Yes! Finally Tycoon

Cryon International Airport, although wrapped in eternal snow and reinforced crystal walls, was a hive of intercontinental activity. Imperial protocol demanded parades, honor guards, and foreign press ready to capture every millimeter of the future Ice Empress's step touching the ground.

But not that day.

On the secondary runway, one of the hangars reserved for top-secret diplomats was discreetly activated. The Tycoon's jet landed smoothly, without fanfare, and no living soul besides the local intelligence agents knew that Victória had just set foot on Cryonian soil.

The jet door opened like the sigh of a secret, and Victória descended with sober elegance, like a star about to invade the world's stage.

At the underground VIP exit, a single car awaited her: a matte ice-gray Lamborghini, with no visible insignia except for a small platinum-engraved symbol: the personal coat of arms of the von Cryon family.

Leaning against the side of the car, Kael spoke on the phone with a serene but attentive expression. His naturally white hair was slightly tousled by the polar wind, and his eyes, hidden behind titanium dark glasses, fixed on the horizon as if deciphering futures.

Victória saw him before he saw her. And her heart, so armored by meetings and protocols, stumbled involuntarily.

"The same beautiful idiot as always…" she murmured to herself, smiling with that charm that would make any empire bow.

Without making noise, she approached from behind, dropping the suitcase with a brief gesture. Then, she jumped on his back with the lightness of someone who already possessed her destiny.

"Hello, husband." she whispered in his ear, voice sweet like a charming threat.

Kael almost dropped the communicator.

"Sorry, minister, I need to hang up," he said quickly on the call. "The… priority just landed." And cut the call without any remorse.

He turned in her arms and smiled so gently that even the surrounding snow seemed to melt a little. He hugged her tightly and spun lightly, lifting Victória into the air as if she were the most precious piece in his world.

"You're here." he said, as if finally breathing deeply after months of held breath.

She laughed, burying her face in his neck. "You smell like cold wind and imperial arrogance. I missed that."

Kael only murmured against her neck. "And you… are still hotter than the sun we don't have around here."

They kissed, first delicately, then with the intensity of those who survived storms only with unspoken promises. The kiss lasted longer than it should and less than they wanted.

Victória slowly pulled away, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes, her breath still quickened. "How are you?"

Kael opened the car door for her like the gentleman he pretended not to be, and only answered after going around and entering the driver's seat.

"I'm fine." he said, adjusting the vehicle's controls with a soft touch. "But hungry."

Victória raised an eyebrow, reclining in the seat with elegance. "Hungry?"

"Yes." Kael replied, throwing her an ambiguous look that gleamed under the lenses. "But for something else."

She slapped his arm. "Kael!"

"What? I just said I was hungry. You're the one who thought nonsense."

"You only have that face when you're thinking nonsense." she retorted, trying to look offended and failing miserably.

The car started smoothly, sliding through Cryon's hidden streets that led to the Noble Complex, a set of residences and diplomatic facilities that seemed sculpted by angel engineers.

During the ride, Victória took off her dark glasses and relaxed against the seat.

"So then…" she began, resuming the professional tone. "How are the media preparations for the plan?"

Kael typed a command on the car's panel, activating the signal lockdown protocol. "Everything under control. The fake Tycoon-Phoenix project is scheduled to be presented tomorrow. The Empire already planted three "accidental" leaks in diplomatic channels. So far, the international community is biting the bait."

"Perfect." Victória said, crossing her legs with a slight smile. "And the journalists? Any idiot trying to dig for too much information?"

"A press group tried to bribe the Cryon ambassador. He sent them away with a subtle public message: 'In Cryon, those who dig ice find bones.'" Kael replied with a calm smile.

Victória let out a satisfied chuckle. "I like that. Stylish messages."

Kael briefly turned his face toward her. "Style is what you have in abundance. The media will devour you tomorrow. Are you ready to be called the cold empress of the global emotional capital?"

Victória smiled slowly, eyes shining. "They better be ready. Because tomorrow… the whole world will realize that the true empire is the one that knows how to dominate narrative and silhouette at the same time."

And the Lamborghini disappeared into the luxurious fog of Cryon's underground avenues.

Minutes later, the Lamborghini passed through the biometric gates of Cryon's Noble Complex like a stylized shadow. The environment, despite still being in the heart of a polar continent, seemed something out of a dream tempered by Tycoon engineer-gods.

Ahead of them, Kael's private mansion, an architectural masterpiece of three floors, built with materials imported from four continents, rose like a monument to refined aesthetics and well-cultivated ego. The outer walls alternated between tempered anti-snow glass and black panels with thermal containment runes. Everything heated with underground systems energized by solar cores hidden beneath the ice.

And around the mansion?

Vibrant green grass, alive as if born under the tropical sun. Indoor and outdoor gardens with exotic flowers.

And even with snow present here and there, the gigantic, carefully arranged trees blocked the most aggressive winds, forming a natural and perfectly calculated dome of protection against the glacial cold.

It was... unreal. And absolutely stunning.

Victória widened her eyes seeing the extent of the place. "Is this real? It looks like someone pulled a piece of spring and threw it here at the Pole." she commented, fascinated.

Kael, with a half smile, maneuvered the car to stop gently in front of the main entrance. But before she could continue questioning, he unbuckled his belt and exited silently.

Victória frowned, opening her mouth to ask. "Wait... Kael, why aren't we going straight to the Palace? Shouldn't we see your father?"

He did not answer.

He just walked around the car with determined and firm steps, his overcoat swaying like an imperial cape in the wind.

He opened the passenger door.

"Kael?"

