Melody POV
I woke up to the quiet kind of morning that didn't feel real. The kind where the sun was too soft, the air too still, and the silence too heavy to trust. My body felt warm under the blanket, but my mind… my mind was already racing.
Marvis had left before I opened my eyes. Again.
A part of me wanted to believe he was just busy with business meetings, alliances, whatever mafia kings did before breakfast. But the deeper part, the sharper part, the part of me that had survived every trauma life threw at me… that part whispered:
He's hiding something again.
I sat up slowly, rubbing my temple
The man was an enigma and sometimes… that terrified me.
I pushed the blanket aside and slipped out of bed. The house was too quiet. Marvis's house was never quiet. There were always footsteps, guards clearing hallways, Mary humming somewhere in the kitchen, Marc talking too loudly on the phone…
But right now? Nothing.
My bare feet whispered against the marble floor as I walked toward the balcony doors. I pushed them open, letting the morning breeze spill into the room.
Down below, I saw two black SUVs parked in the driveway. Engines running.
My heart dropped.
Something happened.
Before I could overthink, my phone buzzed beside me. I grabbed it quickly.
Message from Mary:
Where are you?? Are you okay?
Another buzz. Marc.
Sis call me ASAP. It's important.
Cold fingers wrapped around my spine. I didn't even read the rest I snatched my jacket and rushed downstairs.
The moment I reached the foyer, the guards straightened.
"Where is Marvis?" I demanded.
They exchanged glances nervous glances.
I stepped closer. "Don't play with me."
Finally, one of them cleared his throat. "Miss Melody… the boss left early for a meeting. Emergency meeting."
Emergency.
That word told me everything and nothing at once.
I moved past them, grabbing the keys from the bowl near the door.
"Miss Melody wait, you're not allowed to-"
I was already out the door.
The drive felt longer than it was. My breathing matched the rhythm of my heartbeat fast, uneven, scared. Yes, scared. I could admit that. Marvis and I were complicated, messy, sometimes catastrophic… but when he wasn't near me, when something felt wrong, the fear was instant. Bone-deep.
I hated how much he mattered. I hated how much power he had over my peace. I hated how much losing people had made me cling to him harder than I ever intended.
When I pulled up to the Harper private office building, guards were everywhere. Twice the normal amount. Armed. Alert. Watching the streets like something or someone was coming.
I marched inside.
The elevator nearly crawled up to the top floor. The moment it opened, I stepped out… and froze.
The hallway was filled with his lieutenants. Their voices low, tense, rushed.
Mary spotted me first. Her eyes widened, relief flooding her face.
"Oh thank God Melody!"
She rushed forward, hugging me quickly. My arms stayed stiff.
"What's happening? Where is Marvis?"
Her lips pressed tightly. "He's inside. With the council."
The council. Not good. Not casual.
Not something husbands-to-be discussed over coffee.
"What happened?" I pressed.
She swallowed. "There was an attack."
My blood turned to ice.
"What kind of attack?"
"Not on us," she clarified quickly. "On one of our allies. One of Marvis's closest. Whoever did it… left a message."
My skin prickled. "What message?"
Mary hesitated.
Before she could answer, the conference room door clicked open.
Marvis stepped out and the world shifted.
He looked wrong. Not hurt. Not angry. But controlled. Too controlled. His shoulders stiff, jaw set, eyes carrying a storm he didn't want anyone to see.
Except I always saw it.
His gaze snapped to mine the second I breathed.
"Melody." His voice was low, warning, laced with something I couldn't name.
I walked toward him slowly. "What's going on?"
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he dismissed the men behind him with one sharp nod. They scattered.
I stood in front of him. Close enough to feel the heat of his breath. Close enough to smell the faint trace of gunpowder on his clothes.
"Tell me," I demanded softly.
His jaw tightened. "A man was found dead in the west docks."
"…Someone you know?"
He didn't look away. "Someone who protected me when I was young."
My chest tightened.
"And the message?" I whispered.
His eyes darkened. The way they always did when the past clawed at him.
He stepped closer, lowering his voice so no one else could hear.
"They left a note."
My heart pounded. "What did it say?"
He held my gaze for a long moment before finally answering:
"'Your queen will fall next.'"
The words sliced through the air like a blade.
I inhaled sharply.
Marvis didn't flinch, but his hand curled into a fist at his side.
"Someone is targeting you," he continued quietly. "Someone who knows your patterns. Someone who knows we're connected."
A chill washed over me. Someone was watching me. Studying me. Waiting.
"And you didn't tell me immediately?" I whispered.
His silence answered everything.
I stepped back.
"You're trying to protect me by keeping me in the dark again."
"Mel-"
"No," I snapped. "No more shadows. No more secrets. If someone wants me dead, then I deserve to know why."
His throat worked. "Because I don't want fear anywhere near you."
Too late. Fear was already sitting in my lungs.
"But hiding the truth won't stop it," I said softly. "Tell me who did this."
He hesitated.
"Melody," Marvis said, stepping forward, "listen to me this isn't the time,"
"I don't care!" My voice cracked. "Someone is hunting me and you expect me to sit in the house and wait? No, Marvis. Not this time. I won't be caged."
His eyes flashed. "I'm not caging you I'm trying to keep you alive."
"Then let me fight!"
"Melody-"
"Stop treating me like I'm breakable!"
Silence.
It stretched tight and thin between us, like a wire ready to snap.
He stepped closer slowly, eyes softening, voice lowering.
"You are not breakable," he whispered. "You're the strongest person I've ever known. But I can't..." His voice cracked. "I can't lose you."
My throat burned.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he pulled me into his chest suddenly, desperately.
His hands slid up my back, holding me like the world was collapsing.
"Whatever comes," he murmured into my hair, "we face it together. Not apart."
My eyes drifted shut. His heartbeat pressed against my ear.
Strong. Familiar. Home.
But even as I stood there in his arms, something inside me whispered:
This is only the beginning.
And deep down… I felt the truth of it.
The real war was coming.
The truth was coming and when it did…
Nothing between us would ever be the same.