Lucian couldn't stop thinking about her.
The girl in the yellow dress.
The one whose smile felt like sunlight through glass soft yet strong enough to burn through the cold edges of his immortal heart.
He had lived for centuries, seen beauty in every form imaginable, but none of them stayed in his thoughts the way she did.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her standing in the garden under the golden lights, lost in thought, unaware of the storm she had awakened inside him.
He tried to shake her from his mind, but even the silence of his mansion couldn't drown her laughter — the one he had heard faintly at the fundraiser.
It haunted him… sweetly.
Painfully.
Riah, on the other hand, had no clue her presence had disrupted the world of a man who wasn't entirely human.
It had been a week since the fundraiser, and the hospital was quiet the children home for the holidays. For once, she could rest.
So when Nessa dragged her out of the house, Riah didn't protest much.
They went shopping, strolled through the fun park, ate cotton candy that stuck to their fingers, and laughed until their ribs hurt.
For a few hours, Riah forgot about loss, duty, and heartache she was just a girl having fun with her best friend.
As evening rolled in, she decided to pick up groceries for her mother. The city glowed in amber lights; laughter filled the air as people hurried home or out for the night.
Her arms were full of shopping bags when Nessa's voice echoed over the phone.
"Riri, let's go out tonight!"
"Out?"
"Yes! Clubbing! You've been too serious. You need to live a little!"
Riah sighed. "You know that's not really my thing."
"Pleaseee," Nessa begged dramatically. "Just this once. You owe me for the yellow dress!"
Riah laughed softly. She couldn't argue with that.
So, against her usual nature, she agreed.
During the past week, lucian hadn't been able to collect his thoughts from that unfamiliar feeling.
It was chaos inside him a train wreck he couldn't control.
And how surprising for him a man who had known no fear, no worry, no weakness to be so undone by something so small, so gentle, so breathtakingly human.
How could someone so petite, so tender, stir such a storm inside him?
Days passed, but the thought of her didn't fade.
He needed to clear his head.
So he decided to go to one of his own clubs a place he rarely visited .
Lucian Ray was, after all, the most powerful man in Lucid City owner of almost every major business, every building that touched the skyline.
But that night, he wasn't there as a king — he was there as a man trying to silence the noise in his mind.
The moment he stepped into the club, the heavy bass and flashing lights did little to distract him.
He poured himself a glass, trying to drink away the thoughts clawing at him and then it hit him that familiar scent that has somehow registered in his brain.
Lavender… and chocolate.
The exact same scent he'd noticed a week ago.
His body went rigid. His mind blank.
His dark blue eyes scanned the room sharply searching, hunting for the source of that scent.
And there she was.
Riah Chris.
Standing under the dim club lights, her soft caramel skin glowing, her delicate face framed by strands of blonde hair that fell perfectly against her lashes.
His chest eased, as if that unbearable tension had finally exhaled.
What was this?
Why was he so drawn to her?
Was it the way she smiled gentle but distant?
Or the ache in her eyes that whispered of a thousand unshed tears?
Was it her laughter, or the graceful, sweet energy that surrounded her like a spell?
He couldn't tell.
But he knew he couldn't look away.
The club pulsed with life.
Lights flickered. Music thundered through the floor. The scent of alcohol and expensive perfume mixed in the air.
Nessa was already in her element dancing, laughing, glowing like fire in the dark.
Riah, on the other hand, stayed near the bar, sipping a mocktail, watching the crowd with quiet amusement.
Then came them a group of men who noticed her the moment she walked in.
"Hey, gorgeous," one said, sliding closer.
"Dance with us," another added, his hand brushing too close to her arm.
Riah smiled politely. "No, thank you."
But they didn't stop.
One leaned in, offering her a drink that didn't smell like fruit juice.
Another reached out, trying to touch her waist.
Before Riah could react, Nessa appeared, fierce as ever.
"Oi! She said no! Beat it!"
