Chapter 13 Untitled Chapter
Roberto held out his hand. The room went quiet again.
Kendrix looked at his hand, then at him.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I usually am.”
She didn’t move. Roberto waited.
Patient and certain. Like he already knew she’d take it.
Kendrix hated how steady he looked.
Hated more that she noticed he looked tired under it.
Skyler cleared his throat. “People are waiting downstairs.”
“Yeah…unfortunately,” Kendrix muttered.
Bash grinned. “That’s the spirit, Ketchup.”
She pointed at him. “I swear to God…’
“Later,” Roberto cut in quietly.
It stopped the room anyway.
His eyes stayed on Kendrix. “Come with me, little devil.”
Kendrix’s jaw tightened. “I said stop calling me that.”
But Roberto was already turning for the door, expecting her to follow. And after one beat too long, she did.
By nightfall, the mansion stopped feeling real.
Staff moved nonstop with trays of champagne. Security stood at every downstairs entrance like statues. Flowers were everywhere. Music drifted through the house, low and smooth. It looked beautiful, and Kendrix hated it on sight.
Because under the lights and polished marble, it was still a prison.
She stood upstairs by the railing, watching guests filter in below. Men in tailored suits. Women dripping diamonds. Soft laughs. Fake smiles. Too many strangers in one house.
Her stomach tightened. “This is insane,” she muttered.
Nora adjusted her sleeve without looking up. “You’ve said that six times.”
“Because it keeps getting worse.”
Nora smiled faintly.
Down below, the first floor had been transformed. Long tables in black and gold. Guards near every door pretending not to watch. But they were watching.
Everyone was watching.
“You okay?” Nora asked quietly.
Kendrix gave her a look. “Do I look okay?”
“ I don't think so.”
“At least someone’s honest.”
Bash’s laugh cut through the room a second later. Too loud. Too careless.
Heads turned to look at him.
Skyler grabbed his arm from the bar. “Can you act normal for one night?”
“Well…no.”
“Fantastic.”
Bash spotted Kendrix upstairs and grinned. “Well damn.”
Kendrix rolled her eyes before he could speak. “Don’t.”
“Wasn’t gonna say anything.”
“You were absolutely gonna say something.”
“Fair enough.”
Skyler looked exhausted already. For some reason, that relaxed her. Just a little.
Then the front doors opened. The air changed. Not loud…just quiet.
Conversations dropped. Shoulders straightened. Eyes shifted.
Kendrix frowned. “What now?”
Nora looked toward the entrance, her expression tightened.
Roberto walked in.
Kendrix hated how the room reacted to him. Not from admiration. Not respect.
But from something sharper.
People moved around him without realizing they were doing it. Even the older men watched him carefully.
Lucifer.
The way people moved around him made her understand the nickname a little too well.
Roberto moved through the crowd slowly, accepting nods and handshakes without giving much back. Nothing emotional.
Nothing wasted. Like the room already belonged to him.
Then his eyes lifted and straight to her.
Kendrix looked away a second too late.
“Great,” she muttered.
Nora glanced at her. “You should go downstairs now.”
“I should jump off this balcony.”
“That’s dramatic.”
“I’m in a dramatic situation.”
Nora gave a small reassuring smile.
Kendrix exhaled and started walking down the stairs. Every step felt heavier. People noticed immediately. Of course they did.
Whispers moved through the room.
“That’s her?” “She’s beautiful.” “Lucifer’s girl?” “I heard she ran.”
Kendrix’s jaw ticked. Great. Exactly what she needed.
At the bottom, Bash appeared beside her with a drink.
“You look nervous, Ketchup.”
“I’m considering homicide.”
“Good. You’re adapting.”
Skyler joined them. “Please don’t threaten murder in front of the guests.”
“She’s doing great actually,” Bash said.
“I hate both of you.”
“Emotionally noted.”
Kendrix shook her head. Then Roberto was there. She hadn’t seen him move. One second he was across the room, the next he stood in front of her, watching her calmly.
His eyes moved over her once before settling on her face.
“You came downstairs,” he said quietly.
Kendrix stared. “You announced my engagement to half the city.”
“And yet,” he replied, “you still came downstairs.”
She hated that he sounded sure of it.
Roberto held out a glass. She looked at it suspiciously.
“What is it?”
“Champagne.”
“You say that like rich people don’t poison each other for fun.”
The calm in his face almost cracked.
“You think very violently.”
“You bring that out in people.”
Bash snorted, and Skyler elbowed him.
Roberto ignored them both. His attention stayed on Kendrix. Too focused. Like he forgot anyone else was in the room.
That unsettled her fast. Then a voice cut through the room.
“Well,” the voice said, smooth and wrong, “this is unexpected.”
The air shifted subtly. But everyone felt it.
Roberto’s face went flat.
A man in a gray suit stepped through the crowd. Easy smile. Eyes too sharp. The kind of relaxed that meant he was dangerous. His gaze landed on Kendrix first and stayed there too long.
“Interesting,” he said quietly.
Kendrix crossed her arms.
Roberto’s voice went cold beside her.
“What do you want, Adrian?”
So they knew each other. And not in a good way.
Adrian smiled faintly. “I heard Lucifer was finally getting married.” His eyes slid back to Kendrix. “Didn’t expect this though.”
Kendrix snapped, “You people talk like I’m not standing here.”
Adrian laughed softly. “Oh, she’s got an attitude too.”
“Adrian,” Roberto's voice came out clear and warning.
The smile faded a fraction but his eyes stayed on Kendrix. Then something changed fast. Recognition. The room got tighter.
Adrian looked at her harder now. Not flirting. Thinking.
“No way,” he said quietly.
Roberto went still. Kendrix felt it immediately.
Adrian looked genuinely shocked.“That’s Elena’s face.”
Silence hit like a door slamming shut.
Kendrix’s heart skipped. Roberto’s jaw clenched.
The silence didn’t break. It just… held.
Kendrix stood still.
Elena’s face.
The words repeated in her head without permission. Her fingers curled at her side before she realized it.
Beside her, Roberto hadn’t moved.
Not even slightly. But something in him had changed. Heavier. Sharper and controlled again.
Adrian looked far too comfortable for someone who’d just dropped a match into gasoline. He was still staring at Kendrix.
“Yeah…” he murmured, quieter now. “No mistake.”
Kendrix’s voice came out rougher than she wanted. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
Roberto did.“Enough.”
That one word was flat and final.
Adrian’s gaze slid to him. The amusement dropped. “You don’t get to say enough when she looks like that.”
Something dangerous moved in Roberto’s face. Before it could go further…
“Adrian.”
Bash cut through the crowd, drink in hand, posture loose like none of this mattered.
But his eyes were locked on.
Skyler followed, slower and careful.
“Long time no see,” Bash said lightly.
Adrian glanced at him, then Skyler. The faint smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“Bash. Still alive. Impressive.”
“Yeah, I try,” Bash said. “But you’re killing the vibe right now.”
Skyler muttered, “Bash.”
“What? I’m being polite.”
Adrian weighed them both. Then Bash stepped forward half a pace. Not aggressive. Just enough.
“You should come outside for a second.”
“Why?”
“Because Roberto’s about to turn this room into something expensive people don’t recover from.”