Growing up the way I did, the world was always laid out in front of me like a sparkling buffet. Say the right things, flash the right smile, play the right card, twist someone’s desire in just the right way… and voilà. Power.
I didn’t have to be the funny, scrappy fighter like Nova. Didn’t have to be smart and ambitious like Calix. Didn’t need Riot’s brutal speed or Ezra’s ruthless strength.
I just had to be me.
Glitter and shine. The dream they couldn’t look away from. A fantasy dressed in skin, diamonds, and heels.
As the baby of the family, someone was always there to catch me. My parents. My grandfathers. My siblings. They all made sure the path was smooth, the world softened at the edges for me.
I should’ve been grateful. Should’ve felt lucky that I didn’t have to claw my way through the blood and dirt like the rest of them, but all it did was make me feel lesser, like I hadn’t earned my place. Like I was just a pretty little placeholder among monsters.
We were raised the same, trained by the same parents, taught the same lessons. I learned the trades, the secrets, the ruthless inner workings of the Syndicate. And still, they treated me like I was porcelain. Precious. Breakable.
Then came the night I turned twenty-one. The night I’d had to fend for myself.
No parents to shield me. No siblings to swoop in. No grandfathers to fix things.
Just me. Raw. Unfiltered. And I found something inside. A depth I hadn’t known was there. A violent, vicious fire that matched theirs. Maybe I hadn’t needed to use it before, but it had always been waiting.
That night, I proved I was Aniyah Glovefox, daughter of Rayla Desmond, through and through. The next morning, we were inducted, each of us stepping into our roles as bosses.
Then Ezra pivoted us to legitimacy, wanting real businesses to complement the dirty ones, and I threw myself into the Winged Palace. Built it up. Controlled it. Dazzled.
But that darker version of me? I hadn’t let her out again, not until tonight.
It wasn’t just Alic’s betrayal that triggered it. That was the match, but the fuel was something older. Something deeper. A voice that whispered I wasn’t enough. Not hard enough. Not dangerous enough. And Alic... Alic confirmed it. Not with words, but by going behind my back to Nova.
I knew he meant well, but all it told me was that he didn’t believe I had it in me. So, tonight, I showed him.
A sharp pinch jolted from my lower back. I hissed through my teeth, eyes fluttering closed. My lip caught between them as I arched my back against the pain.
?*It was probably because of that that I didn't hear the door open, not until it was too late.
“Why, Ni?” His large, thick hand circled my throat, clenching the sides so carefully, like I could break. It was cute that even now he was being so soft, so concerned for me.
Lifting my lids, I looked into his wide golden ones, mesmerized by how pure the color was. He asked me again, and this time he rested his forehead on mine. “Why, Ni?”
“Do you see me now?”
His whole body tightened against mine, everything but the hand on my neck, so I poked the bear again.
“Do you see what I’m capable of?” Pushing my face forward, I choked myself with his hand. “Do I look like I’m fucking fragile? That I can’t handle my own shit? Is that what you think?”
His breath came out ragged, eyes falling to the side as his hand loosened its grip. Once again, he was treating me like I was fragile, weak, but I would make sure he didn't see me that way anymore.
Holding his hand at my neck, I pressed harder, curling my fingers atop his, pressing enough to make my head spin.
“I'm more than just some princess in a castle.” His sunshine eyes came back to me, wide and unsure. I wrapped a leg around his waist, grinding myself against him as I cut my breath even shorter. “I'm the monster behind the pretty face, luring you to your doom.”
I could see his eyes darkening, his breathing turned measured as he pressed back into me. His hard length rubbed up against my tender center. I couldn't keep from letting out a strangled moan, and to my surprise, his hand tightened, cutting it off.
With my breath stolen and my body wound up tight, my heart skipped a beat. Did he… Was he… finally giving in?
With a shaky hand, he leaned in closer, his whole body trembling as his lips skimmed my cheek. His voice cracked, soft and broken. “Are you sure?”
I didn’t know what I was agreeing to, and I didn’t care. This was the farthest he’d ever let us go, and I wasn’t about to reject him now. I wanted all of him, even the ruined, jagged parts. If offering myself in return helped him trust me, even just a little, that was enough. It was called sex logic.
His grip loosened just enough for me to tilt my chin and smile. “Yes,” I whispered. “I want it all.”
