Bound To The Devil's Heir のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 41 - チャプター 50

The mansion had grown suffocating. Its marble halls, gilded chandeliers, and velvet curtains might have been symbols of wealth and power to anyone else, but to Serena they were bars on a cage. She had lived in fear before, in her father’s house, under Matthias’s shadow, but this felt worse because here, freedom seemed close enough to touch, yet remained just out of reach.For nights after Emilia’s warning, sleep had refused to come easily. When it did, it came heavy, haunted by fire and ash, by her father’s snarling voice, by Matthias’s hand gripping her arm. But more than that, she heard Emilia’s icy words repeating like a curse:If anything happens to Damien or the Alaric empire, you’ll be the first to pay.It wasn’t just Damien watching her. It was his family. His empire. A web of eyes spun around her, and she was the insect caught in the middle.Serena had sworn once, standing in the burning ruins of her childhood home, that she would never again let anyone lock her down, contr

The silence in the room was unbearable.Serena pressed her palms flat against the cold marble floor, her chest heaving as though she had been running for miles, though she hadn’t moved. The lock had clicked shut what felt like hours ago, but the echo still lingered in her ears. It clung to her skin like smoke, seeped into her lungs like poison.She had faced fire before. She had stared into the eyes of men who wanted her dead, who saw her as a pawn to be broken or sold. But this… this was different.This was Damien.Her husband. Her captor. Her protector. Her destroyer.Her hands shook as she dragged herself up and stumbled toward the window. It was useless she knew that. The mansion was built like a fortress; every window had its guards, every gate its cameras. But her body moved on instinct, as though the moonlight filtering through the glass might offer her an escape that reality would not.She pressed her forehead against the cold pane, her breath fogging the glass. Outside, t

Damien's point of View The slam of the door still echoed in my head long after I left her room. The sound was final, brutal like a coffin being sealed shut.I leaned against the wall in the hallway, dragging in a shaky breath I didn’t want anyone to hear. My hands trembled, though I curled them into fists to disguise it. I wasn’t supposed to tremble. I wasn’t supposed to falter. Not me. Not Damien Alaric.But I had.One look at Serena’s eyes red from crying, glistening with betrayal and I had felt something I hadn’t in years. Guilt. Not the shallow kind that brushed across your conscience before fading, but the kind that wrapped chains around your chest and squeezed until breathing felt like punishment.I had locked her away. Like a criminal. Like she was property. And I’d done it because the thought of losing her had hollowed me out.My head thudded back against the wall. The marble was cold, grounding, but it couldn’t cool the fire raging inside me.Why did she want to leave?

Damien's point of View The air in the basement smelled of blood and bleach.It was a place most in this house feared, a place I rarely descended to myself, preferring to leave the dirt to others. But tonight, I wanted to see it. I wanted to feel it. Because tonight, betrayal had crawled under my skin, and I needed to know how deep it ran.The man tied to the chair in the center of the concrete room was not a stranger. He was one of mine. Enzo. A soldier who had stood at my side for years, loyal enough that I’d once considered him unshakable. He’d carried messages, guarded doors, followed orders without hesitation. And now his face was bloodied, one eye swollen shut, his chest heaving as Vincent’s fists left another bruise.“You disappoint me,” I said quietly, my voice low enough that it carried sharper than a shout.Enzo flinched, head bowing. Blood trickled from his nose to his lips. “Boss, I, I never meant to hurt you”“You leaked intel.” I stepped closer, my shoes clicking aga

Serena’s POVThe mansion was too quiet.Not the peaceful kind of quiet, but the suffocating silence of a cage, where even the shadows on the walls seemed to whisper.I hadn’t slept. Not really. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him Matthias. His smirk in the firelight, his hand reaching for me from the smoke. And then Damien’s face, storm-dark, burning with possession. They twisted together until I didn’t know where one nightmare ended and the other began.I pressed my palm against the mattress, where the folded note still hid beneath. Its words echoed in my head like a heartbeat: Freedom is closer than you think.Freedom. What did that even mean anymore?The door opened with a sharp click. I stiffened.Damien stepped inside without knocking, without hesitation. He always entered like he owned the air I breathed. Tonight, his face was harder than carved stone, but his eyes… his eyes looked haunted.“Serena.” His voice was low, gravel scraping over something softer.My chest tighte