CHAPTER 1: A deal with the devil

Elena's POV

"Marry me, or I'm going to fuck up your life."

The words hit me like a slap. Cold. Ruthless. Expressed with the crisp precision of a man who always gets his way.

I sat in the dark restaurant, frozen, my fingers tightening around my water glass. Damien Lancaster stared at me from across the room, those storm-gray eyes unreadable. He looked calm, too calm—as if he weren't forcing a woman into a nightmare in the guise of marriage.

I should have laughed in his face. I should have tossed my drink at him and left. But I didn't. Simply because I knew he wasn't bluffing.

"Is this some sick joke of yours?" I blurted, my voice sharper than what I felt.

Damien reclined in his seat, a smirk spreading slowly across his lips. "I don't joke, Elena."

I hated the way he said my name as if he owned it. Like he already owned me.

My heart hammered in my chest as I looked around at the fancy restaurant, chandeliers spilling gold powder over crisp white tablecloths and well-dressed guests sipping expensive wine. To anyone observing us, it would have seemed like just another wealthy couple discussing business over dinner. They'd have no clue that the man before me was gradually pulling an invisible noose around my neck.

I swallowed hard. "Why me?"

Damien drummed his fingers against his glass. "You're perfect for the role. Smart. Independent. But more importantly…" 

He leaned in closer, voice lowering to a whisper. "Desperate."

My lungs turned to ice.

He knew.

He knew about my past. About Adrian. About the risk that waits just beyond the corners of my life.

I forced my eyes to stay on his, though my pulse pounded. "If you know that, then you know I'd rather die than be your puppet."

His smirk didn't falter. "You won't die, Elena. But if you don't, your life, as you know, will be over."

He did so, withdrawing a black folio from his jacket. He pushed it across the table, his fingers grazing mine for the barest second before I yanked my hand back.

"Inside is everything you need to know about our arrangement," He said smoothly. "One year of marriage. In return, I'll take responsibility for Adrian Knight."

I flinched at hearing Adrian's name. It was so casual the way he said it as if he wasn't referring to the man who had ruined my life.

Damien saw the reaction. And he smiled.

"You see, Elena?" He pointed at the folder. "I'm not your enemy. I'm your salvation."

I gave a hollow laugh. "You think that blackmail is salvation?"

"I call it an opportunity."

I squeezed my hands under the table. This—this was a trap—one I couldn't afford to step into. And yet, there was no option for walking away either.

Damien Lancaster had just offered me a choice.

Marry him, or lose it all.

And I had seconds to decide.

No Way Out

I should have said no.

I should have stood up and walked out and never looked back.

But I didn't.

I made hesitant fingers to grab the folder. I paused, taking shallow pulls of breath as I raked my gaze over the glossy, black cover. Touching it felt like touching fire—like if I opened it, there's no turning back.

Damien was watching me every hour of his existence. He was patient and confident, aware that I had no other option. The bastard was relishing this.

I flipped the folder open.

My eyes crossed as I read the first page.

Marriage Contract

I took a hard swallow, dryness in my throat as I forced myself to read further. The terms were basic but scary.

One year of marriage.

Absolute loyalty in public.

No emotional entanglements.

Noncompliance would mean serious consequences.

My pulse raced as I approached the final clause.

In return, Damien Lancaster will rid the world of every threat to Elena Monroe, starting with Adrian Knight.

I held the paper so tightly my knuckles went white.

This wasn't just blackmail.

This was a prison sentence.

I turned my face toward Damien's so I could make eye contact with him. "Why me?" I spoke in a barely audible whisper.

His expression was inscrutable. 

"Because I need a wife that doesn't come from power. Someone my father can't be controlling." + "Someone strong enough to stand next to me, but desperate enough to surrender her freedom."

My stomach twisted. "And then what happens after the year has ended?"

Damien's smile was slow and dark. "We part ways. You'll be compensated. A new life, out of Adrian's reach."

It was like a dream, but dreams were just illusions. I knew that better than anyone.

I closed the folder and pushed it back at him. "I'm not for sale."

Damien barely blinked. "Then consider yourself ruined."

My heart lurched.

"You're bluffing," I said under my breath.

He reached into his jacket and produced a USB drive, which he placed between us. "All that Adrian wants is inside this drive. 

All the information that would lead him right to your doorstep." 

He leaned closer, voice low and dangerous. "You sign the contract, and it's gone. Say no, and I will give it to him tonight."

A cold sweat covered my skin.

Adrian would kill me. He would be worse than killing me.

True to my nature, I despised the man before me down to the very roots of my being. "You're a monster."

