NOVEL NEXT Chapter 342: Play Businessman
Naomi left first, her heels clicking against the marble like war drums.
Mira followed, glowing with dragon-blood confidence and muttering about how she was going to import infernal cosmetics into the mortal realm.
Rava came down last, still pouting that she hadn't gotten her full turn in the styling chair yet, but she went anyway, off to handle her ocean business.
Sira, of course, refused.
"Go play businessman," she said, lounging against the dining table in a robe so sheer it could've doubled as smoke. "I'm on vacation."
Lux pointed a finger at her like a man reminding a cat not to knock over a priceless vase. "No ruckus. If you drag the infernal realm into mortal news or any other chaos, you go straight back downstairs."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dad."
"I mean it, Sira."
She smirked. "So do I."
And with that, he left her to her "fun." He knew better than to micromanage Pride incarnate.
Which left him with one companion for the morning. Fiera.
The fox demi-human was practically glowing when she came downstairs. Whatever the twins had done to her face, it worked. She looked less like a hungover fox after a trauma dump and more like a magazine cover. She couldn't stop checking her reflection in every glass surface. Her tails swished high, ears perked, and her phone buzzed every thirty seconds with work calls.
Lux decided to cut time and take her along. He'd drop her at her building before he went to Nightlight Studio.
The mortal car was waiting—sleek, dark, new. Lux slid into the driver's seat with practiced grace, the leather still stiff with that fresh from the showroom smell. Fiera slipped in beside him, smoothing her skirt, tails curling neatly against the door.
She looked good. Too good. That fox glow mixed with infernal cosmetics? Dangerous.
But she was busy. Phone in hand, she kept typing furiously, pausing only to bark instructions through her earpiece.
"No, move the rack to the left. The client wants it by noon. Yes, today. Don't whine, just do it!"
Another ping. Another sigh. Her fingers danced.
Lux glanced at her as he pulled onto the road, the mortal car humming beneath his hands. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." She exhaled hard. "I just… I've never been this late before. I have so much to do. So many orders. And most of them are from celebrities. I can't screw this up."
"Yeah, makes sense."
Silence fell between them, the soft hum of the engine filling the gap. City air rushed by, the skyline stretching above, sunlight glittering against glass towers.
Lux tapped the wheel once. "But that's not what I asked."
Fiera froze. Slowly lowered her phone. "What?"
He glanced at her, eyes sharp. "I didn't ask about work. I asked if you're okay."
Her ears twitched. Tails stilled.
She swallowed. "I… what do you mean?"
"You spoke a lot when you were drunk yesterday," Lux said, voice calm but cutting. "About your family. About always needing to be perfect. About backing down whenever Aelitha wanted something."
Fiera's face went pale. "I said that?"
"You did." He smirked faintly. "You also said some… other things."
Her ears perked high. "What things?"
He gave her a long look. "You tried to seduce me."
Her entire face went crimson. "I—what—no—I didn't—"
"You did." Lux shrugged, casual. "But I'm not counting it. You were drunk."
She buried her face in her hands. "Oh my god."
Lux chuckled. "Relax. It wasn't your worst performance."
She groaned. "Lux, stop!"
He didn't. "You put your hand on my chest and tried to go 'down' there."
She wanted to crawl out the window. "Please stop."
"You also said my aura smelled like money and sex."
"I hate you."
"And that you wanted to climb me like a corporate ladder."
Her tails poofed up so fast it nearly smacked the window. "Lux Vaelthorn, I swear—!"
He laughed, steering with one hand, perfectly composed. "What? I'm just quoting."
"You're evil."
"Correct." He flashed a grin.
She sank back in her seat, face still red, ears drooping. "I… I didn't mean it."
"Didn't you?"
Her chest tightened. She looked at him, really looked, and for once the teasing wasn't funny anymore.
Her voice dropped, small. "…Maybe I did."
Lux's smirk softened, just slightly. He looked back at the road. "You don't need to say it. I already know."
The car purred around them, smooth on the asphalt.
Fiera twisted her fingers in her lap, tail twitching nervously. "It's just… with Aelitha, it's always her. Always what she wants. And I have to step back, smile, let her shine. Even when I'm better. Even when I work harder."
Lux hummed. "And you let her."
Her lips pressed tight. "…Yeah."
"Why?"
Her ears flattened. "Because if I fight her, the family takes her side. Every time. I'll be branded the evil cousin. I'll lose them."
Lux's eyes flicked to her. "And that terrifies you."
"Yes."
He was quiet a moment. Then. "You're exhausted. There's a difference."
She blinked.
He continued, voice calm, cutting through her panic like a scalpel.
"You've been breaking yourself while everyone treats Aelitha like some fragile little saint. 'Oh, she's just a kid, forgive her,' right? But I see through people like that. She's smoke and mirrors. You're the one carrying the real weight. And you know it."
Her throat tightened. "Lux—"
"You don't have to prove anything to her. Or to them." His tone shifted, low and firm. "You just have to win. Build your brand. Make it untouchable. So even your family can't deny it."
The words hit like a whip. She felt her chest ache, but in a way that wasn't despair—it was pressure. Drive.
She stared at him. "You make it sound so simple."
"It is," Lux said, turning into her street. "People complicate things. I don't."
Fiera looked down at her phone, screen still flashing with endless messages. For the first time in a long while, she didn't feel overwhelmed. She felt… sharp.
Her lips curved. Just a little. "…You're dangerous."
Lux grinned. "And yet you're in my car."
She blushed again, ears twitching. "…Yeah."
The car slowed, pulling up in front of her building. Assistants already waited at the door, arms full of garment bags, tablets, and design folders. The chaos of her empire buzzing like a hive.