~ Prologue ~

The world was split into two realms: the light and the dark. Most people lived somewhere in between, their lives a constant balancing act of virtue and vice. But there were exceptions.

Leonardo Romano was one such exception. Known as il diavolo—the devil—he was a man of extremes. By day, he was the youngest billionaire CEO the world had ever seen, his brilliance commanding respect in boardrooms across continents. By night, he ruled the shadows, a hidden king in a world of blood, power, and fear. Ruthless, calculating, and devoid of mercy, he had earned his throne atop a kingdom built on broken bones and shattered dreams. His name was whispered with both reverence and terror.

Yet, for all his power, Leo was alone. His wealth, his empire, his reputation—none of it could fill the void that had carved itself into his soul. He thrived in the chaos he created, but the darkness came with a price. It consumed him, piece by piece, leaving nothing but a hollow man behind the mask.

In another world, one untouched by shadows, lived Seraphina Eogeum. The daughter of South Korea's richest man, she was raised in a gilded cage, her every breath a privilege few could fathom. But her wealth and status came with a price of their own: isolation. Homeschooled and sheltered from the world's harsh realities, Seraphina had never known the cold sting of betrayal, the sharp edge of cruelty, or the suffocating weight of fear.

She was innocence personified—a woman who saw the world not for what it was but for what it could be. She dreamed of freedom, of stepping beyond the walls that had held her captive for so long. But her sheltered life had left her unprepared for the darkness that lay beyond.

They were opposites in every way. The devil who ruled the night and the angel untouched by the world's sins. They should never have crossed paths.

And yet, fate had other plans.

It was a chance encounter on a quiet Roman street, a collision of two worlds that had no business intertwining. In the dead of night, with only the stars as witnesses, Leonardo Romano found himself face to face with the one thing he could not control: purity.

She appeared like a vision, skipping across the road with an ice cream cone in hand, her carefree laughter breaking through the silence like a melody. She was a contradiction to everything he was—a fragile light in the heart of his unyielding darkness.

And in that moment, something inside him shifted.

He had spent his life mastering the art of destruction, of bending the world to his will. But Seraphina was something he could neither destroy nor control. She was a mystery, an enigma, a spark that threatened to ignite a fire in a heart he had long considered dead.

For her, meeting Leo was a step into a world she could never have imagined—a world where kindness was a weakness and power came at the cost of one's soul.

For him, meeting her was a reminder of the man he could never be and the life he could never have.

Neither of them knew it yet, but that night would mark the beginning of a story that would shatter their worlds and reshape their destinies.

Because when the devil meets an angel, neither escapes unscathed.

To Be Continued...