KAREN'S POV
“Hello little betrayer, are you sure you still want to get on with this marriage, cause trust me, you’d regret it.”
I still heard the words of the man I was supposed to call husband very soon ringing in my ears. Once, Devon Grey had loved me, now… now, what he felt for me was something even stronger than hate, it was a twisted kind of love, a love that enjoyed seeing me in pain – and all because he thought I betrayed him.
I Stared into the mirror, my eyes scanning the face that stared back at me. It was that of a very beautiful young girl with pale milky skin, and a heart-shaped face dominated by large blue eyes, framed by long dark lashes. I blinked, and for some unknown reason, my eyes filled with tears.
I was getting married to the rich and powerful Devon Grey, a man I was hopelessly, madly in love with, and yet I was frightened of him. Lately, he had been accusing me of betraying him, and I could not understand what I had done to make him think I could ever betray him.
Devon was a very powerful man; I had watched him make and break several people with a simple flick of his finger, and I knew it would even be easier for him to break me – if he wanted to.
“Are you practicing how to pretend, my sweet Love, or does it just come naturally?”
I spun around quickly, to see he had just entered the room. As usual, my heart began beating in mismatched patterns.
Even though this was our engagement dinner, he was dressed only in black, the satin material molded against his skin, showing just how handsome he was – just how powerful.
“Devon – I –” I stammered, forgetting what I was about to say. My mouth felt dry.
“Yes Love? Have you planned any new betrayal?” He asked calmly.
I felt the tears sting my eyes at his words. His lips twisted in a cruel smile as he walked over to me in three easy strides.
When he kissed me, it brought tears to my eyes. His lips were cruel, hard on my own, punishing me. I whimpered and tried to pull away.
I wanted to look into his eyes and tell him that I loved him, that I would never betray him, but –
His hands held me close to himself, forcing me to him, hurting me. Tears filled my eyes as his lips hurt mine in a kiss that was so brutal, a whimper escaped my lips.
“Why Mon Cherie,” he said still smiling. “Why are you crying on such a wonderful night as this, an eve we announce our engagement to the world?”
Unable to speak, I shook my head as even more tears spilled over. In the past, when I had cried, he gathered me in his arms so that his powerful chest could soak up my tears. Then, he would hold me, gently murmuring sweet words of comfort against my hair as his arms held me safe. After, he would kiss me sweetly, yet passionately, and tell me how each time I cried, it was as though I took a dagger to his heart.
Now he just smiled coldly and watched me, as if he thought I was …
“Devon, I would never betray you. I don’t know why you think I might have betrayed you, but I love you, I always will. I would never stop loving you.” I declared in a shaky voice. My eyes searched his, begging him to believe me.
Devon laughed cruelly. “Karen, my little sweetheart. You have known my gentle side for too long. I have protected you, provided for you, cared for you, but now, you would know why I’m the most ruthless billionaire in the country. I’m going to enjoy breaking you, piece by piece, I would shatter your heart, destroy you, and the worst thing is –”
His hands cupped my butt, squeezing painfully as he dragged me closer again to himself. His lips pressed down again on my already bruised lips. I cried out in painful pleasure, but he merely laughed.
“The worst thing is that I’d make you love me even more. I would make you beg for my love, but I would never love you.”
“Devon why are you doing this?” I stammered, as fresh tears filled my eyes. My tears made him even more angry.
He grabbed me again, easily tearing off my clothes with a flick of his hand. More tears poured as I stood snaked before him. He had never treated me like this before. In the past, all we had done was kiss, and then, he kissed me so gently as if I was a frags flower he did not want to hurt.
His eyes raked over my body, and he looked disgusted with me. His hands where rough against my skin, as he caressed me brutally, as if he meant to hurt me.
He pulled away from me. “Get dressed in another cloth. And don’t keep our guests waiting. You should be happy that we have guests, or I would teach you what I do to whores of your type.”
Tears could only pour from my eyes at the harshness of his words. Where had the man who once loved me gone!
“hurry up Mon Cherie, we wouldn’t want to keep our guests waiting. It’s our engagement dinner after all.” He said coldly, turned and was gone, and I could not bring myself to stop crying, could not stop the tears that escaped my lashes, as I stood staring at the door, long after he was gone.
