All Chapters of Owed to the Devil: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Isla WalkerHis lips devoured mine like they’d been starved for years.And maybe… maybe I had too.My back hit the wall before I even registered he moved. His hands slid up my thighs, lifting me like I weighed nothing.I gasped into his mouth as my legs instinctively wrapped around his waist.“Tell me to stop,” he whispered hoarsely, his breath hot against my ear. “And I swear I will.”I should’ve. God, I should’ve.But instead, I pulled him closer.He carried me to the bed, his shirt half-open and eyes darker than sin.And when he laid me down, he did it like I was breakable like the world had already shattered me and he didn’t want to be another fracture.His fingers brushed the hem of my shirt. Paused.“Okay?” he asked.That one word. That single breath of restraint in a man built from fury and fire it undid me.“Yes.”And then there were no more words. Only touches. Only heat. Only us.He kissed every inch of my skin like he had all the time in the world. Like he was trying to l

IslaI didn’t sleep.Grayson hadn’t come back. Not a word. Not a knock. Just silence.I lay on the huge bed like a guilty ghost, phone still buzzing with scandal, my thoughts chasing each other like rabid dogs.I should leave. I should pack my things and disappear. Maybe find a cave somewhere and hide for a few years until Zara graduates or dies of natural villainy.Instead, I got up. Tied my hair up. Padded down the hallway barefoot.And I found Grayson in the study, alone.His jacket was thrown over the couch, sleeves rolled, eyes bloodshot. He looked like a man who had fought off ten demons and was ready for the eleventh.“You couldn’t sleep either?” I said.He didn’t look up. “No.”Silence.Then, without warning, he said, “Do you really think I’d believe that bullshit video?”I blinked. “I don’t know what you believe anymore.”That got his attention. He stood. Walked toward me, slow and dangerous. “Isla, you think I let just anyone live in the north wing?”I flinched at his tone.

Isla WalkerThe mansion felt colder after his grandfather left.Grayson sat with me until the morning light slipped through the sheer curtains, neither of us sleeping. I kept watching him, waiting for the moment he’d flinch or fold. He didn’t.But I was folding.On the inside, I was dead“Grayson,” I said softly, my fingers curled around his wrist. “You should take the deal.”His head snapped toward me like I’d slapped him.“I’m serious,” I whispered. “You have too much to lose. I’m just—”“Don’t say it,” he growled.“I’m just the girl who cleaned your floors.”His eyes turned sharp. “You’re Isla. And if I marry Zara, I become a version of myself I don’t even recognize. I’d rather lose it all.”My breath hitched. “Why?”He leaned closer, his lips brushing my temple. “Because none of it matters if I lose you.”And for a second, I let myself believe it was going to be okay.Until Zara showed up.---Zara “How cute,” she drawled, standing in the foyer in a too-tight dress and a smile f

IslaThe rain started somewhere between the clinic and the alleyway I’d been pacing.I’d left with nothing but a folded paper in my bag and a pair of shaking hands.Two lines. A positive result.I was pregnant. With his child.But he didn’t know.And I wasn’t even sure he deserved to.The café had stopped serving for the night, so I wandered, the soles of my shoes soaked through. I tried calling an old classmate from school. No answer.I texted Mira. Unread. Even my college group chat had gone quiet maybe because I’d been the trending tabloid joke for a week.Every bench was taken. Every cheap motel was booked. My body was heavy. The hunger clamped in waves. I pressed a hand to my stomach.I’d never felt more invisible in my life.---Zara“Smile wider, darling.”The photographer snapped again, and Zara turned her cheek like royalty. The silk dress clung perfectly to her figure; the diamond ring practically blinded her own reflection.Mrs. Voss.She liked the sound of it.The manor was

ISLAShe hadn’t spoken much on the drive.Tariq didn’t push.He simply drove with one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the stick, the car humming low as they coasted away from the cliffside and toward something quieter. Safer.The sun had already sunk past the skyline by the time they reached the small, two-bedroom house tucked between overgrown hedges in the quieter side of the city.Warm porch light. Hanging plants. An old welcome mat with “Stay Awhile” faded into the fabric.The door opened before he even knocked.Mariam stood there, apron still on, the scent of tomato sauce trailing after her.She froze when she saw Isla.Her eyes didn’t judge. Didn’t widen in shock or pity. Just softened.Isla barely crossed the threshold before Mariam wrapped her in the kind of hug only women who’d lost and survived and healed could give.“You’ll stay the night,” Mariam said. “Then tomorrow, we’ll talk.”Isla wanted to refuse. Say she didn’t deserve kindness. But instead, she nodded, t