Prologue

CELESTINA

The cold edge of my knife rested against Sevastian Ortega’s throat, hanging like a sharp edge enough to draw blood. 

His dark, soulless eyes stared down at me with the kind of contempt that made my skin crawl. 

But I didn’t flinch, I couldn’t, not in front of a man like him. 

He’s a tyrant wrapped in charm, a devil in diguised. If I showed even the slightest hint of weakness, I knew he would shatter me into pieces. 

“What the hell are you plotting?” I demanded, my voice sharp and steady despite the knot tightening in my gut.  

Sevastian didn’t answer right away. He just stood in front of me calmly, as if the knife at his neck was nothing more than a toy that cannot threaten his life. 

I hate it. 

I hate how composed he is while I am infuriating with rage. 

His dark brown eyes bore through me, making a hole in the depths of my soul.

I saw his tongue poke his cheek before he spoke. 

“Marriage.”  His deep baritone voice suddenly echoed to my ears. 

I blinked. 

For a second, I thought I misheard him.

My brows furrowed in confusion as I stared at him, searching for a hint of a joke. 

But all I saw was the cold detachment of someone too accustomed to getting exactly what they want.

The sheer absurdity of his words hit me like a sharp slap. 

“Are you stupid or just an idiot?” I sneered, pressing the knife harder against his skin. 

“I'm a married woman, Ortega.”  I added, pressing each word so that he could understand that I am not someone he could possess. 

Instead of understanding, his grin widened, as if I’d just told him the funniest joke he’d ever heard. 

Without a word, he took a strand of my hair, lifting it gently to his lips with a slow lingering kiss, his eyes were locked into mine. 

They were dark, simmering with contempt.

“You’re the only one who thinks so,” he murmured,  his voice low and taunting.

I flinched and my grip faltered,  just enough for him to act and took advantage of the situation. 

In one swift, merciless motion, Sevastian’s hand shot out, snatching my wrist. 

Pain ripped through my arm as he twisted it hard, and the knife slipped from my grasp, clattering uselessly to the floor.  

Before I could react, he spun me around, yanking my arms behind my back. His chest pressed against my spine, pinning me in place like I was nothing more than a doll.  

“Did you really think you could threaten me with a mere metal?” he whispered into my ear, his breath hot and taunting.  

I struggled, thrashing against his hold, but it was useless. He was stronger, far stronger than I expected. 

His hand closed around my throat, forcing my head back until I could see his face.  

Damn it!

I loathed how tall he was and how effortlessly he overpowered me by his towering height. 

As I glared at him and saw his eyes suddenly,  I recalled all the gossip about him. 

He was known for his cunning and brilliant mind. However, he became infamous for his violence, ruthless, and tyranny. 

I had been warned by my friends about him, they told me everything about him just to avoid our path to cross. 

But none of those warnings had stopped me from meeting him. Not until I realized that those rumors are real. 

There was a sharpness in him, a calculated cruelty that hung in the air between us. 

He’s more than a person. He is a devil wearing a civilized mask, far more dangerous than the gossip had dared to reveal.

Our families had been enemies for years, but this was the first time I’d faced him myself. 

And now I was starting to understand why everyone feared him. Yet, I refused to show any fear from him.  

I locked my gaze onto his, forcing my heart to stay steady even though it's rumbling inside of my ribcage. 

“If you let me go,” I hissed, breathless from his crushing grip, “I swear I’ll kill you.”  I said, staring at his cold yet beautiful orbs. 

He let out a chuckle. It was low and sinister, slithering over me like poison, filling the air with an unsettling chill that tightened my throat and quickened my pulse. 

“You’re welcome to try, sweetheart.” He replied. 

I felt a wave of disgust wash over me the moment I heard him say sweetheart. 

For others, it might seem like a loving term, but coming from Sevastian lips, it was just a cruel mockery, thick with disdain and scorn.

“If only you’re still alive,” he added. 

His hand tightened around my throat, cutting off my air. 

My vision faded, shadows creeping in as I desperately clawed at his arm, fighting for every gasp of air.

Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction to see me break in his grasp. 

Just when I thought I’d black out, he finally released me. 

I collapsed to the floor in a heap, gasping and coughing as air flooded my lungs. 

The sharp pain in my ribs made every breath feel like fire.  

I scrambled backward, glaring up at him through the curtain of my hair. 

My fear must have been plain on my face, but I made sure my anger burned brighter.  

Sevastian only smirked, like a demon enjoying the scene. 

“Don’t worry,” he said smoothly. “I’m not going to kill you.”  

Before I could even think to respond, he grabbed me again, pulling me to my feet with a strength that made my bones ache. 

I tried to twist out of his grip, but it was like fighting against steel.  

He reached for something with his free hand, I followed his movements with my gaze until he grabbed a remote. 

He clicked, and the TV screen flickered to life behind him.  

My heart dropped like a heavy  stone in my stomach, fear washed over me, leaving me paralyzed.    

There, on the screen, was my husband. Naked, entangled with another woman, their bodies moving in a seamy embrace, their moans filling the room like a sick, dark melody. 

Five days... 

We’d been married for only five days and this was how he spent our honeymoon? Wrapped around with someone else?

I felt the world tilt beneath me. 

My body went numb, and my breath trapped in my throat as the weight of his betrayal pressed down on me.

All of the sudden, I felt Sevastian leaned in closer, his voice soft and full of venom. “He sure enjoyed his honeymoon with his mistress, hmm?”  

The tears came before I could stop them, hot and heavy down my cheeks. 

I hated it. 

I hated that I was breaking right in front of him, hated that he’d made me witness this.  

