The Queen Who Fights Back (by Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 129

Chapter 129

Nova’s unexpected dominance caught Damien off guard.

The sudden shift in her attitude made Damien’s usually unyielding body tense instantly.

He grabbed her teasing hand that wandered across him, struggling to hold back the electric rush threatening to overwhelm his self–control.

His voice grew husky and deep.

“Whatever you want, it’s all yours.”

Inside the boutique.

Aiden had already prepared their formal attire ahead of time.

Damien slipped into a fitted pure–black duke’s cloak, reminiscent of a reinvented military uniform. The sharp lines and elegant cut gave him the imposing presence of a legendary knight from the West.

Handsome, mysterious, tall–he looked absolutely untouchable.

He stood outside, waiting–three slow seconds ticked by.

Then, the dressing room curtain swept open.

Nova stepped out in a flaming red gown, the skirt vivid as wildfire, tiny flecks of starlight glittering on the straps. Over her shoulders, a cape as thin as mist draped lightly.

The dress was blood–red and shimmered like stars. For a moment, she looked like a demon from the dark, disguised as a blazing bird bursting through hell’s gate into the mortal world.

The gown showed off Nova’s flawless figure, not a single ounce out of place, while the sheer cape perfectly concealed all the scars on her upper body.

Red as burning flames, she was the picture of youthful femininity, all pure girlish charm.

Instinctively, Damien, wearing pure black gloves, felt his Adam’s apple bob as he struggled to stay composed.

They stood side by side–one in black, the other in red.

It was like the union of the Shadow Sanctum’s master and the Bloodblade King’s legend–an iconic duo, brought together.

A match so extraordinary, it almost didn’t seem real.

Damien nearly lost his cool. In two long strides, he brought his slender fingers to his lips, that unmistakable defiance in his gaze. He caught the tip of his gloved right index finger between his teeth, biting down with

unrestrained energy.

In one swift motion, he tore off the black glove, his bare hand slipping around the back of Nova’s head. He leaned in and crashed his lips down on hers, possessive and hungry.

Nova was stunned, just for a moment.

But then, she met him halfway, kissing him back just as fiercely.

If they weren’t in a boutique–and if hormones weren’t running this high-

With both of them so headstrong, you could bet sparks would’ve flown and things would have gotten out of

control.

Entry to the Greslin family’s international gala began at 4 PM sharp.

By ten past four, the festivities were underway.

Beneath the looming fortress walls of the Greslin family’s medieval castle, guests gathered at the solitary grand gate.

Most of them arrived in pairs–a man leading his female companion–as the steady stream continued inside.

The majority of those entering belonged to the Greslin clan itself.

The guests showed no fear, ignoring the infamous rumors swirling around the Greslin Gala.

Word on the street was, half the people who went in wouldn’t make it out alive.

Yet they strode right in, bold and unconcerned.

*****

As soon as Nova and Damien walked into the Greslin family’s gala, they were stopped by someone unexpected.

Standing in front of them was a man in a tuxedo whose features strongly mirrored Damien’s.

Though he had passed into middle age, the man still radiated the dominating aura of a true alpha. His hair was a distinctive copper, adding to his unmistakable charisma.

“You came? And this is your companion?”

The man’s gaze lingered on Nova as he addressed Damien. There was a note of gravity in his voice.

It was exactly the kind of greeting you’d expect from a senior family member meeting a junior.

No question about it.

The older man standing there, bearing a striking resemblance to Damien and radiating the same commanding presence, was none other than Damien’s real father.

Dean Greslin.

The man who currently held the reins of the Greslin family.

The undisputed king of the Greslin clan.

By the time Damien hit twenty, Dean had met his son more than once and pretty much knew what he was dealing with–cold and ruthless, just like his mother.

Damien faced Dean’s question head–on, his stare icy as ever.

Whatever Damien said next could shut Dean up in seconds–his words carried way more threat than anything Dean could ever throw.

He tacked on, leaving no chance for anyone to object.

“She’s the woman I’m going to marry,” Damien shot back.

His tone was pure arrogance–daring anyone to say otherwise.

There was zero father–son warmth between Damien and Dean.

That kind of family bond was pointless to Damien–he just didn’t care.

Even Dean, the king of the Greslin clan, couldn’t help but be rattled by Damien’s sheer intimidation.

As the big boss of the Greslin family, Dean never even considered that Damien’s global reputation might eclipse his own.

He figured Damien was just flexing, trying to look even more intimidating than he was.

Dean had two wives.

If you were powerful enough in the Greslin clan, you could collect as many husbands or wives as you wanted -the rules didn’t care if you were a guy or a girl.

Compared to the other guys here, Dean with his mere two wives was basically a saint–practically the most loyal man on the whole island.

