Chapter 1
The First Crack in the Cage
I was hiding under the bed like a complete and utter idiot.
The room was pitch-black, curtains pulled so tight that not even a sliver of moonlight could sneak through. Dust tickled my nose with every shallow breath I took, and my heart pounded so hard I was convinced the floorboards would betray me. I knew she was coming. I could feel it in the way the air grew thick and heavy, like the whole mansion was holding its breath right along with me.
"Lucas…" Her voice floated through the door—soft, melodic, and wrapped in that familiar velvet threat. "I know you're in there, my love."
Selena Starfall. My second cursed fiancée—or rather, my second *former* cursed fiancée.
The doorknob rattled gently at first. Then it jerked violently.
"How much longer are you going to hide from me? You can't run forever. Not from me. Not from *us*."
*Thud.*
The door burst open with a deafening crack. Wood splintered, hinges tore free, and Selena stepped through the wreckage like a storm given human form. Her silver hair glowed faintly in the dim hallway light spilling in behind her, cascading over the shoulders of her crimson-and-black academy uniform. Crimson eyes—once clouded by ancient darkness—now burned with pure, unfiltered obsession as they swept the room and locked onto the bed.
She didn't hesitate.
Her hand shot under the frame, fingers like steel bands closing around my ankle. One brutal yank dragged me out across the floorboards, and before I could scramble away, she flipped me onto the mattress and pinned me down. She straddled my waist, knees digging into the sheets on either side of my hips, her body warm and trembling with barely contained emotion. The dagger she always kept at her side was already in her hand, blade glinting coldly.
"You know how much I love you, right, Lucas?" Her voice cracked, ragged with tears that were already spilling down her cheeks. "You *know* it, don't you? Back when we were children, you promised me—you swore on your family's crest that you would protect me. That you would give me everything I deserve for the rest of my life. You removed the curse from my heart yourself. You saved me. You saved *all* of us."
She pressed the razor edge of the dagger against her own index finger. A thin crimson line appeared instantly, blood welling up and dripping onto my shirt.
"Did I do something wrong? Tell me, please. Was it the way I looked at you yesterday? Or the letter I sent last week? Should I beat myself bloody right here? Should I cut off my fingers one by one until you forgive me and take back those horrible words?" Her breath hitched, voice rising into a desperate sob. "You know I can't live without you anymore. The curse is gone because of *you*, but my love isn't. It never will be. If you want, just say the word and I'll kill the other six. I'll make it quick and clean—they won't even feel pain. I'll do it right now if it means you'll stay with me."
She leaned down until her forehead rested against mine, tears falling hot onto my face, mixing with the faint metallic scent of her blood.
"But please… don't break up with me, Lucas. I got your letter this morning and my whole world shattered. If you really mean it—if you send me away—I'll kill you first. Then I'll kill myself. And I swear on every star in the sky, I will *never* let those six bitches have you. Never. You're mine. You've been mine since we were eight years old."
Her face was a wreck now—mascara streaking, lips trembling, eyes wide and frantic—yet she still looked heartbreakingly, terrifyingly beautiful. The curse that had once twisted her soul into something monstrous was gone. I had torn it out of her myself when we were children, using the strange power that had awakened in me the day our engagements were announced. I had done the same for all seven of them. They were free. They were *supposed* to be free.
But freedom hadn't cured the obsession.
Before I could force a single word past the lump in my throat, the ceiling exploded overhead.
Wooden beams and plaster exploded downward in a shower of debris as a second figure crashed through the roof like a meteor of dark silk and violet fury. She landed in a perfect crouch on the far side of the bed, long obsidian hair whipping around her like living shadows, violet eyes glowing with a mix of rage and raw panic. Lilith Ravenwood—my third cursed fiancée, now curse-free and twice as dangerous.
"Lucas!" she snapped, voice like poisoned honey dripping with sweetness and venom. "Did you send that breakup letter by mistake? Tell me it was a joke. Or should I consider this a formal war challenge? You know I could erase your entire family from this world overnight—every last servant, every distant cousin—without lifting a finger. I could make it look like an accident. I could—"
She froze mid-sentence, finally noticing Selena straddling me with the bloodied dagger still pressed to her own skin.
"No, no, no—" Lilith's hands flew up in frantic denial, her usual cold composure cracking instantly. "I didn't mean that! I was about to say I won't break up with you either! Obviously! I love you more than life itself, Lucas. You saved me when we were kids. You ripped that curse out of my soul with your own two hands and promised we'd be together forever. You can't just… you can't just throw that away because you want a 'normal happy life' now!"
Selena's head whipped toward her, crimson eyes narrowing into slits. "You again, Lilith. Always slinking in at the worst moment. Get out of my mansion before I carve that pretty face off your skull."
Lilith's violet eyes flashed with magic, shadows curling around her fingers like living smoke. "Your mansion? Last I checked, Lucas's family owns this entire estate, and *I* was the one who helped reinforce the wards after you nearly burned it down last month trying to 'prove your love.' Step away from him, Selena, or I'll show you exactly how much my curse-free power has grown."
"Prove my love?" Selena laughed, a broken, hysterical sound as she tightened her grip on the dagger. "At least I don't hide behind shadows and fake smiles like you do. I'm honest about what I feel. Lucas knows I'd die for him. You just want to own him like some trophy."
Lilith's smile turned razor-sharp. "Oh, honey, I *do* want to own him. But unlike you, I'd make sure he's happy while I do it. You'd keep him locked in a basement 'for his own good.'"
"Enough!" I finally managed to choke out, my voice hoarse from the weight of both of them looming over me. "I sent the letters myself. All seven of them. The curses are gone—I removed them when we were children, just like I promised. You're all free now. You don't have to be bound to me anymore. I just… I want a normal life. A happy one. Without all this blood and threats and—"
Selena's tears fell faster. "Normal? Happy? Without *me*? Lucas, you're the only reason I'm still alive. You saved me from the curse that was eating me alive. How can you ask me to just… walk away?"
Lilith's shadows flared brighter, but her voice softened into something almost pleading. "We were children when the royal decree bound us all to you. Seven villainesses, seven curses, one boy chosen to either save or doom us. You chose to save us. You can't undo that bond now just because the magic is gone. Please, Lucas. Don't make us choose between you and peace."
The air crackled between them—cursed energy long since removed, yet the raw, obsessive love they still carried sparked like live wires. In the distance, through the broken roof and shattered door, I could already sense the other five rushing toward the mansion, drawn by the flare of their emotions.
I closed my eyes and let out the longest, most exhausted breath of my short life.
*How did it come to this?*
I was just a normal boy who wanted to save seven cursed girls from their tragic fates. I had done it—ripped the darkness out of their souls with my own power when we were barely ten years old. The engagements had been arranged in childhood by royal decree, a political move to control the villainess bloodlines. I thought freeing them would let us all move on.
Instead, their love had twisted into something even more dangerous.
And now, pinned beneath one sobbing, dagger-wielding fiancée while the second hovered above us with shadows ready to strike, my mind began to drift back—back to those innocent childhood days when everything had started with shy smiles, pinky promises, and the first flickers of ancient curses awakening in their eyes.
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**End of Chapter 1**
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