---
The morning came far too quickly after that night, and I couldn't shake the feeling that we were standing at the edge of something immense. The bond between Riven and I wasn't just about affection—it was an ancient curse, a pact that linked us with the Crimson Order. And that bond was about to tear open the door to a war neither of us were prepared for.
---
Riven had barely slept, his mind racing as he sat in the study, staring out at the horizon like he was waiting for something. I watched him from the doorway, not wanting to disturb the chaos in his mind.
Me (quietly):
"Riven… are you alright?"
He turned to me slowly, his eyes shadowed, but I could see the faint trace of something desperate in them. "Do you know what you've done?"
---
I stepped closer, lowering myself to the seat across from him. "I know what I feel for you," I said. "And I know what the Order wants. But I'm not backing down."
He let out a long, heavy breath, leaning back in his chair. "You should. You don't understand the weight of this—what it means to be bound to me."
---
There was a flicker of something in his gaze, and for the first time, I saw him not as a prince, not as the mafia king he claimed to be—but as a man torn between two worlds, neither of which he truly belonged to.
Riven (whispering):
"There was another, once. The first heir to the Crimson Order. He was the one who broke the Pact. The one who loved."
I raised an eyebrow. "Another heir?"
He nodded, his voice thick with regret. "He chose love over power. He chose a life outside of the Order. And because of that, the Crimson Order destroyed him. They turned him into an example. And now... it's my turn."
---
I felt my heart stop for a moment. The first heir—he must have been a martyr. Someone who had tried to change the fate that had been written in blood. I could feel the weight of that history pressing down on us.
Me (softly):
"What happened to him?"
---
Riven's eyes darkened as he looked at me. "They tortured him, broke him until he was nothing. But before they killed him, he told the Order that love would always be their downfall. That it would destroy everything they had worked for."
---
It hit me then. The Order was not just a group of people—they were an ideology. An ancient, cruel doctrine that believed love was the ultimate weakness. And I had become a part of that ideology.
Me (determined):
"If they're afraid of love, then we use that fear against them."
---
Riven's gaze locked with mine, and for a fleeting moment, I saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "You're willing to risk everything?"
I nodded. "I already have."
---
He stood, walking toward the window and gazing out at the city below. The silence stretched between us as the weight of our choices settled in. The fate of the Crimson Order, the future of the heir, rested in our hands.
And as much as he feared it, I saw it now—Riven was ready to fight for us. For me.
---
Riven (looking back at me):
"We'll break the Pact together. No matter what it costs."
---
I stood, moving to stand beside him. "We'll destroy the Order. Together."
---
And in that moment, I knew the real battle was just beginning. The Crimson Order would come for us, but we would not cower. We would fight, even if it meant tearing down everything we had ever known.
---
[End of Chapter 27]
---