Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Eve

Then the handsome stranger let out a low, soft laugh

My stomach dropped. This wasn’t supposed to be a joke.

He stepped toward me, and I instinctively shifted back. “What are you doing?” I asked.

“Tell me,” he said slowly, his eyes locked onto mine, “what kind of couple, real or fake, gets married only to live under separate roofs?”

“I—well…” I blinked, trying to regroup. “Wait. Are you saying you’re actually considering this?” A tiny, hopeful smile sneaked out before I could stop it.

He folded his arms over his chest. “No. I’m not interested.” His voice went cold. “Now, if you would excuse me…”

He turned ready to walk away.

“Wait,” I said quickly, stepping in front of him before he could take another step.

He paused, looking down at me with that calm, unreadable expression that made me feel like I was the only one flustered here.

I reached into my purse with fingers that trembled more than I wanted to admit and pulled out a small white card. My name. My number. My email. My company. Everything about my life summarized in neat black ink.

I held it out to him.

“This is my card,” I said quietly. “If you… if you ever reconsider. Even a little. Just reach out to me. I have little time left… please.”

He stared at it for a moment, then looked back at me as if he wasn’t sure whether to laugh again or take me seriously. I swallowed hard.

“I’m not asking you to commit to anything right now,” I added. “I’m just giving you a way to reach me if you ever change your mind.”

***

Four days passed, and still no call. No text.

Nothing.

I kept checking my phone like a fool, hoping the screen would light up even by mistake. Instead, all I saw were messages from the wedding planner and a few distant relatives and friends asking about the “new update.” I wanted to scream. The marriage still stood, the venue was still booked, and the guests were expecting any announcement at all. Meanwhile, Mia was still glued to her computer, searching for a man online who could play my groom, but every name she brought up made me want to bury myself alive. Teenagers. Married men. Obvious fraudsters. Old men who could barely stand.

It was just humiliating. And exhausting.

At one point, Mia placed her hand on my shoulder and whispered an apology. “It’s my fault… I shouldn’t have said the marriage still stands.”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it. This isn’t about that anymore. It’s about my father’s empire. I can’t let them take it. I need a husband.”

After an hour of no success, I stood up before the tears could fall. I needed to be alone. Maybe cry into my pillow, maybe scream into it. Anything.

Just then, my phone rang.

My heart sank, thinking it was the wedding planner again. But when I checked the screen, it was an unknown number.

My breath caught. My finger shook as I swiped to answer.

“Hello?” I whispered.

A deep, familiar, smooth voice filled the line.

“I’m the man you met at the bar the other night. I’d like to talk more about your… proposal. If you don’t mind, we can meet at your place.”

My heart jumped.

“Sure. Yes—sure. I’ll send my location,” I said quickly, nodding vigorously.

The moment I ended the call, I sent the address. Mia rushed over immediately.

“What happened??”

I took a breath. “Remember the guy I told you about—the one from the bar? I think… I think he’s considering the proposal. He’s coming here to talk about it.”

Mia’s jaw dropped. “Oh my goodness, Eve. Why would you invite him here? What if he’s dangerous? You don’t even know his name.”

“What choice do I have?” I asked, frustration and panic twisting inside me. “We have only a day, Mia. Twenty four plus hours before I lose everything. I have to take the risk.”

She opened her mouth to fight me, but nothing came out. Instead, she sighed heavily and muttered, “Fine. Just be vigilant when he comes.”

I simply nodded and hurried upstairs, washed my face, changed into a soft dress, brushed my hair, added light makeup; something elegant but not desperate. My hands trembled the entire time.

When I finally came downstairs, Mia was standing by the window with a horrified look on her face.

“Hell no,” she whispered.

My heart skipped. “What is it?”

She pointed at the driveway.

I followed her finger, and the moment I saw him stepping out of an expensive car, tall and composed with his dark hair pushed back neatly, I noticed the color drain from Mia’s face.

“Is he the one?” she asked.

“Yes,” I breathed.

“No. No, Eve, absolutely not. It’s better you pick Nate again and again than him. What are you thinking?”

“Are you crazy?” I spat. “I don’t care. He’s the only option—”

“I don’t care either!” Mia hissed. “That man is the devil himself. Don’t you recognize him? He’s the newly appointed Alpha of the pack.”

My eyes widened.

Sage Hawthorne.

The devil Alpha himself.

I had heard the rumors—the brutal way he took power, the cold warnings, the reputation he built in months after returning from abroad. He was feared. Respected. Untouchable.

Before I could respond, there was a knock on the door.

My breath stopped.

“Miss Ridge, are you in?” his deep voice called from outside, echoing through the hall.

I swallowed hard, my heart thudding painfully. Mia looked at me with wide eyes, silently begging me to run.

“Eve, please, you cant…”

“Go upstairs,” I whispered. “I’ll take care of this.”

“But—”

“Go.”

She hesitated, then ran up the stairs as the knocking came again, firmer this time.

I pressed a hand to my chest, took a shaky breath, and moved toward the door. Now that I knew who he really was, it was time to tell him I wasn’t interested in the proposal anymore.

When I opened the door and saw him standing there, tall and composed with that unreadable expression, my heart was pounding for all the wrong reasons. He looked at me lightly and asked, “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

The answer was no. I wasn’t letting him step inside, and I wasn’t letting this go any further. I was ready to tell him that whatever arrangement we discussed was no longer happening. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could get a single word out, someone called my name.

I turned and saw Aunt Clarissa walking toward us, waving like she had just run into old friends instead of interrupting the disaster unfolding on my porch.

“Well, if it isn’t my little niece,” she said, beaming as she stepped closer.

I froze where I stood. My brain shut down instantly. Of all possible moments for her to appear, it had to be now — right when I was about to send away the one man I never should have brought here in the first place. I stood trapped between the man I needed to push out of my life and the aunt with the worst timing imaginable.