Ch. 103 – He Could See It Now

"Glad to see you too, Vespera," Rhys said, plastering a carefully calculated, tense smile over his mask. Turning his head, he forced a much warmer tone. "How’s it going, Marcus?"

Rhys stepped forward, wrapping his best friend in a firm, brotherly hug.

"Been too long, man," Marcus chuckled, patting Rhys’s back.

I literally saw you yesterday, Rhys thought dryly to himself, but whatever.

"We should grab something to drink," Rhys suggested, gesturing toward a passing server carrying a silver tray.

Vespera casually plucked a flute of champagne from the tray using the tip of her spotted, prehensile leopard tail, bringing it to her lips without even turning her body. With her free, manicured hands, she snapped her fingers, lighting a slender magic cigarette in a burst of purple flame.

"Babe... I’m not really sure if this is the right place to be smoking," Marcus offered shyly, shifting uncomfortably beside her.

Vespera didn't even bother looking at him. She simply took a long, slow drag, exhaling a thick cloud of scented smoke directly into Marcus's face. Marcus coughed lightly, taking a step back and looking down at his shoes.

"As I was saying," Vespera purred, taking a coy sip of her drink as if Marcus weren't even standing there, "we actually showed up to your place first to help you prepare for tonight, but you weren’t home. I actually had something very important to tell you..."

She fixed Rhys with an adoring, heavy gaze that made his stomach turn. It took every ounce of Rhys’s heroic willpower not to grimace in absolute disgust right in front of her.

"Yeah, Shula and Seraphina came by to pick me up earlier," Rhys replied smoothly, entirely ignoring her loaded second sentence. "Shula helped me haul over all my heavy prep supplies."

Vespera’s dark eyes narrowed slightly, pivoting instantly. "I must say, I am deeply impressed to see that a certain someone bought out this entire luxury venue for you, Rhys. That must have taken a massive, painful hit to her personal pockets..."

Rhys knew precisely who she was aiming for—calling out Shula’s absurd flex of buying the entire cliffside waterfall property just to host his event. But beneath his mask, Rhys was practically seething with raw anger at the sheer, cold casualness with which Vespera had just humiliated Marcus in public.

"What can I say? Shula’s just known me for much longer," Rhys said, his voice dripping with subtle, razor-sharp venom. "And who am I to stop someone from investing in something they truly see the... value in?"

I don’t even fully know what I’m doing with this move, Rhys thought, bewildered by his own bold escalation. I’m just going to weaponize literally whatever I can against this unhinged lunatic.

His chest began to rise and fall in heavy, deliberate breaths as the room's atmospheric pressure spiked. Then, as if summoned directly by the mention of her name, Shula glided smoothly into the circle.

"Why, hello everyone," Shula cooed softly, her golden eyes gleaming. "What a absolute pleasure it is to see you all here."

It really wasn't. The silent, toxic daggers Shula was glaring directly into Vespera's soul were practically visible in the air. Rhys had to fight the overwhelming urge to roll his eyes into the back of his skull.

Shula took a step forward, sliding entirely too close to Rhys's flank.

"You know, these ladyfingers are really hitting the spot, Rhys," Darius's voice boomed cheerfully as he ambled up behind his wife, absentmindedly munching on a delicate pastry. He paused, looking around at the circle with total, oblivious innocence. "I do wonder, though... why do they even call them 'ladyfingers'?"

"I think it comes from an old historical legend about a queen who loved eating tiny pastries while sipping her tea," Marcus chimed in with a confident, friendly grin, happy to join the casual banter. "And, apparently, she also really enjoyed cutting off people's fingers."

Under any other circumstances, Rhys would have burst out laughing at the absurd trivia, but the floor was far too volatile.

Vespera turned her head toward Shula, her lips curling into a sharp, predatory smile. "Well, speak of the devil... we were actually just talking about you, Shula. I was just remarking on what a huge financial investment you put into this entire grand opening. All for a 'friend,' right? That had to be almost too much, even for your bank account."

She just literally cannot help herself, Rhys thought, his jaw clenching.

"Let's not discuss business during the actual party, alright?" Rhys interjected quickly, flashing a tight, public-facing smile.

Before he could pivot the room away, Rhys felt a sharp, agonising tug at the center of his chest. Vespera’s fingers twitched subtly beneath her dress, activating a thread of her lingering magic contract. A suffocating pressure clamped down over his vocal cords, silently forcing his throat shut and commanding him to stay quiet.

You little bitch— Rhys roared in his own head before the contract magic forcefully stifled his internal voice.

Shula, utterly unbothered, stepped up to Vespera with zero shame. "Oh, I was more than happy to pay for it all," Shula declared smoothly, her voice echoing clearly for the circle to hear. "After all, Rhys is the one who is going to sire my child."

Darius violently choked on his ladyfinger, breaking into a frantic coughing fit at his wife's brazen, out-of-nowhere announcement.

Shula paid her husband no mind, keeping her eyes locked onto Vespera. "When one has the vast assets to give, one simply should. If I remember correctly, Vespera... you originally wanted to pay for this venue yourself, didn't you? But in the end, Rhys chose me as the better investment partner."

Vespera’s posture went instantly rigid. Her knuckles turned white as her grip tightened so hard around her glass that the crystal groaned under the stress.

Beside Rhys, the dark shadow of Omen surged out from the corner of his peripheral vision, violently thrashing against the unseen mental chains Vespera's contract magic was using to hold Rhys back.

You and me both, buddy, Rhys thought in a cold, raging fury. I want nothing more than to make her pay for this, too.

In response to Rhys's anger, the shadowy figure expanded rapidly, its dark aura billowing outward. Suddenly, Rhys's vision shifted. For the first time in his life, his latent power allowed him to visually perceive the supernatural tethers connecting him to the room.

He could clearly see a bright, thick conduit of glowing magic pulsing directly between his chest and Shula. Beside it was a second, much fainter tether connecting him to Vespera—though her cord was heavily tangled and constricted by the spiked, glowing chains of her own contract magic.

I've... I've never been able to see magic like this before, Rhys realized, utterly stunned.

Darius finally caught his breath, wiping his mouth with a napkin as he desperately tried to defuse the radioactive aura between the two women. "Hey, uh... let's bring it back to Rhys's earlier point, right?" Darius laughed nervously, offering an unsure chuckle. "No point in bringing up money at a party! There's no use comparing dollar bills when both of your families obviously have massive stacks!"

His joke did absolutely nothing to break the silent, terrifying war waging between Shula and Vespera.

Then came the sharp, rhythmic clack-clack-clack of high heels echoing across the polished marble floor. Another breathtaking, imposing figure strode into the circle—Ariadne.

Her fiery red hair was styled immaculately, cascading over an icy, form-fitting black evening dress that contrasted sharply with her pale skin. Walking half a step behind her was a far less familiar face: a tall, older man with slicked-back gray hair and wire-rimmed glasses. He walked with a severe, heavy slouch, making his tall frame appear smaller, dropping him down to Ariadne's exact height. It was her husband.

As Ariadne closed the distance, Rhys’s chest panged violently. His newly awakened vision flared, revealing the blinding, roaring, blood-red aura radiating off Ariadne—his ancient, lethal villain nemesis—completely armed and ready to tear his world apart.