I Love You
Selene’s POV
Elias Knight didn’t waste time.
+25 BONUS
“Miss Selene,” he said, flashing that signature half–smile that could undo most women in a heartbeat, “your work with the Vale didn’t just make them number one in New York–it made them number one in the States.”
He leaned in slightly, voice low and confident. “I’m building something here. A casino empire. And I need someone who knows what they’re doing. Someone like you. I was wondering if you’d consider joining me… I think we could make magic happen.”
C
Elias Knight–asking me to work with him. It would’ve been foolish to say no.
Not to mention he had that look. Dangerous, magnetic, sharp as sin. A man born for midnight deals and velvet–gloved power plays.
By the end of that meeting, I agreed. He offered me three times what the Vale ever did. And more importantly… he offered me
respect.
I was grateful. No–empowered.
Exactly one week after Adrian Vale’s engagement party, I set foot in England.
Only then did it finally hit me- This was my clean slate.
No Adrian. No Vale. No more begging for scraps of affection or being pitied by the very people who should’ve honored me.
Just me. Selene. Running her own life. Owing nothing to anyone.
My career at Knight’s casino? Explosive.
In just two years, I had turned a new start up casino into a household name–not just across England’s elite circles, but in the underground too.
Money poured in like rain.
And Elias? He treated me with unwavering respect.
Sometimes he’d bring me into meetings that had nothing to do with the casino, asking for my opinion on his other ventures. He listened–really listened–like I was royalty.
He honored my words like they were law. Like I was king.
To celebrate this year’s record–breaking profits, Elias planned the most extravagant party London had seen in years
He invited everyone–partners, competitors, royalty in both silk and blood. And me.
A week before, he handed me a dress.
“Wear this,” he said simply “You’ll look perfect.”
I thought it was for show–for appearances, so I’d match the room when he introduced me to his powerful friends.
But I was wrong
I Love You
+25 BONUS
When I arrived that night, Elias met me at the entrance himself and led me away from the glittering chaos.
Just him and me.
He wore a pitch–black suit, tailored to lethal perfection. But his tie–his tie matched my dress.
“Selene,” he said, voice velvet–dark and steady, “you’ve worked with me for two years now, haven’t you?”
My heart fluttered.
Was this a goodbye? A shift in our arrangement?
“Yes,” I replied, wary.
He smiled faintly, like he knew exactly what I was thinking. “I’ll admit, when we first met, I didn’t see you like the others. The women I kept around were… different. But you? You weren’t just a woman. You were a force.”
His hand reached out slowly–not demanding, just…. offering.
“But I have to be honest now,” he said, locking eyes with me. “Selene, I’ve fallen in love with you.”
The words struck like lightning.
Of all the outcomes I’d prepared for–this wasn’t one of them.
Elias Knight. The man who
Jt an empire with silence and steel… loved me?
I felt the heat rise to my cheeks, my breath catching.
“You…”
He smiled gently. “Don’t answer now. Just know this I’m a man of promises. I never make one I can’t keep. If I say I love you, Selene, I mean it. Every word. Nothing less.”
Then, carefully, he reached again–his fingertips brushing mine.
“I’ve never met someone like you. And if I’m being honest, I think I fell for you the moment we met. But back then… I didn’t dare say it.”
His voice dipped to a whisper, brushing against the shell of
year.
I hadn’t even considered the possibility of Elias Knight loving me. Let alone asking for my love–right here, right now.
Istammered My pulse raced. “I…”
He didn’t let me flounder.
“The Knight Casino?” he said, his voice low and resolute. “That was just the beginning. I want to give you more–everything- if you want it. But I can’t keep standing by your side as just your partner. Just your boss”
His eyes, usually calm and calculated, burned with frustration. “I’m tired of standing next to you while other men flirt with you–smiling through it like it doesn’t kill me inside. Watching. Saying nothing. Because I had no right.”
Elias Knight–the man who ruled empires and yet stood before me, vulnerable. Open.
“Selene,” he said, his gaze locking with mine, “I only ask for one thing. One chance. To show you that I can be better than Adrian Vale ever was. That I am better. I won’t let you down”
That was what undid me. The way Elias Knight–a man feared and followed–lowered himself to ask me for something as fragile as a chance
“Elias “I breathed his name like a prayer, “you know what I went through with the Vales. I don’t think I can trust again–not yet. I’d hate to be selfish and keep you waiting for something I might never be able to give-”
I Love You
He stepped in, cutting me off. “I’ll prove it to you–Selene, have I ever let you down?”
I looked up into those steel–blue eyes. And for once… I didn’t see the mobster. I saw the man.
Slowly, I smiled. “I’m not a coward either. So let’s do this. I trust you.”
Elias’s whole face lit up–like a boy who’d just been handed the world on a silver platter.
The King of London… undone by a single yes.
+25 BONUS
The very next day, he brought me to meet his family. He said he didn’t want to wait another second before introducing me as his girlfriend
I expected icy stares. Formidable mafia types. But instead–his parents were warm, gracious.
His mother even clasped a velvet box into my hands. Inside, a delicate necklace shimmered under the chandelier light.
This,” she said, smiling, “is only passed down to the next Mrs. Knight.”
I tried to refuse. She wouldn’t let me.
After Elias and I got together, the business soared. He trusted my instincts, championed my voice.
Within a year, we’d opened four more casinos across major English cities.
I was named Vice President of the Knight Casino.
And on New Year’s Eve–under a sky bursting with champagne–colored fireworks–Elias got down on one knee.
Everyone he knew was there. Even my mother–who Elias had personally flown from Chicago to London.
She couldn’t stop talking about him. Couldn’t stop smiling.
News of our engagement swept across the mafia world like wildfire.
Every syndicate whispered the same thing: Who was the woman Elias Knight chose as his queen?
