chapter545

Thalassa knew she needed to clear her head to devise a foolproof strategy. At Hertha’s insistence, they went to a quiet lounge to step away from the suffocating atmosphere of the apartment.

The low hum of music and the dim neon lights provided a brief sanctuary. Thalassa sipped her drink, her mind still racing back to the Royal Estates. She imagined her four children in their new, vast rooms, wondering if they were calling out for her in the quiet of the night. The whiskey offered a temporary numbness to the sharp pain in her chest, but it couldn't erase her resolve.

“Hey there, all alone?” a young man approached, attempting a lighthearted flirtation.

Thalassa looked at him, her eyes tired but sharp with a mother’s intuition. “I have four children who need me right now,” she said plainly. “You’re looking in the wrong place.”

The man laughed, assuming it was a clever brush-off. “You’re funny. Come on, let’s have a drink.”

As he reached out to grab her hand, a shadow fell over the table. A powerful, commanding presence stepped between them, an icy aura radiating from his frame. He caught the young man’s wrist with an effortless, intimidating grip.

“She is not someone you are permitted to touch,” the man said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble that cut through the music.

Thalassa looked up, her vision slightly blurred. In the shifting light, the silhouette of her protector was hauntingly familiar—a man who lived at the intersection of power and control, now standing between her and the rest of the world.