Episode 2

Three years earlier.

The Crystal Palace blazed beneath the light of a thousand chandeliers. The air was thick with expensive perfume, diplomatic laughter, and the constant chime of crystal glasses. Selene, barely nineteen years old, felt like an intruder in that world of wealth and excess. She wore a simple champagne-colored dress her aunt had helped her alter, but her natural beauty — that mixture of innocence and an elegance that can't be bought — drew eyes toward her as she walked on the arm of her father, Roberto Arismendi.

"Smile, Selene," Roberto murmured, beads of sweat gleaming on his forehead. "The investors need to see that the Arismendis are still a solid family. My company depends on the connections I make tonight."

Selene nodded, though she felt the weight of that responsibility pressing down on her shoulders. She didn't want to be there. She would have preferred to be among her books, far from the falseness of the elite.

Then the murmur of the room seemed to drop in volume. A man walked through the main doors, and the crowd parted instinctively. It was Maximiliano Valente. At twenty-nine, he was already the most feared shark in the financial markets. His bearing was athletic, his black suit looked like a suit of armor, and his dark blue eyes swept the room with absolute indifference.

Until they found her.

Maximiliano stopped. His gaze locked onto Selene with an intensity that made her flinch. It wasn't the look of a guest — it was the look of a conqueror who had just discovered the rarest jewel in the crown. He ignored the three businessmen trying to greet him and walked directly toward the Arismendis' modest corner of the room.

"Roberto Arismendi." Maximiliano's voice was a deep baritone that vibrated in Selene's chest. "I didn't know you were hiding such a well-kept treasure."

Roberto went pale, his eyes flickering between the most powerful man in the city and his daughter.

"Mr. Valente — what an honor. This is my daughter, Selene."

Maximiliano took Selene's hand. He didn't stop at a formal greeting; he held her fingers with a possessive firmness and bent to press a kiss that lasted a second too long.

"Selene." He said her name as though he were tasting an expensive wine. "You have eyes that don't belong in a place full of hollow people. Would you give me a moment to talk? Your father and I have a great deal to discuss about his financial difficulties, but right now my priority is something else entirely."

Selene felt a flush rise to her cheeks. In that moment, Maximiliano didn't seem like a cruel man. He seemed like a gentleman captivated by her. His words were flattery, but his gaze was a fire that wrapped around her.

"I'm just a student, Mr. Valente," she replied, trying to pull her hand back — though he wouldn't release it. "I don't think I have much to contribute to your conversation."

"On the contrary," he said, with a smile that didn't reach his cold eyes even as his lips curved warmly. "You're the only thing in this room worth listening to."

They walked to the balcony, away from the noise. For twenty minutes, Maximiliano enveloped her in a web of intelligent questions, presenting himself as charming, cultured, and genuinely interested in her dream of opening a bookshop one day. Selene, dazzled by the attention of such an imposing man, lowered her guard.

"You're too pure for this world, Selene," he told her, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "You need someone to protect you. Someone to build a wall of diamonds around you so that no one can touch you."

What Selene didn't know on that magical evening was that the "wall of diamonds" wouldn't be built to protect her — it would be built to imprison her.

That same night, after the gala, Maximiliano called his lawyers. He didn't investigate Roberto Arismendi's business plan; he investigated the debts. He discovered that the Arismendis were on the verge of bankruptcy. And rather than help them like a gentleman, he decided to wait until the rope tightened around Roberto's neck before appearing with a marriage contract.

Maximiliano didn't fall in love with Selene that night. He became obsessed with her beauty and decided she had to be his, whatever the cost. She was the trophy missing from his display case.

Present.

Selene, sitting on the floor of her bedroom, remembered the gleam in Maximiliano's eyes at that gala. How special she had felt. How chosen. Now she understood the truth: he never wanted a wife. He wanted a property. And the beauty he had so admired that night was now the object of his contempt — because Selene had dared to have a will of her own.

"You saw a jewel, Maximiliano," she whispered, snapping her suitcase shut. "But you forgot that even diamonds can cut if you press them too hard."

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