The sports complex was almost empty at the hour.
Late afternoon light stretched across the basketball court, spilling in through the high glass windows and painting long shadows on the polished floor. The echo of a bouncing ball came from somewhere far off, followed by distant laughter that didn't belong to her or the person she was searching for.
Seraphina stood just inside the entrance, listening and watching.
Her fingers curled tightly around the strap of her bag, her pulse unsteady beneath her skin. She hadn't planned to come here. She hadn't planned anything at all but she was tired of his constant threats.
She just… couldn't go back to the dorm alone. Not after last night.
Her eyes scanned the open space again, until she saw him.
Damon stood near the far end of the court, spinning a basketball slowly against the floor. The rhythmic thud echoed in the silence, controlled, and steady.
Seraphina hesitated. This was a mistake. It had to be.
But then…the memory of a cold metal against her temple came back.
Her chest tightened.
And before she could change her mind, she walked forward.
Damon stopped the ball with his foot, looked up. His gaze found her immediately, like he had been expecting her.
Seraphina slowed as she approached, her heart beating harder with each step. She stopped a few feet away from him, keeping her distance.
Damon said nothing, he just watched her, maybe waiting for her to speak first.
She swallowed, "I will do it."
His brow shifted slightly, "Do what?"
Seraphina lifted her chin, forcing her voice to stay steady. "I will date you."
Silence fell. The words lingered between them.
Damon didn't react immediately, he didn't move or speak.
He just looked at her like he was trying to decide if she was serious.
Seraphina held his gaze. Even when everything inside her wanted to look away.
"I'm tired," she continued, quieter now. "I am tired of your constant threats"
Her fingers tightened at her sides.
"Threats?" Damon asked.
"Yes…you want to know if I am hiding something?" Seraphina said. "I will date you and be where you wherever you want me to be"
Damon's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Convenient," he said flatly.
Seraphina forced a small, humorless breath. "You're the one who suggested it first."
Damon studied her more carefully now, his gaze moving over her face, searching for something deeper, fear, guilt, or maybe truth.
She gave him none of it, or at least, not enough.
"You expect me to believe you just changed your mind?" he asked.
Seraphina shrugged lightly, though the movement felt stiff. "I expect you to take the opportunity because this is what you have always wanted. To keep an eye on me, even though you are already doing it"
His jaw tightened slightly. She could see the shift. He didn't trust her.
"I don't have anything to hide," Seraphina said. "But we can go ahead and be what you want if that will make you believe me
I'm done trying to convince you to believe me."
Damon was quiet for a long moment. Then a slow, almost amused exhale left him.
"Fine."
Seraphina's breath caught slightly. Just for a second.
"You want this?" he continued, stepping closer. "Then we do it my way."
Of course. Her jaw tightened.
"And your way is?"
"We keep it quiet," he said. "No attention, no unnecessary noise."
His gaze sharpened as he steps closer "And you stay where I can see you and speak to whom I want you to speak to."
There it was, control, wrapped in calm words.
Seraphina held his stare, fist clenched. "I'm not your property."
Damon didn't blink, "You're under my watch, because you have a secret I must protect."
"There is no secret.", Seraphina snapped.
"Don't you dare play with my intelligence" Damon spat, voice cold.
The air between them tightened..Seraphina exhaled slowly, forcing herself not to react the way she wanted to.
This was the deal. This was the price for her safety.
All she wanted was to finish her education without getting into trouble or maybe…getting killed.
Safety, that word echoed in her head even when her mind was screaming at her to walk away.
"You don't get to command me," she said.
Damon's lips curved into a cold smile, "I get to do whatever keeps this situation under control."
Her chest rose with a sharper breath, "I agreed to date you," she said. "Not to obey you."
"You agreed to be watched."
Silence stretched again, heavy, uncomfortable silence.
Seraphina looked away first this time. Just for a moment. Because if she kept looking at him, she might forget why she was here.
She might forget that she was trying to survive.
Damon noticed how uncomfortable she was under his look, his lips curved into a smile, "We start now," he said.
She glanced back at him, "Start what?"
He gestured toward the exit with a slight tilt of his head.
"I walk you back to your dorm."
Seraphina stiffened immediately, "No."
Damon's expression didn't change.
"That wasn't a question."
"I don't need you to walk me anywhere." Seraphina argued.
"You do if you want this to work." Damon responded.
Her eyes flashed, "I said no."
For a second, anger flickered in his gaze, then it was gone.
If only she knew why he was doing this. Damon stepped past her, heading toward the exit anyway.
Seraphina turned quickly. "I'm not going with you."
He didn't stop, he didn't look back, "Then walk behind me."
Her breath hitched, she clenched her fist into a ball.
The arrogance, the control was pissing her off already.
But you know what pissed her off the most? The assumption that she would follow.
"I'm no…"
But the words faded, because he kept walking.
Like her refusal didn't matter, like it never would.
Seraphina stood there for a second longer, biting her inner lip, her chest rising and falling.
She turned, and walked in the opposite direction, fast and determined.
She wouldn't play into this. She wouldn't let him think he owned her.
Distance footsteps echoed behind her.
She didn't need to turn to know it was him.
Of course, it was him
Seraphina's fingers curled into fists at her sides as she kept walking, her heartbeat loud in her ears.
This was what she wanted, wasn't it?
To be watched, and to be safe.
But why did it feel like she had just walked into something worse?
Behind her, Damon's gaze stayed fixed on her back, like a shadow that had finally found its place.