The bar hadn't changed.
Same dim lighting.
Same worn booths.
Same sticky floors glossed over by dim, forgiving light.
But Serena had changed.
And she knew it.
Landon grinned when he saw her, rising from the booth like a man who had finally claimed his prize.
"Look who decided to come back to the winning team," he said, pulling her into a loose hug.
His hand lingered at her waist,
possessive, casual, almost territorial.
Serena smiled — bright, practiced — and let him lead her to the booth.
"You look good," Landon said, sliding back into his seat.
He meant it.
Serena was still beautiful.
Still luminous in that brittle, glass-sharp way he had always found intoxicating.
And now, finally, she was his —
no Malik looming in the background like a monolith she could never truly abandon.
They ordered drinks.
They talked.
For the first time in weeks, Serena let herself relax.
She laughed when Landon teased her about old gallery scandals.
She leaned in closer when he whispered about the patrons who secretly hated Malik's "boring designs."
She twirled her straw like she used to, flashing smiles that once turned heads effortlessly.
But something was different beneath the surface.
Something Landon couldn't quite name at first.
As the night stretched on,
the cracks began to show.
Serena laughed a little too quickly.
Her eyes darted toward the entrance too often, like she was waiting for someone better to walk in.
She talked about new investors with a brittle edge that didn't quite land.
And worse —
Landon noticed the way people looked at them now.
Or rather—
how they didn't.
No glances.
No admiring smiles.
No envious whispers.
Once, being with Serena had felt like stepping into a spotlight.
Tonight, it felt like stepping onto a sinking ship.
Still, Landon pressed forward.
He wasn't stupid.
He could still ride this out — bask in the glow of Serena's beauty, her fading fame.
Maybe together they could claw their way back up.
Maybe.
When they left the bar, he held her hand openly.
A small, defiant act.
We won, his body said.
She's mine now.
Serena smiled under the streetlights,
leaning into him like they were teenagers again.
For a moment,
just a sliver of a moment,
it almost felt real.
Almost.
They disappeared into the city together,
a fallen queen and her pretender king,
both pretending the world was still theirs.