Her tone was sharp enough to cut the music.
The men groaned but backed off slightly, muttering something under their breath.
Nessa grabbed Riah's hand.
"Don't mind them. Come on, let's go dance!"
From his angle, he could see how uncomfortable she was the way her body tensed when the men approached her, their predatory gazes crawling across her skin.
A strange heat built in his chest not desire this time, but anger.
An urge to destroy.
He tightened his grip on the glass until his knuckles turned white.
He wanted to kill them for touching her for even thinking of touching her.
And then, like a whisper, a question crossed his mind:
Why do I feel this way?
He wanted to know why he needed to know who she was, what she was and why he's so drawn to her "why" he muttered under his breath was it because she looked like a goddess ethereal and pure yet still human enough to bleed?
Was it because her beauty wasn't polished or vain, but alive?
Or was it because she, with her shy smile and nose piercing, carried an innocence that shouldn't belong to this world?.
Thoughts and questions from his head kept popping up to define this unsolvable problem.
Everything about her drew him in dangerously so.
He gulped his drink and tried to avert his gaze, but it was impossible.
She was magnetic.
And he, for the first time in a hundred years, was helpless he kept watching and observing her like she could disappear anytime.
But as the night went on, Nessa drank too much she tried to drink away her wounded heart she was so tired of the constantly fighting ,with her father, the argument between her and father over her stepmother and how her stepmother founded another way to keep her under her control by proposing she gets married for the sake of the company. Marriage base on transactions. She don't want that kind of life for herself she felt bad because she's worked so hard for herself and now her so called family who didn't care about her wants to get her married base on transactions and politics.
She laughed, danced wildly, she couldn't take the heat anymore she wanted air she went outside the club still furious about everything she just wanted to vent her anger on anything anyone and before she knew it some group of men came to her the same men as before who wouldn't let her friend be came at her acting all high and mighty.
Nessa smiled because this was what she wanted she needed someone or something to vent her anger on then her prayers where answered she turned to face them "maybe I was too easy on y'all back then how about me take it from the start" said with a smirk while pouncing on them.
Meanwhile a black Mercedes arrived at the parking lot about to get out of the car, then stopped to witness the whole show. At first he felt worried but later on found it interesting. Because the same lady who piqued his interest was the one pouncing on those group of men. Knowing she wasn't daddy spoilt princess but a vixen,a person whose more like a gangster. smirkingly tilted his head "this would be fun. Louis ray said while watching the whole beat up show . When Nessa was done beating up those me she wasn't relieved at all she was still furious that when she saw a familiar figure walking towards her but she didn't think too much of it as his face wasn't clear to her she quickly rushed towards him to see his face more closely grabbing him by the collar of his black leather jacket " I must be drunk to see Louis ray here right now"
Looking deep into those eyes of his she averted her gaze down to his lips
"You have such pretty lips and it's very enticing I could bite them off I wonder how it would taste "she said while tracing his lips with her finger before passing out.
Riah searched everywhere, through the crowd and the flashing lights, but her friend had vanished probably drunk somewhere or left with a cab because she seem wasted early.
She sighed now she was alone.
Uncomfortable.
Tired.
Wanting to leave she picked her bag and heading for the exit when one of the men from earlier returned, his smirk sharper now.
"Still here, sweetheart where's your friend now huh? Come on,dance with me just one dance."
He reached for her.
Riah tried to step back, her heart pounding, but before he could touch her
She smiled politely at the men who wouldn't take "no" for an answer.
Her patience began to wear thin as one of them reached out to touch her again
A shadow stepping out of darkness.
A tall, broad figure whose presence froze the air around them.
"She said no," the man's voice cut through the noise — calm, deep, but dangerous.
Under the dim club lights, his features came into focus — sharp jawline, dark hair slightly tousled, piercing blue eyes that seemed to see straight into her soul.
The stranger's eyes met hers sharp, blue, glinting under the strobe lights like shards of the ocean.
