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Chapter 21: Deliberate Teasing
publish date:
2026-06-18 15:36:26
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Surrendering To The Devil I Married Chapter 32: What The Dead Leave Behind
The call came on a Thursday.I was in the middle of folding laundry… something the mansion staff would have done without being asked, but I needed something to do with my hands that morning. The folding helped. The repetition of it. Shirt, sleeve, sleeve, fold. Shirt, sleeve, sleeve, fold. A rhythm small enough to live inside when everything else felt too large.My phone buzzed on the dresser. Natalia's name on the screen.I almost didn't answer. We hadn't spoken since the last visit, and that conversation had left marks. But something made me pick up, some old reflex, some part of me that still believed bad news was better faced directly."She's gone," Natalia said. No greeting. No softening. "Last night. Heart failure, they're saying."The shirt in my hands went still."Aurora." Her voice sharpened the way it did when she wanted a reaction and wasn't getting one fast enough. "Did you hear me? Mother is dead.""I heard you," I said.A pause. I could hear her breathing. "The funeral i
Surrendering To The Devil I Married Chapter 31: Not Tonight
The study was dark when I finally came downstairs.I hadn't meant to. I'd spent an hour staring at the ceiling in my room, running my fingers over the places on my shoulders where his hands had been, replaying the way his breathing had changed, the way his forehead had almost touched mine. The way he'd pulled back like I'd burned him.Not like this, he'd said.What did that mean? Not like this. Like this was wrong, or like this wasn't the right moment, or like he was one breath away from something he couldn't take back and he knew it?I gave up on sleep around midnight and wrapped a cardigan around myself and went downstairs, not thinking about where I was going until I was already standing in the hallway outside his study door.The light was on underneath it.I almost turned around. I told myself to turn around. My feet didn't move.I knocked twice, light, like I wasn't sure I wanted an answer."Come in."His voice was rough. Tired. I pushed the door open.He was at his desk, jacket
Surrendering To The Devil I Married Chapter 30: Fractured Control
The hospital visit had shifted something between us. Lucian had been quieter since we returned, but his eyes followed me everywhere. During breakfast the next morning, he didn’t sit across from me like usual. Instead, he pulled out the chair right beside his.“Sit here tonight,” he said, voice low but firm.I hesitated for a second before sitting down. The closeness made everything feel heavier. Mrs. Hale served the food, and for the first few minutes we ate in silence. But I could feel him watching me, his shoulder occasionally brushing mine when he reached for something. Every small contact sent a spark through me.Finally, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I turned to face him. “Why are you doing this, Lucian? One minute you’re cold and giving me rules, the next you’re holding my hand in the car or pulling me close during the storm. I don’t understand you. Your mixed signals are driving me crazy.”He set his fork down slowly and turned to me. His grey eyes were dark and intense. “You
Surrendering To The Devil I Married Chapter 29: Declining Shadows
Mrs. Hale found me in the library the next morning. Her face was serious, and she spoke gently. “Miss Aurora, there’s news from the Sinclair house. Isadora’s condition has gotten much worse. The doctors are very concerned.”I set my book down slowly, my stomach twisting. “Worse how?”“They said it’s some kind of mysterious illness. She’s very weak now. They’re not sure how much time she has.”The words hit me hard. I stood up, feeling unsteady. Isadora had been cruel for so many years, but there was still that small part of me that remembered the woman who used to bake cookies with me and read bedtime stories. The woman who had once felt like a mother.“I need to see her,” I said when Lucian came down for breakfast. My voice shook. “Please, Lucian. Just one visit. I know she hurt me, but I can’t just pretend she doesn’t exist.”Lucian looked at me for a long moment, his jaw tight. “It’s not safe, Aurora. Reginald and Natalia are still there.”“I know,” I replied, stepping closer. “But
Surrendering To The Devil I Married Chapter 28: The Storm
The storm hit hard and fast. One minute the sky was calm, the next the wind was slamming against the windows like it wanted inside. I was curled up in the library with a book when the lights flickered. Once. Twice. Then everything went black.I sat still, heart pounding. The sudden darkness made the big house feel even bigger and lonelier. Thunder rumbled in the distance. I stood up slowly, using my phone flashlight to find my way.“Aurora?” Lucian’s voice called from somewhere down the hall. He sounded tense.“I’m in the library,” I called back.His footsteps came closer. He appeared in the doorway holding a flashlight. “Power’s out. Probably the whole area. Come to the living room. The fireplace is going.”I followed him through the dark corridors. Mrs. Hale had already lit candles on the coffee table. The room glowed with soft, flickering light. Lucian added more wood to the fireplace and poked at it until the flames grew stronger.“Sit down,” he said, pointing to the couch.I sat,
Surrendering To The Devil I Married Chapter 27: The Midnight Library
I couldn’t sleep. The warm bath from earlier kept replaying in my head. Even with the medicine, my body felt restless. Hot in a way that had nothing to do with the fever anymore.I tossed and turned for hours before finally giving up. The clock on the nightstand read 12:17 a.m. I slipped on a robe over my nightdress and quietly left my room. The mansion was completely silent. I made my way to the main library, hoping a book would distract me.The room was dark, I turned on a small lamp and started browsing the shelves, running my fingers along the spines. I needed something comforting, something that would take me far away from this confusing house and the man who lived in it.I pulled out an old copy of Jane Eyre and settled into the armchair by the window. But even the words on the page couldn’t hold my attention. My mind kept drifting back to Lucian, the way his body had reacted when he saw me naked.The sound of footsteps made me look up sharply.Lucian stood in the doorway, still
Surrendering To The Devil I Married Chapter 5: The Devil Arrives
The morning after Father’s ultimatum, I barely slept. I kept replaying the conversation in the study and hoping something would change, that maybe the Dravens would need weeks or months to arrange things. Time for me to breathe. Time to find another way out.But by ten o’clock, the doorbell rang.M
Surrendering To The Devil I Married Chapter 4: The Price of Blood
Natalia’s taunts had become background noise, and Isadora’s cold stares barely registered anymore. But the ache in my chest never left. Every time I passed my bedroom door, I remembered Ethan and Natalia. Every time Father smiled at me, I clung to that small comfort.The next morning, I was in the
Surrendering To The Devil I Married Chapter 3: Faded Warmth
I sat on the edge of my bed that night, staring at the wall like it might give me answers. The house was finally quiet. Father had gone to his study after dinner, Isadora and Natalia were probably out at some event, and Evelyn had finished her evening chores. My body ached from the day’s work, but
Surrendering To The Devil I Married Chapter 2: Everyday Cruelty
The next morning came too soon. I barely slept, tossing and turning in the same bed where I’d caught them the day before. I’d changed the sheets myself at midnight, scrubbing at invisible stains until my hands were raw, but it didn’t matter. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Ethan’s face, heard Na
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