But Sevastian didn’t give me the luxury of falling apart. His grip tightened on my arm, and his voice cut through the haze of my emotions like a blade.  

“Now, Celestina,” he whispered, his voice smooth as silk but sharp as a dagger. “Make your choice.”  

His hand fisted in my hair, jerking my head back until I was forced to look into those cold, pitiless eyes.  

“Marry me…” he said softly, “Or die in my hands.” His words slid over my skin like deadly poison. 

I stared into the abyss of his gaze, my breath coming in shallow gasps. 

“Why are you doing this to me?” My voice barely escaped my throat and became a soft trembling whisper.

Sevastian pulled me closer, and I almost stumbled which made my balance slip for a moment, but I managed to catch myself not fall. 

Instantly, my hand landed flat against his chest.

The sudden contact in his body startled me. 

His chest was big and solid like stone. 

I felt his radiating heat that made me feel both strange and suffocating. 

His heartbeat was steady beneath my palm, slow and unbothered, as if this entire ordeal was just another game for him.

I glanced up, and our eyes locked. 

It felt like the world slowed under the weight of his cold, calculating stare. 

There was no anger, or hatred, he just stood in front of me quitely while his gaze penetrated inside my flesh. 

Sevastian shows me today that he didn’t need to raise his voice to command obedience, because his presence alone made everyone submit to him.  

Then without warning, his fingers latched onto my wedding ring.

Before I could process what he’s going to do, he yanked it off with a force that left my finger stinging.

“What the hell are you doing?” I shrieked, panic rising in my chest. 

I made a move to snatch it back, but Sevastian was faster. His hand clamped around my wrist with force precision.

“Let me go Orte—”

My words died on my lips when he brought my hand to his mouth. 

His lips brushed my palm and every time his hot breath hit my skin, it set my nerves on fire.

“What the—” I whispered, breathless.

And then, with deliberate slowness, Sevastian slipped my ring finger into his mouth.

My eyes widened in disbelief, my heart hammering against my chest. 

His teeth scraped my skin before sinking into the flesh, just enough to make me twitch from the sharp pain.

I gasped, both from the sting and the bite I got from him. 

My entire body tensed as he bit down harder, marking me not with ink or metal, but with flesh and teeth.

When he finally released my hand, my skin throbbed, the faint mark of his bite was visible against my finger. 

I cradled my hand, staring in disbelief at the mark he left behind.

“This,” Sevastian murmured, his voice low and sharp.

“Is my mark and ring.” His tone carried an edge, dangerous yet confident, as if the words were meant to bind me.

“The symbol that you are no longer Celestina Valeztina-Savelli.” His lips ghosted over my skin, and my chest tightened as he whispered the next words.

“...but Celestina Valeztina-Ortega.”

His next words were a soft snarl, dripping with ruthless certainty. 

“My property, my wife.” He added, while locking his gaze on me.

There was no hesitation in his eyes, no flicker of remorse, only that same ruthless determination that chilled me to my core.

I tried to pull my hand back, but he didn’t let go.

"You’re insane," I whispered, my voice barely audible, trembling despite my best efforts not to show it.

“Yes, I’m insane,” he replied with a hint of mischief in his voice, “And I can drive you crazy…” He paused, letting the tension hang in the air. 

“In bed,” he added, a smirk playing on his lips.

In an instant, my hand shot up, ready to slap him, but he was quicker, grasping my wrist with a firm grip that surprised me.

"You can fight me all you want," he whispered, his tone smooth as velvet but with a deadly edge. "But in the end, you'll wear my name, my mark, and that will tell the world that you belong to me."

I clenched my jaw, my breaths coming in short bursts. “You think this is love? You think you can just force me into your world and make me yours?”

Sevastian's lips curled at the corners, a fleeting twitch that hinted at something far more sinister than a smile.

"Love?" He scoffed.  

“No, Celestina. This isn’t love. Love is fragile, it shatters with the slightest touch. What I want from you…” He leaned closer, his eyes darkening.  

“It doesn’t break. It’s something far stronger, something that binds us in ways you can’t escape me.” he added, his voice low and intense, each word dripping with a sense of irresistibility.

I swallowed hard, a lump forming in my throat. His words crawled under my skin, leaving a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Slowly, I felt his hand slide down from my wrist to my waist, pulling me flush against him. 

The sudden closeness left me dizzy. His intoxicating scent enveloped me, and the warmth radiating from him wrapped around me like a heavy blanket. 

The sheer force of his presence overwhelmed my senses, making it hard to think or breathe as everything else faded away.

"I know that from this moment on, you’ll try to run away from me," he whispered, a playful tone woven into his words. 

"But the harder you resist, the tighter I’ll hold on. You can’t escape me, Celestina. There’s nowhere you can go that I won’t follow. It’s futile to even think about it." His eyes gleamed with a mix of challenge and certainty, as if he relished the thought of the chase.

I stared at him, trying to keep my breath steady, trying not to let him see how deeply he rattled me. 

But it was no use, because he already saw everything.

And he enjoyed every second of it.

“I will never be yours,” I said, the words falling from my lips like a broken promise.

His expression didn’t change. However, his smirk deepened, as if my defiance only amused him.

“Never,” I whispered again, more to myself than to him.

But Sevastian laughed with mockery, the sound low and dark, sending goosebumps racing down my arms.

“Oh, mi esposa,” he murmured, “You already are.”

His hand moved to my chin, tilting my face upward until our noses nearly brushed.

“And the sooner you realize that, the easier it will be for both of us.”

Before I could gather my thoughts and muster a hint of resistance, his lips crashed against mine.