Chapter 2 The Devil's bride

Chapter Two: The Devil's Bride

The ink on the contract was barely dry before Aria found herself standing in front of a priest.

The chapel was silent, cold, and empty. No flowers, no music, no family. Just her, Damien, and the small circle of men who looked more like soldiers than wedding witnesses.

"Do you, Aria Bennett, take Damien Volkov as your lawfully wedded husband...?"

Her throat closed. The words blurred. She wanted to scream, to run, to fight. But Damien's hand was already wrapped around hers, firm and unyielding. His thumb traced lazy circles on her skin, a silent reminder: you have no choice.

"I... do." Her voice cracked like glass.

Damien's vow was smoother, darker. "I do."

The priest closed the book. "By the power vested in me....... "

Before the sentence could finish, Damien crushed his mouth against hers. It wasn't a kiss. It was a warning. His lips claimed, dominated, stole the last piece of freedom she had left.

When he pulled away, her lips were trembling, her body shaking.

"Wife," he murmured, low enough for only her to hear. The word dripped with possession.

Hours later, the mansion swallowed her whole.

It was massive, luxurious, suffocating. Gold chandeliers, velvet drapes, walls that seemed to whisper secrets. Every corner reminded her she was no longer free. She was a possession inside a gilded cage.

A maid led her to a bedroom hers, apparently. Or maybe theirs.

The air was heavy when Damien entered minutes later. He had discarded his tie, the top buttons of his shirt undone, revealing a hint of the man beneath the mask. Dangerous. Powerful. Too close.

Aria backed toward the bed instinctively. "W-we don't have to.... "

Damien's laugh was low, humorless. "Don't flatter yourself, little dove. I don't take what isn't mine to claim." His eyes burned into hers. "But remember this you signed the contract. You're bound to me now. Body. Soul. Until death."

Her chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. "And if I disobey?"

He stepped closer, his shadow consuming her, his hand brushing her cheek almost tenderly almost. "Then I'll break you, piece by piece, until obedience is all you know."

Her heart thudded painfully. She hated him. She feared him. And yet... when his thumb lingered on her lips, her body betrayed her with a shiver.

Damien smirked, reading her reaction like an open book. "Good girl. You'll learn soon enough resistance only makes the fire burn hotter."

He turned, walking toward the door, leaving her standing there trembling.

But just before he disappeared into the hallway, his voice floated back, velvet and steel all at once:

"Tomorrow night, Aria. Tomorrow, I'll show you what it truly means to be my wife."

The door shut with a final click, leaving her alone in the vast, silent room.

And Aria realized with a sinking heart this was only the beginning.