Rui Griffin let out a quiet, controlled laugh, as though her words had entertained rather than challenged him.
"You think marriage to me is something people line up for?" he said, his tone calm but edged with certainty. "Reina Yuki… power doesn't mean I accept anyone who comes forward. And affection—" his gaze briefly dropped to the signed agreement, "—is not something I give on impulse."
Reina didn't retreat, though her grip tightened subtly around the pen she had just used.
Beyond the glass walls of his office, the city lights shimmered in layered gold and steel, spilling across the polished table in faint reflections. The silence between them grew heavy, deliberate—neither rushing to break it.
Rui Griffin stepped closer, just enough to close the distance without invading it entirely. His presence alone made the space feel narrower.
"You asked why I'm helping you," he said more quietly now. "It's simple. Your enemies are now my enemies."
Reina's eyes sharpened slightly. "You don't even know them."
"I know enough," he replied without hesitation. "Smith North doesn't act alone. He leaves traces, patterns… and people who think they're invisible."
A brief pause followed, colder this time.
"And Lucia," he added, voice lowering a fraction, "has been on my list longer than you realize."
That made Reina still.
"So this isn't charity," she said carefully.
Rui Griffin's lips curved—not quite a smile, not quite something warmer.
"No," he answered. "It's alignment. You get your revenge. I get my result. And in between—" his gaze settled on her, steady and unreadable, "—you remain my wife."
Reina's pulse tightened, though her expression stayed composed.
"And if I decide to walk away later?" she asked.
"You won't be stopped," he said simply. "But Reina… you don't sign something like this unless some part of you already intends to see it through."
Silence settled again, thicker than before.
Reina looked down at the document. Her signature had already dried—dark ink binding her decision in a way words no longer could undo.
She exhaled slowly.
"Fine," she said at last. "But I have my own conditions too."
For the first time, something softer flickered in Rui Griffin's expression—subtle, fleeting.
"Good," he replied. "I would be disappointed otherwise."
Outside, the city continued its indifferent glow, unaware that within those walls, two lives had just been bound—not only by agreement, but by something far more dangerous than either of them had named.