07|I had married the devil.

Celeste pov.

He caught it.

I wasn’t surprised, of course he would.

I didn’t flinch, didn’t show any pain as his hand tightened around my wrist, hard enough that I was sure it would leave a bruise. Before I could even process what was happening, he yanked me toward him by the arm, forcing me to meet his furious gaze, his face just inches away from mine.

“How dare you” He hissed and time seemed to stop as he stared at me with a look intense enough to freeze my entire body. I had never seen him this angry before.

Even though Ethan was a horrible man, he was never the type to lose his composure. He always made sure his expression remained neutral and cool, never revealing his emotions because, according to him, that’s what made a good politician: the ability to maintain a flawless facade.

And that was exactly why I knew I had pushed him past his limits.

I wasn’t sure where the courage came from, but I had been pushed to mine too and at this point, I didn’t care.

The corner of my lips curved into a humorless smirk, and I didn’t back down from his glare.

“How dare me? Are you seriously asking me that? You lot are such hypocrites. When you do something horrible to me, it’s because I deserve it, because it’s somehow my role to just accept any nonsense you throw at me."

I leaned closer, jabbing a finger at his chest as the frustration of all these years came pouring out at once.

“I’ve had enough of your nonsense! You didn’t just cheat on me, you had the audacity to ask me to take the child as mine? Are you in your right mind? Or wait—"

I tilted my head slightly and chuckled.

“Did you really think I loved you enough to do that? Don’t delude yourself, Ethan. I don’t even like you. I was only tolerating all of this garbage for the sake of peace. But you? You messed up this time.”

His brows furrowed at my words, and I swallowed back a whimper as his hand tightened around my wrist, yet he didn’t say a word. I knew it was because he didn’t want to react or lash out.

Even though I didn’t love this bastard standing in front of me, I could read him like a book. I always knew what he was thinking, he wasn’t the kind of man to express himself. Whether he was upset about a meeting or just wasn’t in the mood to see anyone, I knew. And I always made sure everything was arranged in his favor.

So, you could say I was more of a maid than a wife. Well… soon-to-be ex-wife, anyway.

“L-Look at how she’s speaking to you. Are you crazy? How dare you speak to my son that way!”

My mother-in-law’s shriek pierced the air, but I didn’t pay her any attention. Honestly, she was like a dog— give people like her the tiniest bit of attention, and they come baring their fangs.

“C-Ceslete…”

That voice, however, caught my attention.

My gaze flickered from Ethan to Liora, who had gotten up from her seat, her teary eyes fixed on me. I watched as my mother rushed to her side, holding onto her like she was the most fragile, delicate thing in the world.

“Liora, dear, are you okay?” she asked worriedly.

Liora shook her head and wiped her tears. Without breaking eye contact with me, she muttered,

“Ceslete, I know you’re angry and upset about everything, but please try to understand and don’t be mad at brother-in-law. W-We didn’t want this to happen, but we can’t change anything now. So let’s just forget everything that’s happened.”

She took a step forward and gave a small nod.

“I know you don’t want this family to fall apart, so you should call your lawyer and the reporter and take it all back… before it’s too late.”

Then, she shifted her gaze to Ethan and for a brief moment, I saw a flicker of something in her eyes. Something dangerously close to love.

“For brother-in-law’s sake.”

“My goodness, such a good child. Why didn’t God make you my daughter-in-law instead of this wench?” my mother-in-law cried out dramatically, and I could hear Madison laughing in the background.

But as I watched Liora, I couldn’t help but finally see clearly all the things I had been blind to.

The way she’d stare at Ethan a little too long, the way she’d blush whenever he was near, the way she’d constantly say how lucky I was, that no one was as good as Ethan, and how if she had him, she’d be happy.

But maybe I hadn’t been blind all along. Maybe I had felt it, known it deep down but chose to ignore it. Because no matter how horribly these people treated me, I still believed my sister couldn’t possibly sleep with my husband.

How ironic. I’d been wrong this whole time.

“You are disgusting and shameless, Liora,” I spat, my glare making her flinch. “You’re calling the man who had his dick in you just yesterday your brother-in-law? I know you’re an actress, but please, drop the act. Everyone here is as horrible as you, so who are you trying to fool?”

Her eyes widened at my words, and just as I expected, she began to cry, hands flying to her face,

“Celeste!” my mother snapped.

“I-I’m so sorry, Celeste. You must be really upset… I didn’t mean to hurt you—”

“Then why did you trick me into signing a prenuptial agreement?!” I roared, surging forward, but Ethan held me back as my mother quickly pulled the stunned Liora behind her.

“Why did you sleep with my husband if you didn’t want to hurt me? Why did you betray me?” My voice cracked. “You keep saying you didn’t want to hurt me, but your actions say otherwise! I trusted you, Liora. Out of everyone, it was you I trusted!”

I had told myself not to lose my composure, but the pain, the betrayal from Liora was too much to bear.

“C-Celeste…” she began, but before she could finish, Ethan suddenly yanked my arm and started dragging me toward the room, forcing me to stumble along behind him.

“Let me go!” I screamed, struggling to free myself, but he was far stronger than me. As we reached the stairway, I winced as my foot slammed against the ground, nearly slipping, if not for his tight grip keeping me upright.

“What are you doing?! Let go of me right now, you bastard!” My heart pounded wildly in my chest as he pushed open my bedroom door, dragged me inside, and tossed me to the ground before turning to lock the door behind him.

I whimpered as pain shot through me, but the fear quickly overshadowed it when I saw how furious I seemed to make Ethan.

“W-What are you doing? Why are you locking the door?” I stammered, scooting backward to put as much distance between us as I could, my eyes fixed on his cold, unreadable gaze, one so void of emotion it sent a shiver crawling down my spine.

I watched in fear as he sighed and ran a hand through his hair before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone.

“Celeste, you seem to have forgotten your place,” he said as he began walking toward me, making me instinctively move back despite telling myself not to be scared of him. That I should keep pretending to be tough, since that was the only way to escape this marriage.

But if there was anyone who had a right to fear a man like Ethan, it was me because I knew just how cruel he could be. I knew the terrifying demons he hid from the world.

I exhaled sharply as my back hit the wall and Ethan crouched to my level, his eyes locked on mine as he tilted his head slightly to the side.

“I should remind you who exactly you’re dealing with,” he muttered, and without another word, he tapped on his phone, the sharp sound of ringing cutting through the room.

And then…

“Good morning, Mr. Ethan. I’ve received the payment, thank you so much. I assure you I won’t publish the news, but please look after your wife… she might meet someone else…”

My eyes widened as I recognized Jace’s voice on the other end of the line, but what truly made my heart drop to the pit of my stomach was the way Ethan’s eyes gleamed with something dark as he watched the fear spread across my face.

In that moment, I came to a terrifying realization,

I had married the devil.