My Dear Fiancé, It’s My Turn To Play the Dangerous Game

The night of our engagement party, I found my best friend playing a dangerous game with my fiancé.

The casino on our family's private yacht was where I found them. Clara was sitting on the lap of my fiancé, Killian, the Falcone family heir.

Killian held a sharp family dagger, its tip snagging the thin strap of her dress.

The blade traced a path along her collarbone. The slightest pressure would snap the silk.

It was a dangerous, intimate scene.

I stepped forward with a frown, but Killian just scoffed. "It's just a little game to liven things up, Principessa. Don't be so tense."

Clara's eyes narrowed, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "We're just playing a traditional family game. The knife game. You don't mind, do you, sweetie?"

I was about to speak, but Killian's expression hardened.

"We just got engaged and you're already trying to control me?"

So I said nothing. I just drew my custom pistol from its holster on my thigh.

"So, it's a game," I said.

"Then let's play for something real."

On the night of our engagement, my best friend was perched on my fiancé's lap, playing the knife game. One flick of the dagger in Killian's hand would sever the strap.

A humorless laugh escaped me as I drew my custom pistol. If we were going to play, we might as well go all in.

The entire casino fell silent. Every eye was locked on me.

Killian gave me a lazy smile.

"Be a good girl. This game isn't for you. Go back to your cabin and rest."

It was the kind of placating, patronizing tone he always used, the kind that came with a prize. Something like, "The new West End territory is yours when we dock tomorrow."

In the past, I would have surrendered instantly.

I would have foolishly obeyed, taken the trophy he offered, and called it love.

But today, I just curled my lip and didn't move an inch.

The atmosphere grew tense.

Clara blinked her wide, innocent eyes. "Seraphina, if you don't like this, we can just play another game."

But as she spoke, she pressed herself even tighter against Killian, showing no intention of getting up.

The smile on Killian's face faded, a flicker of impatience in his eyes.

"Seraphina, the engagement party isn't over. Don't embarrass me in front of everyone."

Everyone said the Falcone heir was a notorious womanizer, and I was the only fiancée he had ever acknowledged.

I had once believed my decade of obedience had finally tamed this beast, that it had earned me this official engagement party.

But he was humiliating me like this, in public, in front of everyone.

A wave of bitterness washed over me, but I met his gaze calmly. "Since you said it's a game," I said lightly, "I'm not one to back down."

Clara immediately leaned in affectionately, as if we were still the best of friends.

"See? That's the spirit. It's just that you're usually