Riah's breath caught.
Oh my God. It's him.
The atmosphere was filled with strong energy hot like fire as those men back off and left.
Riah couldn't believe her eyes it was as if everything froze her heart raced violently.
Those eyes. She couldn't be wrong.
The same piercing blue eyes from the garden the ones that had haunted her dreams every night since the fundraiser.
It was him.
The noise of the club faded behind them as Lucian led her outside.
The cold night air kissed her damp skin, cooling the heat that had climbed to her cheeks. She could still hear the music pulsing from inside — muffled bass thudding like her heart.
He hadn't said a word since he pulled her away. Just walked. Calm. Certain.
His presence alone was enough to silence everything around her.
Riah stood by the alley near the club entrance, trying to steady her breathing.
Her hands trembled slightly, not just from fear but from the weight of the moment.
She finally found her voice, soft and uncertain.
"Erm… th—" she hesitated, then tried again, her voice barely louder than a whisper.
"Thank you," she said, glancing at him. "I'm… very grateful."
Lucian didn't reply at once.
Instead, his gaze lingered on her face searching, studying, as though every flicker of her expression told a story.
Then, his voice came — smooth, deep, like velvet sliding over steel.
"Look at me."
The command was quiet… but it carried a power that made her heart skip.
It wasn't harsh or demanding it was gentle, steady, and filled with something she couldn't quite name.
Riah hesitated, then lifted her eyes slowly.
Those eyes.
Those piercing blue eyes that looked like frozen oceans holding centuries of secrets.
For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.
Her lips parted slightly — she wanted to look away, to hide from that intensity — but she couldn't.
And when she tried, his hand moved with deliberate care, fingers brushing her chin, lifting it softly back toward him.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, his tone low, almost tender.
Her heart stuttered.
His touch wasn't cold… it was warm. Too warm.
She swallowed, finding her voice.
"I'm… I'm fine," she said quickly. "Thank you."
Lucian's thumb brushed away a raindrop maybe a tear that had clung to her cheek. He said nothing, but the silence between them spoke louder than words.
And then she asked it the question that had been clawing at her since the fundraiser.
"Have we… met before?"
A flicker of amusement crossed his face, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
"Maybe," he said the word rolling smoothly off his tongue, as if he enjoyed how she hung on every sound.
She blinked, caught off guard by his answer by that quiet confidence that wrapped around his every word.
Riah adjusted herself, trying to regain composure. Her fingers brushed back a strand of blonde hair that had fallen into her face. She stood a little straighter, though her heart was still running wild.
"I'm Riah," she said softly, extending her hand toward him.
"I'd like to repay you, Mister…?"
He cut her off gently, that small, knowing smirk deepening.
"Lucian," he said, his name almost a whisper a name that carried weight, like it could echo through time itself.
"Oh," she murmured, caught between awe and curiosity. "Okay, Mr. Lucian… I'd still like to repay you for saving me back there."
His gaze softened for a moment a flicker of warmth buried beneath centuries of cold restraint.
He looked at her hand, still stretched out toward him, trembling slightly from the night's chaos… and then he stepped closer.
The space between them disappeared.
"You already have," he said quietly.
Her eyes widened, confusion washing over her.
He smiled faintly, not explaining, just letting the mystery hang in the air like everything about him.
And then, as if time itself slowed, the wind carried her lavender-chocolate scent to him again.
He inhaled deeply, savoring it that strange comfort that only she could bring.
"What do you me—.
Before Riah could finish her word, a car door slammed nearby averting her gaze from him to where she heard the sound.
She turned to look, and when she looked back…
Lucian was gone.
Vanished into the night, leaving only the lingering echo of his voice
Gone, as if the night had swallowed him whole.
Her chest rose and fell quickly, heart pounding so fast she could feel it in her throat.
For a moment, she stood frozen in the alley, eyes darting into the darkness where he'd vanished.