DEVON'S POV My heart turned cold as I listened to the sound of her pretentious cry. I felt my lips curve up in a wry smile – females! They were all the same, none of them were worthy of love, they could each be bought at the right price. I had been a fool to think Karen was any different, I had been drawn to her innocent looks and wide eyes. She seemed so kind, selfless and naïve, I had wanted to shelter her from every harmful thing in the world. I had willingly let down all my standards because of her, and in that time, it seemed the right thing to do. Looking back now, I could only see what a fool I was. Anger was a bitter taste at the back of my throat as I smiled again. It was ironic, I, Devon Grey, the most feared man in the country had been played for a fool, and all it took was the innocent looks of a nineteen year – old girl to fool me. At exactly 9:00 pm, the door opened, and Karen Desantis, my fiancé and soon to be wife stepped in. I could not deny her beauty.
KAREN'S POVThe rest of the party was a blur. All I was aware of was Devon’s accusation. And then, before I could even stop to breathe, the party was already over, and everyone was leaving. I wanted to call them back, to beg them to stay. Something told me the only reason I had not yet faced the full anger of my powerful fiancé was because his guests were present. What would Devon do when everyone left? My heart was thudding violently against my chest as he ushered the last one of the guests out, and then, he was dragging me - - into a room I had never been before. He turned on the lights, something low and smoky, like the kind of lights one would see in a night club, but it was only when my eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room that real fear entered my eyes. The room was a bedroom - - of some sorts. The bed itself was covered in black sheets, with black pillows. All around the bed, and hanging from the ceiling were various torture equipment - - or bondage toys. Was this D
KAREN'S POVAfter I was sure Devon had gone, I buried my face in the all black pillow and wept. This was what my life was to become. Devon hated me, and yet he had asked me to marry him. The smart thing for me to do would be to call off our engagement – the smart thing, not the wise thing. Everyone knew that no woman ever broke up with the Grey’s and lived to tell the story. You didn’t walk away from a Grey, you waited until they got tired of you and chose to discard you. The twisted thing about it all was that I was not sure Devon would ever get tired of me. He did not love me of course, and would never love me again, but he still enjoyed keeping me around only so that he could torment me. My life was doomed. The only thing I could do now to be free was to get broken faster, to allow him break my heart to a million pieces, till he get bored with me and chose to let me go. I wondered if he might ever really chose to let me go, he might just decide to keep me there as a po
Karen PovI could never have imagined that my life would fall apart as fast as it had, but here I stood on the edge of a cliff staring into a chasm of hopelessness. Everything started to meld together-the fragments of some sort of nightmare I couldn't wake up from. Stephan's betrayal haunted my conscious mind every second, and his touch lingered on my skin like some stain I couldn't scrub off. And Devon. Poor Devon. Of all the terrifying transformations, Devon's was the most terrifying. My protector had been my protector but now was my jailer. His eyes were darker now, dark with something with which I couldn't name.They longer softened when their gazes met mine. Gone was the warmth that used to attract me toward him; instead, it had just frozen into coldness and replaced itself with steely determination against which I could not break, however hard I tried. He barely listened-I pleaded with him to-and everything I attempted to say to him, to explain how shattered I felt inside, was
Karen's POVIt was as if darkness closed in around me from every side, heavy with fear and uncertainty. My heart battered itself against my rib cage as he stepped into the light-deliberate, measured, as if he had all the time in the world. I'd steeled myself for anything-some faceless stranger, a masked intruder-but when the light fell upon the person standing before me, the breath left my lungs in one sharp gasp.It was Laura.Of all the things that I could expect, it wasn't her. Her eyes shone with an unhealthy light, and a chill smiled twisted on her lips. I didn't know what to say. The words caught in my throat, and suddenly the room was too little, the air too thin. My whole body yelled at me to run, while I stood utterly incapable of movement."You look surprised," she said, her voice little more than a silky whisper that set my nerves on edge. "Did you really think I wasn't watching?"She'd been watching me all along, lurking in the shadows feeding my paranoia, prodding my fear
Karen’s POV Sofia left, I was once again in my own World of thinking about my escape plan but nothing good was coming in my head . How do I even escape from here? Everything just seems scary and it seems I am in my own different world entirely. Sofia’s words was stucked in my head. “They won’t let you leave. Not alive.” The weight of that warning pressed downn on me, suffocating. I thought I’d seen the worst of Devon, but this? His family was into this now and this shit is scary as hell! I was a pawn in a game that I didn’t even know existed. The Mansion suddenly felt more like a trap, and I am right there in the middle of everything. My heart became heavy because of how scary my situation had become.“No one is coming to save you Karen.” I mumbled reminding myself. If I wanted to survive, I’d have to figure this out on my own but on a second thought, my love for him is making me think otherwise. I lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, but my thoughts were racing too
