit in a sweet way.

Maya completely froze. Her heart skipped a beat. Nobody had ever treated her like this before. In her house, her parents only slapped her or pushed her aside for Stephanie. But Lucien was touching her so gently, like she was something precious. It made her feel like crying.

"I'm..." Before she could reply, Lucien grabbed her chin, staring into her face intensely. His face darkened as his eyes swept over the glaring red hand mark on her cheek.

"Who did this?" he questioned, a deadly aura suddenly filling the car. Maya slowly pushed his hand away and sat up straight.

"I bumped into something."

Lucien knew that she was lying and that someone had hit her. Is this how my beloved has been treated all these years? I'll make the Ewell family pay for mistreating her. His heart ached upon seeing her timid and fragile body. He imagined how hard the slap must have been to leave such a glaring mark.

"I'm here now. You won't suffer any injustices anymore," he spoke up, breaking the silence. "I promised you that I'd come back for you. Now that I'm here, I'll protect you."

Maya paused and stared at him, confused. What did he mean by promise? Then she remembered that night and the words he had whispered to her. Oh, that. Thinking about it made her blush, her face turning beetroot red.

Lucien glanced at her and saw her blushing. He smirked and slipped his hand into hers as he intertwined their fingers. Maya blushed even more than before, making Lucien smile, feeling satisfied.

The car pulled up in front of a massive black gate. As soon as the car got close, the gate opened on its own, and Lucien drove inside.

Maya looked out the window, and her mouth dropped open. The driveway was long and surrounded by neat green grass and bright flowers.

At the end of the drive stood a huge, three-story house that looked like a modern castle. It had huge glass windows, white marble pillars, and warm yellow lights shining inside.

Everything about this place shouted wealth and power. It was three times bigger than her family’s house and way more beautiful.

Lucien parked the car right near the entrance, and a butler dressed in a neat suit immediately walked down the front steps, opening the passenger door for Maya with a respectful bow.

"Welcome home, Young Master, Miss," the butler said politely.

Maya felt her face burn again. Welcome home? She slowly stepped out of the car, her legs still feeling a bit weak.

She looked up at the huge villa, feeling small and out of place. Her hands gripped the bottom of Stephanie’s old, faded sweater. She felt like a poor stray cat that had somehow walked into a prince's palace.

Lucien walked over to her side and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close against him.

"You stay here?" she asked as her eyes scanned the area in awe.

"Yes, I do. And if you want, you can move in. Here, no one will dare to disrespect you."

Maya paused and thought, If I move in, Stephanie will find out, and just like she took Marcus, she'll take Lucien, too. I can't bear for that to happen.

"No, I would love to move in, but to avoid complications, I should remain with my parents."

Seeing that she had made up her mind, Lucien decided not to press further.

"Come inside. I already told the cook to prepare your breakfast, and the doctor will be here soon to check your face."

Hearing how much he cared about her, Maya felt a lump in her throat. Her own parents had slapped her and called her names just yesterday, but this cold man was treating her like a princess. She nodded quietly and let him lead her through the grand double doors.

As they stepped inside, the chef led them to the dining table. Maya sat beside Lucien as they ate together.

Lucien personally picked certain dishes and placed them onto Maya's plate. His actions warmed her heart. At some point, Maya gradually relaxed and felt more comfortable around him.

"So tell me," Lucien spoke up. "Tell me about how you've been coping since I left the orphanage."

"Which orp..." Just as Maya was about to speak, the maid walked in.

"Sir, the doctor is here."

Lucien stared at Maya for a pretty long time before speaking.

"We'll discuss it later. Let's go and see the doctor." He held out a hand. "Shall we?"

Maya looked up at him and laughed. "We shall," she said, placing her hand in his.