Chapter 18
ANNIE
I scrolled through my phone, smiling as I flipped between articles.
“Havoc and Cipher: Match of the Decade” and “Nemesis Rivalry Reborn” splashed across every headline.
The photos captured everything perfectly from Havoc’s chaos energy spiraling around him to Cipher’s tech gleaming under the arena lights. Two titans locked in combat.
“Annie! There you are.”
My stomach dropped as I spotted Valor cutting through the crowd, an Alliance PR rep following behind him. Helios trailed distantly like he’d really like to be anywhere else. The smile I’d been wearing all evening calcified into something brittle.
“We need you for some photos,” the PR woman chirped, clipboard clutched to her chest. “The three of you with the event sponsors, then a few with you both for socials.”
Deep breath. Professional face. You can do this.
“Of course.” My voice came out steady despite the knot forming in my throat.
Valor’s arm snaked around my waist, fingers digging possessively into my hip. “Don’t worry, she’s always camera ready. Aren’t you, sweetheart?”
I managed a nod, letting myself be steered toward a backdrop where sponsors in expensive suits waited. For the next twenty minutes, I stood beside Valor, his hand never leaving my body as he charmed everyone around us.
Just get through this. Just a little longer.
But they kept coming. There were more photos, more people, more Valor’s mouth whispering “smile wider” against my ear.
I glanced at the clock. Two more hours of this, of enduring Valor’s hands and Alliance PR’s demands. They’d been relentless for days, cornering me for impromptu photoshoots, “casual” social media content, and staged interactions.
I hadn’t realized how close I was to shattering until I’d been alone with Cipher before the match with his mouth on mine, hands sliding under my clothes. For those brief moments, I’d forgotten everything. The pressure. The pretending. The exhaustion.
Now, surrounded by fake smiles and camera flashes, I felt the cracks spreading again.
I watched Valor pose for yet another photo, his arm still clamped around my waist like I might escape if he loosened his grip.
Helios was watching, a slight furrow between his brows. He was only being used in a handful of pictures, the lucky bastard. But then his eyes met mine. His gaze went from Valor’s hand to my face and there was a question in his eyes, asking if I wanted him to intervene.
Helios had had a front row seat to the mutual disdain Valor and I held for each other, pre and post public engagements. He’d tried several times to be a buffer between us, but Valor always steamrolled over Helios’s attempts.
I gave a subtle shake of my head. The PR representative wouldn’t listen to Helios anyway.
Helios frowned and walked away. The fact that he felt frustration at my situation only made me double down on my own frustration.
My mind wandered and the thought of the Labyrinth loomed. Cipher would be waiting there after the afterparty. I’d debated not going at all, but who was I kidding? If I didn’t show up, he’d come find me.
And the way he’d said I’d spend every night in his bed from now on? Those weren’t just empty words. He’d meant them.
My feelings for Cipher were a tangled mess, like someone had dumped a box of improperly stored Christmas lights and walked away. I didn’t hate him. I never had, not really. Not even after what he did.
The truth was far more complicated.
For three months, he’d been sending me food, coffee, making sure I was taken care of, all without wanting me to know. Just silent support while I pretended he didn’t exist.
Now he was offering to give me everything I needed, even when I knew it would cost him emotionally. He was letting me use him for whatever I needed without asking for anything in return.
But was that true? What did Cipher actually want?
He’d said he’d offer more when I was ready. More what? More of himself? More commitment? More trust?
More love?
I stood perfectly still as the PR woman positioned my arms around Valor’s waist. My smile was frozen in place, muscles aching from holding it for what felt like hours. The camera flashed again, another perfect shot of the happy couple celebrating Havoc and Cipher’s historic match.
“Just a bit closer,” the woman instructed. “Valor, could you angle your body more toward the sponsors? Annie, tilt your chin up slightly.”
My body complied while my mind drifted to silver eyes watching me from across an arena. To hands that knew exactly how to touch me. To a mouth that had whispered both cruelties and confessions against my skin.
He loves me. The thought floated through my consciousness, undeniable despite everything. He’d shown it in ways that were harder to dismiss than any declaration—dying in my arms, watching over me for months, accepting whatever scraps of myself I was willing to give.
My pussy clenched at the memory of that night in the Neon Maze, how I’d struck him, scratched him, fucked him with all the fury I’d bottled up for months. And he’d just... taken it. Encouraged it, even. Let me break apart in his arms afterward.
What kind of man lets someone they love treat them that way?