Karen’s POV The door clicked shut sending chills down my spine and I went into the silence he left behind. My body trembled, the cold air cooed against my skin. Devon’s words lingered in my head, echoing in the corners of my mind, wrapping around my heart like a frailty. I slumped against the wall, my knees weakened as the weight of everything crashed down on me like rushing water.The terror, the fear, the confusion, and the love that refused to die despite everything was all too much for me to handle.I pressed my hand against my chest, feeling the frantic and increased beat of my heart. I had no idea how I’d gotten here, how the man I once loved had become my nightmare. My mind raced, searching for some way out, but each thought diminished realizing that there was no way out from where. There was no escape, no one coming for me. My gaze fell to the door, the only thing between me and freedom. But Sofia’s warning replayed in my head. “They won’t let you leave, Not alive.” Tear
Karen’s POVThe door was shut behind Devon, the sound was like a thud and I smiled thinking about how to go about the plan that I already thought of in my head.I stood erect in the empty room, my heart still racing from the encounter although a little bit bold and ready to gain his trust back. His hateful words lingered in my thoughts and I tried as much as I could so as not to think about what he said in order not to get distracted from doing what was in my head. Although every insult he had thrown at me felt like some part of my heart was ripped from my body. I knew I couldn’t let it break me nor would I let it make me not fulfill my plans. I had to keep going and be bold, this was a do-or-die affair because If I didn’t gain his trust then he might kill me any moment from now.This is day one of gaining his trust back. I wondered what it would look like to be in a battle to gain his trust again, and it would take more than words to change his mind. He wouldn’t listen to me yet b
Devon's Pov.The moment I pushed open the door to the president's office, my throat went dry. She was there, seated behind a massive desk exuding the same aura she had the yesterday at the auction.My heart thudded inside my chest. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I heard her say icily, her gaze slicing through me as if I were nothing more than an inconvenience. After the brief encounter yesterday, I didn't think it was possible to see her again, I thought that was going to be the last time or at least it'd take a longer while.She looked over at me before returning her gaze back to her system. It was like she didn’t even know me. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. My mind reeled. How could she sit there, looking at me, and act like I wasn’t the man she once called her husband? “I’m here for the interview,” I managed to say, forcing my voice to stay even. Her gaze lingered on me for a brief moment before looking back at her system. “I wasn’t aware we were still condu
Devon’s POV It was a threat, his words didn't hold empty warmings, he meant it and I didn't even understand why? What did I have to do with it?O'Hara looked at me, his gaze piercing through me like a knife ready to slice me at any time. “Also, I'd need you to infiltrate GlassHouse Inc., Devon,” he said, pacing back to his desk. “They’ve been too secretive, too calculated. It still doesn't sit well with me. I need someone on the inside. Someone who can uncover what makes them tick and bring that information back to me.”His gaze focused on me, this time with a boring intensity. “And that person is you, Devon.” I frowned, my stomach twisting. “You want me to infiltrate the company? As what—a spy?” He arched a brow. “Call it whatever you like, but yes. There’s a job opening for a personal assistant to the president. You’ll apply, ace the interview, and secure the position. From there, you’ll learn their business secrets—every negotiation, every partnership, every weakness.” I
Devon's Pov The evening air was cool and carried a faint scent of rain as I exited the auction house. My steps were heavy, every echo against the pavement a stark reminder of my failure. Karen was alive—alive and thriving. I should have felt relief, joy even, but the cold indifference in her eyes, the sheer lack of emotion in her voice, had turned my victory into ashes. I hailed a cab and gave the driver my address, leaning my head against the window as the city blurred into streaks of light and shadow. My mind churned with memories of Karen, her sudden reappearance, and the venom dripping from Liam’s words. “She doesn’t want you, Devon. She never did.” Her words had cut deep but not as deeply as the icy gaze on her fame and the cold demeanor she carried. I spent five dreadful years looking for her, sacrificing pieces of myself along the way, just for her but all that was gone because the woman I loved was now a stranger. The cab pulled up in front of the auction building an
