Chapter 2: The Bitter Aftertaste
Seraphina chewed the decadent chocolate slowly.
She hummed a soft note of satisfaction.
"This is absolutely divine, Elias."
She used her silver fork to carve out another small bite.
Elias watched her throat gracefully swallow the dessert.
He purposefully kept his hands away from his own plate.
"Aren't you going to try yours?" she asked.
"I am simply enjoying the view right now," Elias replied evenly.
A few tense moments passed in heavy silence.
The gentle clinking of expensive silverware echoed from nearby tables.
Suddenly, Seraphina blinked rapidly.
Her confident, radiant smile began to falter.
She reached for her crystal water glass.
Her hand trembled noticeably.
The glass clinked clumsily against her perfectly white teeth.
"Is it unseasonably warm in here?" she murmured.
She pressed a manicured hand to her forehead.
Elias kept his voice perfectly steady and calm.
"I feel perfectly fine, Seraphina."
Her emerald eyes widened as a sudden wave of dizziness hit her.
She looked down at her half-eaten cake.
Then her gaze darted to Elias's completely untouched plate.
A flash of genuine panic broke through her sculpted composure.
"You..." she whispered weakly.
Her words were already beginning to slur.
"What did you do?"
Elias leaned forward over the candlelit table.
"I believe I should be asking you that question."
Seraphina gripped the edge of the table and tried to stand up.
Her legs betrayed her instantly.
She slumped back heavily into the plush velvet chair.
Her chin dropped limply toward her chest.
Marcus stepped up to the table immediately.
He cleverly positioned his large frame to block the view of the other diners.
"Boss, what exactly is happening?" Marcus asked quietly.
"She spiked the dessert," Elias answered in a low tone.
"That little girl warned me just in time."'
Seraphina's breathing grew deep and remarkably even.
She was completely unconscious within seconds.
Whatever dark plan she had intended for him had backfired entirely.
Elias stood up and buttoned his tailored suit jacket.
"Marcus, call our private medical team."
"Have them meet us at the penthouse immediately."
"We need to know exactly what she put in her own system."
Marcus nodded sharply and tapped his security earpiece.
"And Marcus?" Elias added softly.
"Yes, sir?"
"Find out who that little girl was."
"I need to know how she knew."
"She just saved my life."
Elias looked down at his sleeping fiancée one last time.
The grand illusion of their perfect life together was permanently shattered.
May you like
He dropped a crisp hundred-dollar bill on the table for the waiter.
Without looking back, he walked out into the neon glow of the city night.