But the woman Dean truly loved was Damien’s mother.

Too bad, even though he was the head of the Greslin family, the nominal king, he didn’t really have the power to stand up to the other elders.

Under family pressure, he ended up betraying Damien’s mother and married another woman from an influential reclusive family with global reach,

That woman was Cruz’s mother.

Cruz took after his mother, Lady Tini, in both appearance and personality.

Dean really had no choice.

He didn’t want Damien, his own flesh and blood–the son he’d had with the woman he truly loved–to fall into the same miserable pit he did.

Dean sighed, soft but heavy.

After a long pause, Dean finally spoke up to Damien,

“Since you’ve claimed her as yours, don’t let anything happen to her. This party’s no joke.

“Forget it, talking more won’t change anything.

“Go see your mother before the party kicks off.”

Clearly.

Dean had Nova pegged as just some ordinary girl–not the kind who could handle whatever madness was coming her way at the Greslin Gala tonight, at least not alone.

Damien’s mother had been locked away for years at the very top of a lonely lighthouse behind the castle.

She’d

spent well over ten years up in that tower, cut off from the world.

When Nova trailed Damien up the winding stairs, he rapped gently on the heavy wooden door at the highest floor.

Inside sat a woman around forty–five or forty–six, her features tinged with exhaustion, each line on her face a silent testament to the life she’d endured.

Her eyes were glassy, lost in a world of her own.

It wasn’t until Damien spoke, formally addressing her as “Mother,” that she seemed to finally snap out of her daze.

“Mother.” Damien said quietly.

She turned abruptly, startled by the familiar word.

When her eyes landed on Damien, a shadow of sorrow flickered across her face–more loneliness than disappointment.

Her voice was cold, almost as if she were speaking to a stranger.

“Why did you come again?” she asked.

Unlike how she treated her own son, when her eyes landed on Nova beside Damien, there was a subtle shift-

her attention sharpened.

In those eyes that had weathered years of hardship, a flash of worry flickered ar ross

She looked at Nova with even more urgency than she ever showed her own child, pressing with a quiet intensity,

“Is this… the girl you really like?”

Damien didn’t say a word, but his silence made it clear enough–he was admitting it.

Damien’s mother, Wendy Greslin, rose to her feet, hands trembling as she drew Nova into a gentle embrace. Her gaze shimmered with excitement and bittersweet sorrow, unable to tear her eyes away from Nova.

Her eyes, wild with emotion for Nova, were a stark contrast to the frosty indifference she showed Damien.

Whenever she glanced at Damien, her expression remained icy and remote–as though he were nobody to her.

She addressed him with a stiff, almost formal politeness, like he was just some passerby.

“Would you mind stepping outside for a bit? I want to talk to this young lady alone.

She whispered, almost to herself, “I really do like this girl.”

Once Damien left, Wendy closed the door behind them.

She took Nova’s hand, catching the skeptical look on Nova’s face, and asked,

“Young lady… did Damien kidnap you and bring you here?”

Seriously, what kind of mother is this–her first question is whether her son kidnapped his own girlfriend?

Nova raised an eyebrow. “No.”

“So… you came here willingly?” Wendy’s eyes, edged with years of exhaustion, went wide with disbelief.

After a long pause, her voice dropped to a low, heavy murmur.

“His father kidnapped me and brought me here, right from the start.

“I was naive. I thought love could fix everything. When he told me I could walk away, I chose to stay.

“But I was wrong. This place… it’s the deep end, a twisted world nothing like what people on the outside could ever dream up.

“There are endless thorns, endless buried secrets.

“Men like them get forced into marrying others, and all those sweet vows? They’re worthless–they forget them the second power comes knocking…

When I finally couldn’t bear watching him with other women and tried to break free, he got scared. Afraid of losing his grip, terrified of family backlash. He wouldn’t escape with me, wouldn’t let me walk alone–so he kept me locked away, up here. Trapped.”

She was pouring out her own story.

It explained everything–why she’d seemed so distant and guarded before.

As she talked, her emotions hit their boiling point.

Finally, she gripped Nova’s hand tight, her voice trembling with fierce, desperate resolve.

“Nova, you and I may be strangers, but trust me–men and women in the Greslin family, they’re caged by fate. None of them ever gets to choose their own destiny.

“Damien is one of them. He’s born from darkness, a storm in the shadows. This world will swallow him whole -just like it did his father.

“But you…

“You’re so young, so beautiful. You’re someone real, someone innocent. You and Damien–he lives in a world ruled by violence and blood; your life is made of light and hope.

“I made the same mistake once–and I’ve regretted it every day since. Please, Nova, before you get pulled in too deep… walk away. You two were never meant to belong to the same world.”