Devon's POVThe entire room was frozen and in complete silence as all eyes turned. The silence was so deafening that one could almost hear a pin drop.Karen's voice was clear and deliberate and pierced through the tension of the room. My breath caught in my throat and my throat ran cold as I saw her.“Thirty million dollars. “ She repeated, her voice echoing in my ears.The auctioneer blinked, visibly taken aback by the huge amount gap but he was quick to recover.“Thirty million dollars! Do I hear thirty-five million?” But the room had gone still. No one dared to challenge her bid.Who would, it was an insane price for just a mere artifact despite its value. I couldn’t move. My gaze was locked on Karen as she lowered her sunglasses, revealing the same piercing eyes I’d thought about every night for the past five years. Her expression was calm, almost emotionless, as if she hadn’t just dropped a fortune without hesitation. “Going once…going twice…” The auctioneer’s voice filled
Devon's Pov. The evening arrived faster than I expected. I spent most of the day pacing my apartment, nerves twisting in my stomach like a coiled spring. Every second that ticked by was a reminder of the stakes. I couldn’t fail—not this time.My eyes met the wall clock and as it an alarm rang in my head. I had an hour left before midnight and that was all the time I had to get the artifacts. I quickly bolted into the bathroom, I showered quickly, the water was cold on my skin beating at my back as if preparing me for what I was about to face. I finished up in the next ten minutes and was out. I fished out a suit from my wardrobe. The suit was an old one, slightly outdated but the only one I had left with me and still it was a little oversized. I brushed off the faint hint of dust from the shoulders and threw it on it the next minute. It wasn't glamorous but it was the most expensive looking I had. The auction was going to be filled with a lot of fancy men and women of high standin
Devon's Pov. 5 YEARS LATER…The air in the upscale restaurant buzzed with muted conversations from the people already seated. I could hear the clicking of the glasses from the happy couples and friends in the background and faint jazz music. I sat at the private both, holding a glass of water that had long gotten warm. Across from me was Mr O'Hara, he sat, his gaze piercing through me as though he could see my insides. The silence between us was deafening.Mr O'Hara, one of the wealthiest and most influential investors in the industry. His suit was perfectly tailored. He was a very important man, his demeanor was cold and his eyes made it clear that he didn't tolerate mediocrity.The meeting was my very first in over five years, each before that was always rejected as soon as the investor knew who they were going to address. I'd also let Gemini go a few months later, I couldn't pay her so there was no use keeping her around. I'd had to leave San Francisco and move to Los Angeles j
Devon's Pov.“I’m her neighbor, Lena,” she said when her panting finally stopped, her hands resting on her knees as she caught her breath.She straightened up and gestured for me to follow her. And the next moment, we were walking back into the neighborhood. The woman led me to her apartment at the far end of the house. It was just a mini apartment, it was tidy, with a warm, lived-in feel. She gestured toward the couch, but I shook my head. Sitting felt too passive for the storm brewing inside me. I needed answers.“Come on.” She repeated, and this time I took my seat on the plush grey sofa.Lena disappeared into the kitchen and returned back to the room with a steaming mug of coffee in her right hand, placing it on the table before sitting across from me. “So..?” She rubbed her hands against each other while pulling a strained smile that didn't reach her eyes. Her eyes scanned my entire future from head to toes as if investigating me. Her eyes held a quiet curiosity as she waited
Devon's pov. “I'm sorry sir but I don't think I can work here anymore,” Philip, a member of the tech team said. He stood at the front of them, a group of people who had once trembled under my gaze. Some kept their expressions neutral, while others couldn’t hide the way their hands shook or the way they avoided looking me in the eye. Still, they were here, together, facing me like they never had before. My jaw tightened as I met Philip’s gaze. “What are you saying, Philip?”“We…” He paused, exchanging glances with the others before continuing. “We’ve all decided to leave. With everything happening, we’re not sure if you’ll be able to pay us anymore. And… there are no more investors willing to back the company.”My fists clenched at my sides. I stayed silent for a minute thinking of the right words to say. They were wrong, I didn't know how I was going to pay them off and even the ones I had in my account had been mostly invested in the resources during the partnership with Lex Oper
Devon's povMy car pulled up in front of the house, and I stepped out before the engine fully died down. There was still a lot to be door but with each passing second I felt like the ground should have just consumed me. My eyes narrowed at the sight of a man lingering near the edge of the driveway caught my attention. He was tall, dressed in a worn-out suit that seemed to struggle against the December wind. “Can I help you?” I called out, my voice sharp as I approached. The man immediately turned, his face slipping into a practiced professionalism expression.“Mr. Grey, I presume?” “Yeah. Who’s asking?” i responded back almost immediately. “Alan Greaves,” he said, holding up a clipboard. “I’m here on behalf of Mr. Liam Falcon.” My jaw clenched, Liam. Of course, it would be him. Who else. The man didn’t just want to win—he wanted to completely strip everything that was in my name. I kept my face blank, though my fists clenched at my sides. “Whoever sent you has no business