Adrian Petrov

The welcome dinner at the Von Aster Academy was not a party. It was a parade of power. And like every year, Ellie Morgan arrived late, dressed in black and wearing a sapphire necklace that had belonged to a decapitated queen. Everyone looked at her. Because everyone knew who she was. Morgan heiress, billionaire, brilliant, dangerous. And completely unattainable.

Everyone except him. Adrian Petrov The only one capable of looking at her without blinking. The only one who never got up when she came in. And the only one who knew exactly how to make it burn… without touching it.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Ellie said, finding him at her table, a glass of wine in his hand and that unbearable smile.

"I do," Adrian replied, without standing. "I thought, 'Where else would the biggest ego in Europe be tonight?'"

She laughed. Cold. Perfect. -Jealous? "Funny," he replied. "That you haven't been expelled yet for excessive narcissism." That was their language: insults disguised as compliments. And looks that pierced like knives. The last time they shared a city, they almost ended up in the headlines. And not because of love. Now, the director of the academy had just announced them as partners in the final project of the year: a two-part economic treaty. Mandatory. No changes. Applause filled the room. Ellie looked at him. Adrian raised his glass. And they both thought exactly the same thing: “I’m going to destroy you. But you’re going to enjoy it.”