A desperate one, my mind supplied.
The thought sent an unexpected pang through my chest. For all his genius, all his calculation and control, Cipher was desperate for me. For whatever I would give him. I could see it in the way he looked at me. The way he touched me.
“Annie, darling, we need one more with you two kissing,” the PR woman said, interrupting my thoughts. “Show the world how you’re celebrating tonight’s match.”
I froze. “No.”
Valor’s arm tightened around my waist and the PR woman blinked rapidly, clearly thrown by my refusal. “It’s just one quick photo—“
“I said no.” My voice was stronger now as I stepped back, breaking Paragon’s hold on my waist.
The PR woman looked between us, panic flashing across her face. “The Alliance specifically requested—”
“I don’t care what they requested.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not doing it.”
The PR woman stepped closer, lowering her voice. “Annie, please. This is important for Valor’s image—“
“Is there a problem here?”
Havoc materialized beside me, his expression mild but his eyes sharp as he assessed the situation.
“No problem at all,” the PR woman said quickly, her professional smile snapping back into place. “We were just finishing up with some photos.”
“Were you?” Havoc’s gaze shifted to me. “Annie?”
“They wanted a kissing photo,” I said. “I declined.”
Havoc’s eyebrow arched slightly. “I see.” He turned to the PR woman. “I need my Keeper. You’ll have to continue without her.”
The woman opened her mouth to protest, but Havoc was already guiding me away.
“Thank you,” I murmured once we were out of earshot.
“For what? Rescuing you or interrupting your rebellion? You’ll have to thank Helios. Thank God he found me.” There was amusement in his voice, but his eyes were serious when they met mine. “You’ve been putting up with a lot lately, haven’t you?”
I swallowed hard. “It’s just part of the job.”
“No,” Havoc said firmly. “It’s not.”
We reached a quieter corner of the reception hall, partially hidden behind an enormous floral arrangement. Havoc turned to face me, his expression uncharacteristically gentle.
“Annie, I need to apologize.” Havoc’s voice dropped low, his eyes searching mine. “Everything you’ve had to put up with these last few weeks—hell, these last few months...”
“It’s fine,” I interrupted, pasting on my professional smile. “Really. I’m just tired.”
“Stop.” He held up a hand. “Don’t do that. Not with me.”
My smile faltered, the weight of exhaustion suddenly too heavy to hide behind my usual mask.
“Now that the debut match is over, things should improve,” he continued. “You’ll still be swamped, but at least you won’t have all that prep work anymore.”
I nodded, forcing brightness into my voice. “Exactly! And the match was incredible. Your chaos fields in the second half? Everyone’s talking about it.”
Havoc sighed, shaking his head. “Annie.”
“What? I’m just saying—“
“Stop.” His voice was gentle but firm. “You may not know it, but I do see you. I see exactly how much this PR stunt is draining you and I’m putting an end to it. I already have a meeting scheduled with the Aegis and Alliance PR for Tuesday morning.”
“What could you possibly say to them?” I asked, keeping my voice pitched low.
A waiter carrying a tray of champagne flutes squeezed past us, the crystal clinking.
“PR is obsessed with this angle. They think having me on his arm humanizes him. They’re not going to change their minds just because you ask them to. ”
“You let me worry about that.” Havoc’s eyes hardened, the piercing blue rippling with a hint of his chaos energy. “The public likes the story, sure. But we can brush it aside easily enough before they escalate it.”
“Escalate it how?”
“You really think they’ll stop at a few red carpet photos? Give them another month, and they’ll be pushing for a fake engagement to boost his ratings.” He shook his head. “I’m shutting it down.”
The tight, suffocating knot in my chest loosened a fraction.
Havoc took my elbow, guiding me further from the crowd, behind a column where the music was muffled and the flashing cameras couldn’t reach us. Before I could protest, he pulled me into a hug.
I was caught off guard by the rare display of affection. Havoc wasn’t a hugger. Not with anyone, not even with me.
“It’s going to be okay,” he murmured, his hand awkwardly patting my back. “I won’t put you on leave, but you need to stop working yourself to death. Maybe increase your therapy appointments for a while?”
I nodded against his shoulder, knowing I wouldn’t. The therapy sessions were useless, an hour of giving careful half-truths because I couldn’t tell any therapist about my broken Warden powers or the cuff suppressing Halcyon’s abilities or what really happened with Cipher. So what was the point?
“I’ll try,” I lied, pulling back from the hug.