All Chapters of The Devil wears Red Lipstick: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Jude's POVI haven’t slept.I spent the entire night scrolling through old messages, her messages, the ones signed with nothing but a purple puzzle piece emoji.Puzzle Girl. I mean, I still haven’t believed it in six months.I mean, of all the people in the world, how the hell was I supposed to know it was Marion Creed?Puzzle Girl was funny. Warm. Sharp. Encouraging in a way that made me feel like I could fix everything. I used to look forward to those midnight conversations more than I’d like to admit. Her wit had teeth, but her kindness had roots. She saw me. She helped me with Ivy's betrayal.She was everything, my friend.And now... now I know she was Marion the whole damn time.What a contrast.Because Marion in real life? Marion with her steel jaw and thousand-yard stare? No warmth. No teasing. Just... that silence.But I know these are excuses. I know I’m grasping at justifications because the guilt is eating me alive. I forgot. God, I forgot.I was late. I was supposed to mee

Marion's POVEverything has gone as planned.Richard showed up just like I knew he would. He couldn’t help himself. The man has always believed that control is power, but he doesn’t realize I’ve been planning my answers since the moment I woke up.I make my way through Creed Industries, the silence thick as stares follow me. Whispers crawl behind my heels, but I keep my head high. Let them see me.The introductions are over—the polite smiles, the veiled curiosity. Now the real game begins: financial warfare. I need to get Richard to slip, lose what little control he has in Icarus.I step into my new office, and as the doors lock behind me, I catch the shift in Jude’s face. Confusion hardens into anger.“I thought today’s press conference was supposed to be about you telling the world what that man did to you,” he snaps. “Not you singing his fucking praises. Is this your plan, get Richard to realize you still love him?”I smile. I can’t help it.He scoffs. “Why aren’t you talking now,

Jude’s POVI pace.She was already gone by the time I woke up.Not that I expected a note or anything sentimental, but still.“Not much of a talker,” I mutter under my breath, rubbing the back of my neck.A part of me, no, most of me, wants to go find her. Knock on her office door. Ask her why she’spushing me out when she was the one who pulled me in.But I don’t.No.If she wants to isolate herself, fine. I won’t keep chasing after her.I sit back in my chair, jaw tight.Then my phone buzzes.Ivy.I panic. I don’t know if I should answer.I pause. Just long enough to hate myself for it. Then I swipe.“You forgot, Jude!” she shrieks before I can even say hello.“Well, hello to you, too, Ivy,” I say dryly.“You’ve never forgotten my birthday!” she whines, like she’s been wounded.Guilt creeps in. She’s right.Even when she married Nicholas, I still called. Still sent flowers. Still remembered.“I’m sorry,” I say, slow and low.“Wow,” she breathes. “You really must love her.”I close m

Jude's POV We barely make it past the velvet ropes of The Penthouse when the silence swallows us whole.My footsteps echo behind hers as she storms down the street, the night air cold but her attitudecolder.I’m quiet. My thoughts are louder than anything she could possibly say right now.Why the hell did I walk out with her? Why did I leave Ivy behind?"You want to go back to Ivy?" Marion finally slurs, not stopping. She turns to me, eyes glazed, lips twisted into something between a smirk and a snarl.I don't answer right away. My jaw tightens. “Did you push her?”She stops so abruptly I nearly walk into her. She turns, her expression unreadable under thestreetlight.“If you think I did… then why the hell are you here with me?” she snaps, trying to pull herclutch from my grip.I hold onto it. Too tightly.“Why don’t you just run back to your little girlfriend, Jude?” she says, quieter now. Colder. Likefrostbite under satin.I just stare at her. Silent. Watching her unravel.Sh

Jude's POVI’m not even five minutes into pretending to work when my phone buzzes again.I already know who it is. Ivy.I groan, rub my temples.“Oh, Jude,” I mumble to myself. “How will you get yourself out of this one?”I reach for the phone like it personally wronged me, expecting another passive-aggressive text, orworse, a paragraph about how I’ve ‘changed.’ God forbid I evolve.But then I see it.Not Ivy.Not some emergency from Jace or Viv.Puzzle Girl.My spine straightens.What does she want?I tap on the message, and there it is—just one word.One, tiny, earth-shattering word.Lunch?That’s it.No emojis. No context. No time. Just Lunch?I stare at it like it’s written in Morse code. Like I need to decode the underlying threat orpromise.My heart? Immediately traitorous.Starts pounding like I just got called to the principal’s office.Is she serious? Is this a trap?I type,“Sure.”No.Delete.Too eager.“What time?”Delete.Too cold.“Are you asking me on a date?”Delete