All Chapters of His Dark Desire: The Devil’s Bride : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

32 Chapters

Chapter 1 - Bella

I wasn’t supposed to be home this early. The diner had been dead all afternoon, just two truckers nursing cold coffee and a drunk who kept calling me “sweet cheeks.” My manager shrugged and told me to clock out at six. Fine by me. My feet were killing me, my head was splitting, and all I wanted was to fall face-first into the couch and let Micah rub my shoulders until I forgot how much I hated my life. I climbed the three flights of stairs to our tiny apartment, already tasting the cheap wine we kept in the fridge. I was smiling like an idiot, thinking maybe tonight I’d finally let him go further than second base. Three years of “waiting till marriage” felt less romantic and more stupid every month. The door was cracked open. But I didn’t think anything of it. I pushed it slowly. The living room was dark except for the flicker of the TV nobody was watching. And suddenly — I heard a woman’s high, breathy moan leak down the hallway, followed by the unmistakable wet slap of skin on

Chapter 2 - Goodbye, ex

The loud pounding on my windshield cut through my sleep like a gunshot. My eyes flew open, my heart slamming against my ribs. For a second I didn’t even know where I was—just the cold glass, the smell of my own breath, and the ache in my neck from sleeping upright. “You can’t park here, ma’am. Move.” A flashlight beam sliced across my face. I jerked back, squinting until the shape in front of me became clearer—a stern-looking security guard, tall, broad, tapping his knuckles against the windshield again. His hand rested a little too close to the baton hanging from his belt, and that alone sent fear rushing through my chest. I sat up straight, my fingers trembling around the steering wheel. “Sorry… I’m sorry,” I mumbled as I quickly turned on the ignition. The guard stepped back, shaking his head like he was tired of seeing people like me—sleeping in cars, parked where we weren’t supposed to be, looking like a mess. Heat crept up my throat. God. Look at me. Then it hit me. T

Chapter 3 - Bad News At Homecoming

Bella’s POV The flight back to Venice dragged like a death sentence, but I didn’t sleep. I kept picturing my mother’s arms around me the second we landed. She was the only one who never obeyed Dad’s order to cut me off completely. Secret bank transfers. Burner phones at 2 a.m. just to hear my voice. I needed her now more than ever. The car rolled through the gates, and the mansion rose in front of me like a tomb. Same manicured lawns. Same marble steps. Same silence that swallowed screams. It didn’t feel like home. It felt like a cage I’d voluntarily walked back into. Rafael squeezed my hand as we stepped out. “Breathe, Bella. He’s not going to kill you.” “I gave a short laugh, dry and humourless. “That’s easy for you to say. He didn’t threaten to cut you off and erase your existence.” “You were a kid and you were in love. He was angry. He’s cooled off since then.” I didn’t answer. I just kept staring, unsure whether to run away or march forward. The door c

Chapter 4 - Puppet Bride

Bella’s POVI woke to the sound of my bedroom door creaking open. Rosa slipped in carrying a garment bag over one arm and a silver tray of cosmetics in the other. The smell of fresh espresso and warm cornetti followed her, but my stomach still turned.“Buongiorno, mija,” she whispered, eyes soft with pity. “Your father says you must be ready for breakfast. He sent these.”She laid three dresses across my bed: blood-red silk, emerald satin, black lace. All tight. All expensive. All screaming trophy.“Prepare?” I sat up, heart already racing. “Why, what’s going on?”Rosa doesn’t meet my eyes. She laid the dresses on the bed, smoothing out invisible wrinkles. “You’ll wear this red one. It brings out your eyes.” She said.“Rosa,” I whispered. “Tell me what’s going on.”She pressed her lips together and shook her head, busying herself with the dresses. “Just let me make you beautiful, dearest. At the end of the day… I still answer to your father.”I wanted to argue, but the look in her ey

Chapter 5 - No Exit

I lay on my bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, feeling the weight of my father’s words crush me over and over again.Ten days.Ten fucking days to become Matteo Moretti’s property.Ten days to lose my freedom, my future, my name.He kept acting like this was normal—like selling me to a man half my age, a man everyone feared, was just another business deal. As if I were nothing more than a bargaining chip with a pulse.I didn’t love Matteo.Hell, I didn’t even like him. He made my skin crawl.And yet somehow… I was supposed to smile at an altar while he claimed every inch of me.Tears slipped down my temples, disappearing into the silk of the pillows. I curled onto my side, clutching my phone.Maybe I should have stayed in Chicago.I could have figured things out. Started over. I could’ve healed, grown, rebuilt myself.I almost let myself imagine what life could’ve been— but the moment Micah’s name crossed my mind, I shut that door fast.No.Never again.I’d burn before going back to

