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Chapter Twelve;The Devil’s Bargain
publish date:
2026-09-25 16:08:02JULIAN POV
I did not answer her.
I did not say yes. I did not say no. I just sat there. Staring at her. Staring at the words she had just spoken. Staring at the offer she had just made.
Her life insurance policy. If something happens to her, you get everything.
The words echoed in my head. Over and over. Like a drumbeat. Like a warning. Like a temptation.
I stood up. I walked to the window. I looked out at the city. The city was bright. The city was beautiful. The city was full of people who had no idea what was happening in this room.
"I need to think," I said.
"Think about what?" Serena asked.
"Everything."
"There is nothing to think about. She is going to destroy you. You know that. I know that. Everyone knows that. The only question is what you are going to do about it."
I did not answer.
"You can sit here and wait for her to take everything. You can watch her walk into that courtroom and testify against you. You can let her win. Or you can do something about it."
I turned around. I looked at her. She was still sitting on the bed. The sheet was wrapped around her. Her hair was loose. Her eyes were cold. She looked like a woman who had already won.
"I am not a murderer," I said.
She laughed. A short, cold laugh. A laugh that held no humor. A laugh that held only contempt.
"You are not a murderer," she repeated. "But you are a thief. You are a liar. You are a cheater. You took your wife's company. You took her money. You took her life. And you did it all without blinking."
I did not speak.
"You destroyed her. You replaced her. You threw her away like she was nothing. And now you are telling me you are not a murderer?"
I did not speak.
"You are already a murderer, Julian. You just have not admitted it yet."
I stared at her.
"What are you talking about?"
"The baby," she said. "The baby she lost. The baby you never mourned. The baby you replaced with your son."
I felt my blood run cold.
"That was not my fault."
"Was it not?"
"I did not know."
"You did not care."
I did not speak.
"You did not care that she was grieving. You did not care that she was alone. You did not care that she was dying inside. You were too busy celebrating your new son. Your new family. Your new life."
I did not speak.
"You killed her, Julian. Maybe not with your hands. But with your choices. With your lies. With your betrayal. You killed the woman she used to be."
I felt something break inside me.
Something I had been holding together for years.
Something I had been pretending was still whole.
"You are wrong," I said. But my voice was weak. My voice was broken. My voice was full of doubt.
"Am I?"
I did not answer.
"You know I am not."
I did not answer.
"You know what you did. You know what you are. You have just been too much of a coward to admit it."
I sat down on the edge of the bed.
I put my head in my hands.
I did not speak.
I did not move.
I just sat there.
And for the first time in my life, I understood what I had done.
---
SERENA POV
I watched him break.
I watched him sit down on the edge of the bed. I watched him put his head in his hands. I watched him crumble. It was beautiful. It was exactly what I had been waiting for.
He was weak now. He was broken now. He was mine now.
I moved closer. I put my hand on his back. I rubbed slow circles. I whispered in his ear.
"It is okay," I said. "It is okay. You are not alone. You have me."
He did not respond.
"You have me," I repeated. "And I have a plan."
He looked up. His eyes were red. His eyes were wet. His eyes were full of something I had not seen before.
Fear.
"What plan?" he asked.
I smiled. A slow, cold smile. A smile that held no warmth. A smile that held only satisfaction.
"The divorce is not finalized," I said. "You are still her husband. You are still her beneficiary."
He did not speak.
"Her life insurance policy is worth millions. The company is worth billions. The trust is worth even more. If something happens to her, you get everything."
He did not speak.
"It will look like an accident," I said. "A tragic accident. A grieving husband. A public funeral. A fresh start."
He did not speak.
"You will be free. You will be rich. You will have everything you ever wanted."
He did not speak.
"And Nadia will be gone. Forever."
He looked at me. For a long moment. His eyes were searching. His eyes were questioning. His eyes were full of something I could not read.
"You planned this," he said.
I did not answer.
"You planned all of it."
I did not answer.
"The affair. The company. The house. The son. All of it."
I did not answer.
"You were never in love with me."
I did not answer.
"You were using me."
I did not answer.
"From the beginning."
I did not answer.
He stood up. He walked to the other side of the room. He turned around. He looked at me. His eyes were different now. His eyes were clear. His eyes were sharp.
"Who are you?" he asked.
I smiled. A real smile. A genuine smile. The first one I had smiled in a long time.
"I am the woman who is going to help you get everything you deserve," I said.
He did not speak.
"Or I am the woman who is going to destroy you. It depends on what you choose."
He stared at me.
"Choose," I said.
---
JULIAN POV
I stood there.
Staring at her.
Staring at the woman I had given everything up for. Staring at the woman I had betrayed my wife for. Staring at the woman I had destroyed my life for.
I did not recognize her.
I had never recognized her.
She was not the woman I thought she was. She was not the woman I had fallen for. She was not the woman I had loved.
She was a stranger.
A stranger who had been planning my destruction from the beginning.
A stranger who had been using me.
A stranger who had been waiting for this moment.
"I need to think," I said.
She laughed. A short, cold laugh. A laugh that held no humor. A laugh that held only contempt.
"You do not have time to think. You have time to choose. Her life or yours."
I did not answer.
"Choose."
I looked at her.
I looked at the window.
I looked at the city.
I looked at the life I had destroyed.
I looked at the life I could still have.
I looked at everything.
And then I spoke.
"I need a drink," I said.
She smiled.
"Good choice," she said.
But I had not chosen anything.
Not yet.
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