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9. The world will call you by my shadow

Author: Anne Joyce
last update Last Updated: 2025-07-05 21:25:07

I stepped out of the walk-in closet with my mind still tangled in numbers, documents, and questions. But one clear thing was this house wasn’t just a place to live. It was a fortress, maybe even a shrine. This house was a leftover piece of hundreds of stories that were never finished.

My eyes lifted toward the upper landing with the glass railing, just above that massive bed. A narrow spiral staircase rose from the corner of the room, almost hidden behind long curtains.

The space upstairs was larger than I expected. Like a private mezzanine tucked away. The walls were lined with shelves. Books, folders, scrolls, and old wooden boxes neatly stacked from floor to ceiling. And in the center of it all stood a long wooden table, its surface scratched and worn by time.

Behind the main shelves, I spotted a long glass cabinet. Inside it were names written by hand in slanted, elegant, and cold letters.

Names.

Not book titles or artifacts, but names of people.

Names of women.

Some crossed out.
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  • Sinful Bond: The Devil's Temptation   9. The world will call you by my shadow

    I stepped out of the walk-in closet with my mind still tangled in numbers, documents, and questions. But one clear thing was this house wasn’t just a place to live. It was a fortress, maybe even a shrine. This house was a leftover piece of hundreds of stories that were never finished.My eyes lifted toward the upper landing with the glass railing, just above that massive bed. A narrow spiral staircase rose from the corner of the room, almost hidden behind long curtains.The space upstairs was larger than I expected. Like a private mezzanine tucked away. The walls were lined with shelves. Books, folders, scrolls, and old wooden boxes neatly stacked from floor to ceiling. And in the center of it all stood a long wooden table, its surface scratched and worn by time.Behind the main shelves, I spotted a long glass cabinet. Inside it were names written by hand in slanted, elegant, and cold letters.Names. Not book titles or artifacts, but names of people.Names of women.Some crossed out.

  • Sinful Bond: The Devil's Temptation   8. You’re mine in the eyes of the world

    “Give me your last name,” I said calmly, but every word carried weight. “Ravencroft.”Ash didn’t respond right away. He just raised a brow, like he couldn’t decide if he misheard me or was just too amused to care.“That’s … not a typical request,” he finally said.“I want to be Lena Ravencroft,” I continued, folding my legs on the couch and turning fully to face him. “I want that name to be official. On papers. On my ID. On everything I touch when I return.”He studied me for a few seconds. “Ah,” he said eventually. “So this is marriage to you?”I didn’t answer, but I didn’t deny it either.He leaned his head back against the couch, stared at the ceiling, and let out a low chuckle. “Lena, Lena … I don’t do marriage.”“Why?” I asked, sharper than intended.He turned his head lazily back toward me. That relaxed posture vanished from his eyes, replaced with something colder.“Because marriage is a human thing. Ceremonies. Empty vows. Legal chains that humans don’t even respect themselves

  • Sinful Bond: The Devil's Temptation   7. Which one do we start with?

    I picked up a piece of bread, spread some butter on it, and took a small bite. The food… was good. Too good. Everything felt too cozy. Too perfect. And that made me even more suspicious.I glanced sideways at Ash. “In our deal,” I began, “you said you'd be my slave and do whatever I want. I’m wondering how far that actually goes?”He raised an eyebrow, casually resting his arm along the back of the sofa, like he had all the time in the world. “Care to test it?”“Let’s just say I’m curious.”“You can order me to cook, clean your room, or fly you around the world. You can ask me to get rid of anyone. Kill, conquer, destroy, or just … twist reality—just name them.”I was quiet for a moment, letting his words settle. “So,” I murmured, thinking out loud, “I can really make you do anything?”Ash smirked. “As long as you’re ready to face the consequences.”“Consequences?”“We’ve talked about this, little lamb,” he said patiently—but that damned mouth of his smirked again. “You give me your w

  • Sinful Bond: The Devil's Temptation   6. Did you poison it?

    Warm steam wrapped around my skin as I stepped into the bathroom—or more accurately, the private spa room. The floor was heated marble, the ceiling high with a soft, luxurious chandelier. The shower flowed like a waterfall, and the bathtub was large enough to drown in. Every soap and shampoo smelled faintly expensive. It felt like I was being bathed in heaven… if only I wasn’t aware I was living with the devil. I walked under the shower, letting the water soak me completely. The anti-fog mirror reflected my pale face, damp hair clinging to my shoulders. It wasn’t just my body I wanted to scrub clean. My thoughts were far filthier. What have I done? I stared at my wrist—no longer bleeding. The wound was gone, but the guilt was deeper. I had traded my life … for a contract I didn’t even fully understand. And yet, I couldn’t lie. A small part of me didn’t regret it. That was the most terrifying part. After the shower, I pulled on one of

  • Sinful Bond: The Devil's Temptation   5. Seal this contract with a kiss

    “Yeah,” I whispered, barely a sound. “I agree.”A satisfied smile spread on his lips—not some cheap victory grin, but like a king finally seeing his kingdom bow at his feet.“Just as I thought,” he muttered.He then grabbed my hand, flipped it over, and kissed the wrist where I once cut myself. The scars were gone, but the pain inside wasn’t.“Now,” he said softly, pulling me up to follow him. His movements were graceful, but there was strength in them, the kind that made the air shift. “We begin.”He closed his eyes, and in a blink, the room changed. The light dimmed. A scent of incense I hadn’t noticed before crept through the air like invisible fog. A glowing blood-red circle appeared under our feet.His body started to shimmer faintly. He raised his hand and began chanting something in a language I didn’t know—something that made the hair on my neck stand up.Then, suddenly, he stopped. His gaze locked onto me.He stepped closer, the light around him flickering unstable. His face

  • Sinful Bond: The Devil's Temptation   4. You called for me in the end

    “Take them all down!”Silence. Like the air itself was holding its breath. Then … everything changed.The ceiling lights started shaking, buzzing like they were breaking from the inside. Wind blew—though there was no open window. The room filled with a sharp, burnt smell of sulfur, followed by a faint vibration creeping up from the floor, like something huge was rising from underground.The guy who just injected me froze, his face pale. “What the hell is going on …?” he whispered.The others started seeing it too—Ash, slowly solidifying right in front of them. Before, he was just a shadow in the corner of my eye, but now he was fully there, real, alive, and deadly.“There’s someone there!” one of the men yelled—the one who’d yanked my hair.“Who the hell are you?! How did you get in?!”Ash didn’t answer. He just grinned, those glowing red eyes of his reflecting the growing panic on their faces. He stepped forward slowly, and each step sounded like thunder pounding in my chest.He rais

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