Chapter 25 - THE WEIGHT OF BEING CHOSEN

Adeline learned quickly that being noticed in Donovan's world was more dangerous than being invisible.The shift happened subtly.It began with silence stopping when she entered a room. With conversations lowering—not out of respect, but calculation. Men who once dismissed her as an inconvenience now watched her like a variable they hadn't planned for.Lucas was at the center of it.He stood near the railing of the inner courtyard when she crossed it that afternoon, a cigarette balanced loosely between his fingers. The smoke curled upward, slow and deliberate, like he had nowhere else to be."Adeline," he greeted, his tone smooth. Too smooth.She stopped. "Lucas."He smiled. "You don't avoid me anymore.""I don't have a reason to.""Everyone has a reason," he replied. "They just choose which ones to honor."She met his gaze steadily. "Is there something you want?"Lucas studied her like a chessboard mid-game. "I want to understand you.""That's not your privilege.""Careful," he said quietly. "That confidence belongs to Donovan. Not you."Adeline stepped closer—not challenging, not retreating. "Then perhaps you should take that up with him."Lucas laughed softly, but there was no humor in it. "You're learning his language."Before she could respond, Ethan appeared beside her, silent as a shadow."Donovan wants her," Ethan said flatly.Lucas's eyes darkened. "Of course he does."That night, the atmosphere inside the estate tightened like a drawn wire.Donovan called a closed meeting—only his inner circle, only those whose loyalty had been earned over years, not blood. Adeline was the anomaly. The unspoken question.She stood beside Donovan's chair, not behind him.That alone was enough to unsettle the room.Lucas noticed."So," Lucas said, breaking the silence, "this is where we pretend things haven't changed."Donovan's gaze lifted slowly. "Things have changed."A ripple passed through the room."You bring her into strategy meetings now?" another man asked carefully. "She hasn't taken vows.""She's taken choices," Donovan replied. "Those matter more."Adeline felt the weight of every stare press against her skin, but she didn't move. She didn't look away.Lucas leaned back. "Choices can be reversed."Donovan stood.The sound of the chair scraping the floor silenced the room completely."Say that again," he said calmly.Lucas hesitated—a fraction too long. "I said choices—"Donovan stepped forward, stopping inches from him. His voice lowered, controlled and lethal without ever rising."You will not test her to test me."Lucas swallowed. "I wasn't—""She stands where she stands because I placed her there," Donovan continued. "And because she has earned it."He turned slightly, his hand settling on Adeline's lower back—not possessive, not tender. Claiming.The gesture spoke louder than any threat."If anyone here doubts where she belongs," Donovan said, "they may bring that doubt to me directly."No one spoke.Lucas looked at Adeline then—not with arrogance this time, but calculation edged with something colder."I see," he said slowly.Donovan didn't look at him. "You don't."Later, in the quiet of the upper wing, Adeline stood by the window, her reflection faint against the glass. Donovan approached from behind, his presence familiar now—dangerous, grounding."You didn't have to do that," she said softly."Yes," he replied. "I did."She turned to face him. "You drew a line.""I made it visible."His gaze searched her face. "Did I go too far?"She shook her head. "You went exactly far enough."Something softened in his expression—brief, unguarded."You're no longer protected because you're fragile," he said. "You're protected because you matter."Her voice was quiet. "To you?"He stepped closer. "To me."The truth settled between them—heavy, undeniable.Outside, the estate remained calm. Inside, alliances shifted. And Lucas, watching from the shadows, understood one thing clearly:Adeline was no longer collateral.She was claimed