Damien smirked. "No, Elena. I'm your only way out."

I drew in a breath, and my mind spun. There was no way out. No escape. To live, to survive, I had one option alone.

I barely grasped the pen, my hand quivering.

And Damien sat there and watched in silent, victorious glee as I signed my life away.

The Lancaster estate was a gilded palace of wealth, weighted with excess in its ballroom. 

Crystal-studded chandeliers hung from on high, bathing the sea of New York's elite in a false golden light. The air was thick with expensive perfume and whispered secrets and the weight of a thousand hidden agendas.

I walked through the throng, my body straight, my face inscrutable. I didn't belong here. 

Not in this world of privilege and power moves." But I'd learned long ago how to wear a mask, how to pretend.

Damien stood at the other end of the room, a king surveying his court. He wore a crisp black suit, tall and imposing, intimidating as hell. His steel-gray eyes pinned to mine, and a slow, knowing smirk twisted his lips.

It was a wordless dare, the warmth of his eyes a reminder of the deal that tethered us.

"Elena." His voice was deep and smooth, curling around my name like silk and steel.

"Damien," I replied evenly.

His smirk deepened. "You look…" His gaze moved from top to bottom along my gown, past the black silk that clung to my curves, to the gossamer diamond chain at my throat. "Appropriate."

I arched my brow. "I'm going to take that as a compliment."

He offered his arm. "Shall we?"

I didn't think twice before putting my hand in the crook of his elbow. The warmth seeped through the fabric, and I shivered inwardly. I felt all the eyes on us, the whispers that trailed us as we crossed the room.

The billionaire and the star of his contract bride.

An elegant scandal, a game no one knew the complete rules of.

We had reached the center of the ballroom, where Victor Lancaster and his wife, Olivia, waited. Their mere presence was drenched with leaden weight, sharp gaze-like, well, knives.

Victor's thin lips curled in a sneer. 

"So, this is the woman who tamed my son." His voice oozed contempt. "I expected more."

Damien's hand on my arm tightened a little. A silent warning.

But I wasn't keen on warnings.

"I didn't realize you were in the expectation-setting business, Mr. Lancaster," I said coolly. "And taming wasn't in the deal."

For an instant, silence hung between us. And then Victor barked a short laugh. "Feisty. But feistiness doesn't last. A wild mare can be broken."

Damien's jaw tensed. "Elena is my wife. You will respect her."

Olivia smiled, the gesture saccharine, the tone poisonous. 

"Now, now. Let's not cause a scene. We're family, after all."

Those words sent ice through my veins.

This wasn't a family. This was a battlefield, and I was making my way right through the crossfire.

By the time the night was almost over, I was back toward the bar, Olivia's eyes focused on me like they were a hawk sizing up its next meal.

"You may have duped Damien," she whispered, twirling her champagne, "but I can see right through you. You're after his money. His power."

I held her gaze, unflinching. 

"Believe what you want. "I don't owe you an explanation."

Her smile didn't falter. But her voice fell, like the edge of a knife. " "Watch yourself, dear. This family does not accommodate weakness. And it has a way of getting rid of what it doesn't need anymore.'"

I leaned in just a little, mirroring her death tone. "Luckily for me and my bravery, I don't scare easily."

Before she had a chance to answer, Damien was there in front of my side, a bastion against the storm. "Is there a problem?"

Olivia transformed into something sweet and effortless. "Not at all. Just a little girl talking."

Damien didn't seem sold, but he dropped it. "Come, Elena."

He led me through the room, his hand brushing gently on the small of my back. A possessive touch. A warning to anyone watching.

Walking toward us was a tall man in black, his features striking, his dark eyes shining with something dangerous.

Then the instant I saw him, my heart clenched.

Adrian Knight.

The man who had ruined my life.

The man who continued to haunt my dreams.

"Elena," Damien said, unaware of the tempest churning within me. 

"This is Adrian Knight."

A slow, knowing smile curled Adrian's lips. "We've met before. Haven't we, Elena?"

My pulse thundered in my ears, but I quelled my expression into neutrality. "I don't believe so."

He laughed, the sound opening ice in my spine. "Perhaps I'm mistaken."

Damien's gaze swung back and forth between us, wary. "How do you guys know each other?"

I opened my mouth, but Adrian got there first.

"Just a passing," he said slickly. 

"Nothing worth mentioning."

Damien's eyes darkened, but he let it go. "Elena, give us a moment. I have a business to discuss with Adrian."

I was simultaneously relieved and horrified. "Of course."

As I walked away, my head whirled.

It was no accident that Adrian was here.

And I needed to know what he was planning—before it was too late.