Then her phone buzzed in her hand, snapping her back to herself.
She quickly dialed Nessa's number. It rang once. Twice.
No answer.
Her stomach tightened. She called again — still nothing.
"Come on, Nessa…" she muttered under her breath. Panic started to claw at her chest.
Then finally — click. The call connected.
"Nessa!" Riah said in a rush. "Girl, where are you? How could you leave without telling me? Do you know how scared I was?"
But instead of Nessa's voice, a calm male voice replied,
"Hi, I'm Louis ray . You must be Riah."
We might have met at the fundraiser
Riah froze.Oh Where's Nessa?"
"She's fine," the man said quickly, his tone reassuring. "Don't worry — she might have had too much to drink, Because she bit up three hefty dudes and passed out lol,so I helped her out I'm at the parking lot you can come get her. She's safe I promise"
Riah's pulse slowed slightly as relief washed through her. "Okay… I'll be right there."
When she reached the parking lot, she spotted him Louis, tall and neat, leaning beside his car, Nessa asleep in the back seat.
"Thank you," Riah said sincerely.
He smiled, waving it off. "No problem.
Riah blinked suddenly remembering how Nessa had gushed about Louis this, Louis that after the fundraiser party. So this is him.
"It's late," he said, glancing at the dark street. "I could give you both a ride home if you want."
"Thank you," Riah replied politely, "but I'll manage. I already called a cab."
Louis nodded, not pushing further. "Alright then. Just make sure she gets home safe."
A cab pulled up minutes later, headlights slicing through the night.
Riah helped Nessa inside, then climbed in beside her. She glanced once more toward the parking lot but Louis was already gone.
The drive home was quiet.
The other side over lucid city.
Lucian got to his cold empty mansion, in his dark spacious room only moonlight peaked in from the windows.
Walking toward the window he poured himself his liquor and stared at the city lights, as though replaying the event of the evening .
Of her voice playing over and over in his head.
"I'm grateful".
Smiling at how his name sounded so pure and sweet from her mouth "Mr lucian".
He wonder what's sounds her mouth can make, and how those bloosom lips will taste .
He imagined warm she will feel and how it will feel when she's under him.
Those thought keeping tugging at something deep down his empty soul .
When they arrived, Riah helped Nessa to bed, tucking her under the covers. Then she took a shower, letting the warm water wash away the smell of smoke and fear.
After checking on her mom, she went to her room, opened the window, and sat by it.
The city outside was calm again. Only the soft hum of the night remained.
Her thoughts drifted back to that man, that voice, those eyes.
"Lucian…" she whispered into the darkness, tasting the name on her lips.
And as thought slowly claimed her, the wind brushed against her skin again soft, almost familiar as if somewhere out there, he was still watching.
Sleep didn't come easily that night.
Riah lay in bed, staring at the faint light spilling through her window curtains. The echo of his voice that deep, calm tone that carried strength and gentleness replayed in her head again and again.
"Look at me."
"Are you hurt?"
Each word stirred something she couldn't name. Something buried. Something that felt known.
Her eyes fluttered shut, and slowly the quiet of the night drifted into something else soft, glowing, unreal. She was dreaming.
Only it didn't feel like a dream.
She stood barefoot in a garden bathed in silver moonlight. The air was cool, carrying the faint scent of lavender and rain. Somewhere in the distance, a piano played, slow and haunting.
Then she saw him.
Lucian.
He stood by the fountain, the moonlight kissing his skin, his dark blue eyes glowing faintly almost ethereal. The sound of water rippling matched the beat of her heart.
He turned slowly, as though he'd been waiting. "You again," he said, voice low, steady.
Riah's lips parted, but no sound came. She wanted to ask how he was here how she was here but something in her heart whispered that this wasn't the first time.
He stepped closer, every move deliberate, his presence wrapping around her like air she couldn't escape.
