BOUND TO THE DEVIL

I spent the next three days pretending nothing had changed.I went to class. I came home. I locked myself in my room.But every time I looked at the calendar hanging above my desk, my stomach twisted.The wedding was getting closer.Every day felt like another step toward a life I hadn't chosen.A knock sounded on my bedroom door."Come in."Maria stepped inside, smoothing her apron nervously."Your father wants you downstairs."I sighed."What now?"She hesitated before answering."The De Luca family is hosting the engagement dinner tonight."My heart sank.Tonight?I hadn't even had time to prepare myself."I don't want to go.""I know," Maria said softly. "But your father is already waiting."I closed my eyes for a moment before standing.There was no point arguing.Not anymore.By the time I reached the living room, my father was checking his watch impatiently."You're late.""I was getting dressed."His eyes traveled over my dark green dress.It was elegant but simple, exactly th

"They're coming for you."The words echoed in my head long after Matteo said them.Before I could ask another question, a loud alarm rang through the mansion. The sharp, piercing sound bounced off the walls, making me flinch.The office door flew open."Boss!" one of the guards called, breathing heavily. "The east gate cameras have gone offline."Matteo didn't panic.If anything, he became even calmer."Lock every entrance," he ordered. "No one gets in or out without my permission.""Yes, Boss."The guard disappeared as quickly as he'd arrived.I stared at Matteo, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it was trying to break free from my chest."What is happening?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. "Who are they?"He didn't answer immediately.Instead, he picked up the brown envelope from his desk and looked down at the photographs again.The pictures of me.Walking across campus.Leaving a café.Standing outside my own bedroom window.Someone had been following me without me

The silence in the mansion stretched for several agonizing seconds, pressing down on us like a living thing. It wasn't the peaceful silence of a sleeping house. It was the kind that came after violence—the kind that warned another storm was waiting just around the corner.Every guard stood frozen, their weapons trained on the grand staircase. Years of training had taught them not to panic, but I could still see the tension in the way their shoulders stiffened and their fingers hovered over the triggers. Even the most experienced among them looked uneasy.No one spoke.No one dared.The only sound was the frantic pounding of my own heartbeat.I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breathing, but it was impossible. Every breath caught in my throat, leaving my chest painfully tight.Without realizing it, my fingers curled around Matteo's sleeve.His black jacket felt cool beneath my trembling hand.I expected him to pull away.He didn't.Instead, I felt him shift ever so slightly closer,

The stranger's words lingered in the air long after he fell silent.Every eye in the hallway turned toward Matteo.For the first time since I'd met him, he looked trapped.Not by the guards.Not by the stranger.By the truth.His expression remained unreadable, but the slight tightening of his jaw and the way his fingers curled into fists betrayed him. His silence spoke louder than any answer he could have given.I searched his face, desperate for something—anything—that would tell me this was all some twisted lie."You're lying," I whispered.I wasn't sure whether I was speaking to the stranger...Or trying to convince myself.A low laugh escaped the stranger's lips.It echoed through the mansion, cold and humorless."Am I?" he asked.His confidence made my stomach tighten.Matteo took a single step forward, placing himself firmly between us once again."Leave her out of this," he said, his voice sharp enough to silence the hallway.The stranger's smile faded into something almost pi