Chapter 283 Love Is A Luxury
TIFFANY’S POV
The villa was quiet.
Most people would have found the silence comforting. They would have poured themselves a drink, turned on the television, and relaxed after a stressful day. I wasn’t most people.
I sat alone in the huge living room Damien had purchased for me months ago.
I was staring at a photo on my phone. It was the photograph I had taken from Damien’s desk – The Council notice.
I read it again and again.
I wasn’t afraid. Fear was useful only when it forced someone to act.
I already acted. I always acted.
The notice itself wasn’t surprising. Annoying? Yes. Complicated? Definitely.
But it wasn’t surprising. The Lycan High Council had existed for centuries.
Whenever powerful Alpha families became unstable, the Council eventually involved itself.
It was one of the reasons my father always taught me to think several moves ahead.
The problem wasn’t that the Council existed. The problem was timing.
I leaned back against the sofa and crossed my legs.
My wine sat untouched on the table beside me.
I never loved Damien Stone. Not then. Not now.
The realization didn’t make me feel guilty.
Why would it? Love was a luxury. Power was not.
Years ago, when my father first mentioned Damien’s name, he hadn’t described him as a man. He’d described him as an opportunity – a future Alpha, a future leader.
I remembered sitting in my father’s office while he explained everything about the Stone pack, their territory and their businesses.
I’d listened carefully. Unlike most daughters, I had been raised as a strategist. And strategists didn’t fall in love with pieces on a board. They moved them.
The Stones possessed territory. My father possessed influence. Together, those things could become something much larger.
I took a slow sip of wine. The liquid tasted bitter or maybe that was my mood.
My eyes returned to the Council notice. Sophia’s name appeared several times.
My fingers tightened around the glass.
Sophia.
Everything had become more difficult because of Sophia.
My eyes narrowed as I thought about it.
The original plan had been simple – replace Sophia gradually and push her out of the marriage, push her out of Damien’s life. Once she was gone, the rest would become easier.
Ashley would follow eventually. I would get rid of her too as well.
I wasn’t stupid enough to attack a child directly. No. You reshaped children slowly one influence at a time, one habit at a time.
Ashley was merely another long-term project and later? I would have my own children. The Stones would belong to them.
That had always been the destination.
My grip tightened around the wine glass as I thought about someone important – Zade.
For the first time that evening, I felt irritated.
Zade wasn’t supposed to matter. Initially, I thought he was simply another rich man fascinated by Sophia.
The more information I gathered, the more troubling the situation became. He wasn’t chasing Sophia because he was entertained. He was serious and that changed everything.
I stood and walked toward the window, watching the city below.
I understood Damien. I understood Lance. But Zade? Zade worried me.
Why? Because powerful men rarely risked anything for love yet he seemed willing to risk everything. That made him unpredictable.
If Zade formally claimed Sophia, everything changed. The Council would not see Sophia as a discarded Luna. They would see her as a valuable Luna transferring allegiance.
The scandal would become an alliance.
If that happened, the Stones wouldn’t just lose Sophia. They would lose influence.
My father had warned me about that possibility. Now it seemed closer than ever.
I picked up my phone and called my dad. The line connected almost immediately.
“Father.”
“Tiffany.” His voice remained calm as always.
“The Council has moved.” I told him.
“I expected that.”
Of course he did. He usually expected everything.
“The situation is becoming unstable.” I said.
“Only if you react emotionally.”
I smiled “Zade is involved.”
He paused for a while.
“I know.”
I frowned “You already knew?”
“I know far more than you think.”
The answer annoyed me. Sometimes I wondered if my father enjoyed withholding information.
“What should I do?” I asked him.
“Take the proposal.”
I understood exactly what he meant. He was talking about Damien’s condition of no biological children. Damien wanted me to become Ashley’s mother.
My dad was telling me to secure the position so I could remain inside the Stone family.
My fingers tapped against the glass “And then?”
My father laughed softly “We’ll handle the rest from the inside.”
I looked out at the city as I thought about everything.
He was right.
I nodded “I understand.”
I hung up, then I walked back to the sofa and picked up my phone.
Time to play the next move.
I opened Damien’s contact. For several seconds I stared at the blank message screen. Then I began typing.
Damien, my love. I’ve thought carefully about your proposal. I accept. I will never ask for children of my own. Ashley will always come first. I love her. I love you. I trust you completely.
The lie looked beautiful on the screen. It looked convincing enough.
I read it twice, then I pressed send.
I set the phone down and poured myself another glass of wine.
The villa remained silent. The Council was moving.
Damien was changing. Sophia was fighting back. Zade was becoming a threat.
The board was shifting.
Most people would have been overwhelmed or panicked.
I simply stared at the wall, thinking.
While everyone else was reacting to today’s crisis, I was already looking toward tomorrow.
I was three moves ahead now.
I was always three moves ahead.