He leaned in, looked deep into her eyes... and then, took her in his arms with ceremonial precision.

"Kael!"

"Silence. Now you are a temporary princess being carried to the castle." he said with that playful smile on his lips, but the look... the look was pure contained desire.

Victória, defeated by the irresistible little play, let out a chuckle and settled in his arms. "This is diplomatic kidnapping."

"This is extreme emotional necessity." he retorted.

They passed through the main door, which opened with iris-DNA recognition, and entered a hall that mixed black marble, live wood panels, and floor heaters embedded that emitted subtle warmth as if the whole house breathed softly.

Kael walked with her to the center of the hall, with a fireplace in the background, and there, finally, carefully put her down.

But before Victória could catch her breath, he pulled her again, now from behind, pressing their bodies with almost military precision and kissed her.

First, a light touch. Then, as if wanting to make up for all the seconds he could not touch her, the kiss deepened, hands holding her waist firmly, fingers sliding to her neck, while she surrendered between muffled sighs.

She pulled away just enough to smile between kisses, lips still touching his.

"...Kael..."

"Hmm?"

"I'm hungry."

He stopped. Rested his forehead on hers. And smiled with closed eyes. "Me too."

"Really hungry for food, okay?" she said with a playful look. "No metaphorical interpretations now."

"I promise to behave." he murmured, although his hand was still resting on her hip with not-so-behaved intentions.

"Really?"

"Okay. Sixty-seven percent chance. The rest depends on what you say while chewing."

She laughed, turned, and walked toward the dining room, which looked like a heated art gallery, with panoramic windows and a polished black wooden table reflecting the amber ceiling lights.

Kael followed behind, opening a hidden panel in the wall that revealed a gourmet kitchen where an automated chef was already working — thanks to the mansion's AI.

"See?" said Kael, sitting casually at the end of the table. "I didn't even need to do anything. The house recognizes you as someone who deserves to be fed like a goddess."

Victória sat on the other side, crossing her legs with imperial elegance. "Good. Because my hunger is directly proportional to my level of longing. And both are dangerously excessive."

Kael tilted his head. "Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise."

They smiled together.

Moments later, in the center, a sequence of hot dishes slid silently along the floating track of the smart kitchen — polar mushroom cream with black truffles, crispy salmon over rare root puree, and small side dishes so well arranged they looked like edible jewels.

Victória prepared to serve herself, but before she could take the cutlery, Kael leaned with a spoon already served with the first dish.

"Open your mouth." he said with a smile softer than teasing.

"Are you feeding me now?" she asked, laughing suspiciously.

"Of course. I'm in needy mode. Let me make up for the months without seeing you."

Victória blinked, made a slight fake grimace, and opened her mouth with theatrical resignation. "Only because I'm hungry... and you have that cute abandoned dog face."

He smiled, satisfied, and brought the spoon to her lips with affection. She chewed slowly, sighing with pleasure at the impeccable flavor.

"Hmm... it's divine." she murmured.

Kael repeated the gesture, serving another spoonful calmly.

"So then…" he began, voice low. "How was it… after we separated in New York?"

Victória chewed silently, then put the spoon on the table, wiped her lips with the napkin, and looked at him with an expression mixing sincerity and emotional exhaustion.

"My father called me." she said firmly. "He said it was better for me to stay away from you."

Kael raised an eyebrow, unsurprised... but with that spark of discreet discomfort in his eyes.

"Go on."

She crossed her legs, rested her elbows on the table, and intertwined her fingers. "According to him, I… the ignorant daughter… was putting the Lancaster family name in the mud. And the engagement with Liam Albrights, remember him? The idiot. That was the plan. The programmed, sealed, calculated future. Marry the heir boy of the Argall County, strengthen the line of economic alliances, merge industrial sectors…"

"…and make sure you were a luxury doll with a symbolic crown." Kael finished, with subtle coldness.

Victória smiled… but it was a sad smile. A smile with a scar. "That's it."

Kael shook his head slowly, took a glass, drank a short sip of wine, and murmured. "Well… it's clear you didn't follow the family's orders."

"Clearly." she laughed softly, but with melancholy. "My father, Edmund Lancaster, always had this obsession with the Albrights House. For him, Argall County is like a toy he never managed to control… and thinks he can swallow little by little if he puts his daughter as the heir's wife. But…"

She sighed and looked out the window. Snow fell lightly, pushed away by the giant leaves of the designed trees. There was beauty there. But also isolation.

"…he knows that the idiot Liam wasn't born to inherit a trillion-dollar County. He is a time bomb who looks like a generic soap-opera heartthrob avatar." she concluded.

Kael smiled sideways, but there was something darker in his tone when he answered. "You're right. Liam has been wasting the last two months in parties, with drug, prostitution scandals, and… investing billions in dubious projects. My analysis teams classified his investments as 'assisted self-sabotage.'"

Victória laughed but it was a low, contained… painful laugh.

"So it's not just my impression." she said, lowering her eyes. "After my father's call… I cut. Everything. Family, titles, invitations. Even my bank account was temporarily frozen by Lancaster Corp. It only unfroze after the girls recognized me as CEO."

Kael watched her for a few seconds. His eyes had no pity — they had pride.

"You were stronger than they deserved." he said firmly. "Cutting the blood… requires more courage than keeping dead alliances."

She smiled… but now with a sparkle in her eyes that didn't come only from the ceiling light.

"I love you, Kael." she murmured softly.

He leaned on the table, taking her hand. "I know. And I'll never ask you to change for anyone. Not even for me. Just stay. Just keep being… you."

They stayed there, holding hands, between spoonfuls and swallowed truths, while dinner went on.

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