Daddy's Rival: 2. The Game Begins

Alina had never liked losing. And yet, the moment she stepped into Lucian’s penthouse, she felt it. A strange, thrilling tension that wasn’t just about the boardroom or business deals—it was about him. About him.

He was waiting by the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights painting his sharp profile in gold. Black tailored suit, crisp white shirt, the top buttons undone to hint at skin beneath the fabric. Every inch of him screamed power and danger, and every instinct in her warned her to run.

But she didn’t. The danger drew her. She wanted to plunge into the danger that he represented, the danger that he was. 

“You’re late,” he said, his voice low, velvety, and controlled. Not angry. Just dominant. The kind of dominance that made a woman’s pulse stutter.

“I know,” she said, smoothing her dress nervously. It was tight, chocolate-brown silk that curved around her body in all the right ways. She’d chosen it for confidence—but it felt laughably small now