As the two of them gently moved to the rhythm of the melody, Sylvia couldn't help but fall into a trance.

The man's gaze was so captivating that she found herself drowning within his black irises.

Soon the people around her faded, the surrounding chatter disappeared and even the melody ceased to exist.

All she could see was the man in front of her and the warm disarming smile on his ridiculously handsome face that was only for her.

Sylvia knew that she was dancing with the devil, behind held so close to him that his scent tickled her nose.

He had bullied her countless times, tortured her with his words and actions, and even put a leash around her.

The man was pure evil. She knew that, but right this second, all those bad memories had conveniently disappeared and she couldn't fight his allure.

It was as if she was under a spell and enjoyed his attention even though she knew that it was probably not genuine.

Time trickled by without her noticing and when finally, the devil stopped moving, he looked at Sylvia with amusement clearly written on his face.

"How much longer do you want to dance?" He smirked, pulling her closer to hug her tightly in his embrace.

He then leaned to whisper in her ears. "Are you certain that the only thing you want from me is your freedom?"

"You seem like someone who wants more. Have you changed your mind? If so, be sure to tell me… I would never say no… in case you want something more"

The man's hands dropped from her back to her waist, to hold her most closely, her face pressed against his chest.

Sylvia shuddered at his words and quickly picked herself back up. Snapping out of her trance, she pushed him away lightly and stepped away from him.

Mikel chuckled. "Wait for a minute." He then added and disappeared into the crowd to somewhere else.

Sylvia touched her neck, her dress feeling tighter for some reason, and tried to take a few deep breaths, forcing herself to relax.

She noticed that she was already standing in a corner and took one more step, leaning against the wall.

"Argh. What is happening to my brain?" She silently bit her lips and tried to make sense of what just happened.

"Is this the so-called bad boy complex? How could I be so smitten by that damned devil?!"

"This is completely unacceptable." She reprimanded herself so that she wouldn't fall into his deceptive honey trap one more time.

The man might look like a tall drink of water but she knew better. This tall drink of water is nothing but poison!

While Sylvia was silently swirling in her own world, she suddenly felt a piercing gaze on her and she looked up to see if Mikel had returned.

However, there was no one standing in front of her and she still had that odd feeling, as if someone was looking at her.

Her blue eyes darted here and there restlessly, searching the crowd for the person who was possibly staring at her, but even after a while, she couldn't find anyone.

"Why am I getting so worked up over this? Maybe someone is watching me, so what?"

She calmed herself down as her eyes casually wandered to the gallery at the top where some of the guests were seated.

Unexpectedly, her gaze met the gaze of another man who was sitting there, atop in the gallery.

Sylvia couldn't quite recognize him because he wore a black mask almost covering his entire face, revealing only his inky black hair and his crimson fiery eyes.

For some reason, she found him vaguely familiar but when she tried to search her mind to see if she could have possibly met him before, she was only drawing a blank.

But one thing was for certain. Just as she looked at him, he was also looking at her.

As she wondered who it could be, Sylvia suddenly felt a light tap on her shoulder which made her almost jump up in shock.

When Sylvia turned around, she saw Priscella standing in front of her. "Good evening, Lady…?" Her voice drawled on waiting for Sylvia to fill in the blanks.

"Umm…" Sylvia hesitated, not knowing how to answer and also unsure if Mikel wanted her to give out any details.

She was after all determined to be on her best behavior, just like he had asked her to. Her freedom depended on it.

However, Sylvia's hesitation seemed only to further add fuel to the fire, as Priscella's polite and smiling look, slowly started changing.

"You… Are you…" The woman began speaking when a familiar voice cut her in. "Excuse me, ladies. I need to speak to my partner."

Mikel had returned back and for once Sylvia was happy to see him.

She responded to Priscella's furrowed brows with a weak smile and slipped out of the corner, quickly following behind the devil, who didn't give a chance to anyone to talk to him.

She as well didn't dare to look back, already feeling the woman's gaze burning a hole on her back.

But as she quickly hurried behind Mikel, weaving through the crowd, Sylvia couldn't help but look up again to see if the mask with the black mask and the dark red eyes were still looking at her.

Weirdly, he was nowhere to be found.

"Is something the matter?" Mikel paused his footsteps and asked her, for which Sylvia simply nodded.

"I must just be imagining things." She shook her head and the two once again started walking out of the grand ballroom.

Seeing their disappearing figures, the woman standing next to Priscella slightly smiled and asked, with a subtle mocking tone.

"Lady Priscella… That man looks like Prince Mikel… Didn't you say that you were coming with him to the ball?"

Priscella's face darkened but she somehow managed to recover. "Aha Ha Ha… What are you saying! You need glasses. How could that man be Mikel?"