Chapter 6 - The Escape

Bella’s POVI stood at my bedroom window for what felt like hours, watching the dark driveway like a prisoner waiting for parole.I’d chosen the most modest thing I could find: a long red silk dress that covered everything, I twisted my hair into a sleek bun, and the diamonds in my ears screamed “Mendoza heiress.” I looked safe, respectable. The version of me my father wanted the world to see.My phone buzzed on my bed. Lucia: “Headlights off, back gate. NOW.”I grabbed a dark coat, slipped out of my heels, and ran barefoot down the stairs like the way I used to when I was a teenager. The lights were dim and I could barely see anything. I was two steps from the door when a voice froze me solid.“Isabella.”I turned slowly.My father stood in the shadows of the hallway, cigar glowing in the dark.“What do you think you’re doing?”“I’m going out,” I said, chin high. “I can still go out, can’t I, Dad?”He took a slow drag, studying me. “That depends. People do stupid things when they’

Chapter 7 - Stranger In The Club

The deeper I walked into La Volpe Rossa, the more the air changed.Perfume, cigar smoke, sex, and money all tangled together until I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.Girls in nothing but diamond-encrusted lingerie carried thousand-euro bottles on silver trays.A man in a tux had a woman bent over a roulette table, her dress around her waist, and her moans swallowed by the music.In one dark corner, two men played snooker while a third fucked a girl against the wall, slow and shameless, like it was part of the game.My pulse was everywhere—my throat, wrists, between my legs.“Lucia!”We turned, and a tall man with soft brown curls and sharp cheekbones stepped out from a group near the stairs.Lucia lit up in a way she hadn’t all night.“Riccardo!”He kissed her cheek—both sides—and then looked at me with curiosity.“And who is this beautiful creature?”“Bella,” Lucia said, looping her arm around my waist. “My best friend. Be nice.”Riccardo smirked. “Always.”He walke

Chapter 8 - Calm Down Bella

Bella’s POVZayden’s words were still burned in my ears.“Come home with me.”Four words and my entire body was screaming yes.But I wasn’t that reckless. Not completely.“Why would I do that?” I asked, chin high.He didn’t blink. “Look around Bella.” He said. “The night’s almost over. “You think drowning in champagne here fixes anything? I’ve run clubs long enough to know problems don’t die on these floors.” “That’s not an answer,” I said, trying to stifle a smirk.He leaned in, voice dropping to a growl only I could hear. “You don’t belong in this world. Not the way you’re dressed, not the way you’re looking around like a lost lamb. You’re not safe here.”My spine stiffened. “And I’d be safe with you?”His smile was slow and lethal. “Safer than with any of them.”I looked around, and realised I was surrounded by a pack of wolves in expensive cologne and clear-cut tuxedos.He rose, slow and deliberate, and offered his hand. “Come on, Bella. I’m not asking twice.”I hesitated, just l

Chapter 9 - I Slept With The Devil

Bella’s POVThe silence in the car was thick, but not uncomfortable. Just… heavy.I stared out the window at the dark canal lights streaking past, pretending the city was more interesting than the man driving.He didn’t push me to talk. Just let the quiet stretch.In an hour, we pulled up to a sleek glass tower that screamed money and power.I didn’t ask any questions. I already knew the answer would complicate things.Minutes later he was leading me into the penthouse that looked like it belonged in a magazine: floor-to-ceiling windows, dark minimalist paintings, city lights glittering below us like scattered diamonds.I sank into the couch as my bones had finally given up.He poured two glasses of red wine, and handed me one.“You look worn out,” he said, voice low.I stared into the wine, then up at him. “That’s what happens when you walk in on your boyfriend balls-deep in your best friend.”A flicker of surprise crossed his face, followed by the ghost of a laugh he didn’t let out.

Chapter 10 - What Are The Odds?

Bella’s POVZayden Romano.The name looped in my head like a broken record while the city blurred past the cab window.It had to be a coincidence.Romano is common. Half of Italy probably has cousins named Romano.But Mendoza? He said Mendoza. My last name.My blood turned cold. My stomach lurched.What were the odds I’d picked the one man in Venice my father was running from?The ghost that had my family scrambling, selling me off like livestock to keep him at bay.I slept with him. I begged him.I let him inside me, let him ruin me, let him mark me in ways I’d feel for days.And he might be the very monster my father is terrified of.The driver swerved past the gates.“Stop—stop, stop, stop! Here! This is it!”I threw money at him and stumbled out, heels clacking too loud on the gravel.The front door flew open before I even reached it.And the slap came fast and hard—my head snapped to the side, cheek burning.My father’s hand was still raised.“Foolish child,” he hissed. “Where th

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