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The Underworld Queen's Second Contract

Chapter 3 The Same Ring

Word Count: 1110 | Released on: 13/08/2026

ou seem too chill. But she couldn't look rattled either. That just wasn't her style. Plus, Renata Marchetti-her mother-noticed everything, especially when Selene

ning how to control men twice her age, and here she was, trying t

ownstairs. Each step felt... strange. This wasn't really her home anymore. Ever since she mar

r a second, it stopped her right there in the hallway. That old, familiar

ng through letters. Lucia-sixteen, all elbows and wild

ading. "I was beginning to think you'

ce actually sounded normal. She sat down. The ch

, croissant in mida

that universal mom-exasperati

the patented little-sister glare.

entirely of

oosing her next words. "Didn't sleep, that's al

cia's comment, but it landed heavier than ex

stayed steady, pulled up that version of herself her mother needed-a lit

uietly, setting her glasses aside. "I know

ly yo

e said, keeping her voice even. "It

a's face, then she masked it. "Damian Voss. Do you k

show it. I know he practically inhales his coffee.

ays," Selene said. "D

esn't sc

en terrified. But she'd already survived him-and loved him, in a way th

ith it," she sa

r mother was reading the truth anyway. She took a casual sip of coffee,

t distracte

a notch lower, leaning in. "You keep loo

dying the chandelier, the fading stain on the ceiling, the c

imes when storms kept her sister awake. "I'm not disappearing

g. "Right. Just remember your sister s

than she planned, and Lucia heard it-maybe not the whol

re Lucia could really start digging. "Eat

er sister rambling about homework, soaking in this quiet, predictable morning she never thought she'd have again. The first time around

d protect them both. From the world.

," Renata said, br

toast, made herself look relaxed. "Ab

, for what it's worth, I know you'll manage. You always have.

umb. The first time, her mother never got to say th

whispered, and

e was missing something important. "Are we gonna talk

ugh, pulled out by Lucia's impatience. "T

Something's different, though. I

he truth to share. Just a little. "Whatever's changed, i

o, grabbing the jam and steering everything back to safer

into the rhythm as a daughter, a sister

he contract. Tomorrow,

tucked inside the safety of this ordinary morning, love

Chapter End

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The Underworld Queen's Second Contract

Daniel A.D Romance

“Selene Voss died the same way she lived-betrayed, brought low, at the feet of the man she once called her husband. Her first life? Was a mess. They named her Underworld Queen, but it was meaningless. She married into the Voss Syndicate at nineteen and they took everything from her-every scrap of authority, every title she'd clawed into existence. Her own council killed her the moment they decided a woman didn't have the right kind of blood to lead. The last thing she felt wasn't fear. It was pure, burning anger. Then she wakes up-three years earlier, on the very night she's about to sign away her life in marriage to Damian Voss. The Syndicate's deadliest son. The man everyone gossiped about but nobody ever challenged. Now, Selene knows the traitors before they unmask themselves. She knows which friends will stab her in the back, the exact moments the knives will fly. This time, the contract isn't her surrender. It's her weapon. That said, Damian hasn't changed. He's still dangerous. Still fixated on a wife he once watched die, a woman he's never managed to figure out. He remembers nothing of the life where she died, but he can tell she sits across from him like she's already won. Like she's already seen him die. And instead of backing away, he wants her even closer. As Selene works from the shadows, piecing her strength together again-twisting old enemies into puppets, secrets into leverage-she realizes this marriage contract is more than a document. It's the start of a war. This time, she plans to live through it. And the husband she never meant to love? She might lose that battle, twice. "You died once already trying to leave me," Damian says, pulling the contract from her fingers. "I'm not letting you sign your way out again." Selene just grins. "Better read the fine print, husband. This time, I wrote the terms."”