Chosen Without Consent

Prologue

Prologue: The First Glance

She didn’t see him at first.
Andreea was used to being the center of attention, but not like this. Not in a room full of people who thought power was loud and money was louder. Not with someone who didn’t need to speak to make you notice him.
He was there  a shadow at the back, leaning against the wall, calm, controlled, untouchable. And yet, the moment her eyes met his, it was as if the world tilted.

Nicholas didn’t smile. Didn’t approach. Didn’t invite her. He simply watched. And watching him was nothing like being watched by anyone else. His gaze wasn’t curious, or polite, or polite-interest. It was something sharper. A claim. A warning. A challenge.

Something inside Andreea stirred  caution, thrill, desire  and she hated that all three were wrapped up in the same fluttering pulse.

She turned away first. That was her rule. Never let a man see how he affected her. Never give him that power. But he didn’t look away. He stayed. Patient. Calm. Dangerous.

Andreea realized then what she hadn’t admitted before: she didn’t want him to leave.
The room blurred around her, the music fading, the laughter of friends distant. All that remained was him that quiet force that pulled without touch, that promised possession without asking.

He didn’t move closer, and yet he had already closed the distance in her mind, her body, her thoughts. She could feel it, a heat that wasn’t just physical.
He was Nicholas. And from the moment she noticed him, nothing would ever be the same.
Obsession, she thought. That’s what this was.

And Nicholas? He was already certain. She would be his.
Because he didn’t chase. He chose.

And Andreea… she would learn the hard way what it meant to be chosen.