"Why do you always find me," he murmured, "even when I don't want to be found?"
Her pulse quickened. "I don't understand…"
He tilted his head slightly, as though studying her soul.
"You don't remember," he said softly. But you will.
Before she could speak, he reached out, fingers brushing against hers, and the instant his skin touched her, a spark shot through her veins.
The same warmth she'd felt at the fundraiser. The same pull she'd felt in the club.
It wasn't coincidence— it was connection .
Her breath hitched as images flashed in her mind fire, a voice calling her name, the same blue eyes looking down at her through time.
She gasped and pulled back and the dream shattered like glass.
Riah sat up abruptly, chest rising and falling. Her skin was damp with sweat.
"Lucian…" she whispered again, touching her chest where her heart beat wildly.
The sound of distant thunder rolled outside her window, though the sky was still clear.
Somewhere across the city, in a mansion that stood alone at the edge of the hills, Lucian woke too.
He sat on the edge of his bed, hand pressed to his temple, breathing unevenly. The same vision.
The same girl. The same unbearable pull.
He hadn't dreamed in centuries. Not once.
And yet, she haunted him awake and asleep.
"Why you…" he muttered under his breath, standing to pour himself a drink.
But even as he tried to calm his mind, he could still feel the warmth of her hand the scent of lavender and rain clinging to him like a curse.
He looked out through the window at the city lights below.
He could sense her faintly, somewhere among them the one who shouldn't exist in his world again.
His jaw tightened. "Riah," he whispered, the name tasting like memory and danger all at once.
He closed his eyes. But the image of her soft caramel skin, yellow dress, her smile refused to fade.
And for the first time in a very long time, Lucian Fox, the man who ruled Lucid, tye man who has lived through countless of centuries didn't feel in control of his own heart.
The streets had gone quiet.
The city lights flickered against the black paint of his car as Louis leaned back in the driver's seat, a faint smirk tracing his lips.
He'd just handed Nessa over safely to her friend — a simple act, nothing more. Yet, as he drove away, he couldn't stop hearing her voice echoing in his mind.
The way she had talked that night, half-drunk but dangerously honest.
The way her words dripped with mischief and truth.
"I wonder how your lips taste," she had said, laughing between her words careless, bold, utterly unfiltered.
He chuckled to himself now, remembering it. It shouldn't have affected him.
But somehow, it did.
Louis wasn't a man who lingered on moments like this women flirted, he smiled, and the world went on. But something about her words had carved their way into his thoughts like a whisper that refused to fade.
Her dark eyes had glimmered with curiosity, her lips curled into a teasing smile, and he remembered thinking she's trouble in a beautiful form.
And trouble was something he had learned to avoid.
Yet, the more he tried to shake the memory off, the more it played in his head her voice, her scent, that little laugh that danced between arrogance and innocence.
He ran a hand through his hair and laughed softly at himself.
"What are you doing, Louis?" he muttered.
"You're acting like a boy who just met temptation."
His laugh died into a sigh.
He could almost still feel her gaze on him those dark, doll-like eyes that had held him captive for more than a second.
And for the first time in a long while, he wished a moment had lasted just a little longer.
"I should've kissed her," he whispered with a crooked smile, the thought escaping before he could stop it.
"Just once."
But he knew it wasn't just about the kiss. It was about the way she made him feel alive, teased, and strangely human.
He rested his arm on the window, staring at the glowing skyline ahead.
Maybe it was the alcohol still lingering on her breath when she'd spoken. Maybe it was the way she called his name like it belonged to her. Or maybe, just maybe, it was fate's cruel way of reminding him that even a man who owns the world could still crave something he shouldn't.
He laughed again — low, deep, and resigned.
"She might just linger in my head longer than I thought."
And as the night faded into the quiet hours of dawn, Louis drove off into the city, that same half-smile tugging at his lips — the kind of smile that hinted at a man who had finally found something, or someone, capable of disturbing his peace.