Chapter 21

The Devil You Love

Rain pounded against the windows like a somber drumbeat.

I hadn’t stepped out of the room since I found out about the deal. The contract. The truth that flipped my whole life upside down.

Outside, the empire I thought I owned kept churning along soldiers moving, orders being sent out in my name, territories stabilizing, and alliances forming.

But inside, I was still fighting my own battle.

Not with Lucien, but with Damian.

I gazed at my reflection in the mirror. My face was familiar, but what about my life? My rise? My anger?

Did any of this really belong to me?

Or had I just slipped into a role that someone else had scripted long ago?

Then there was a knock.

Vera walked in, her heels barely making a sound on the marble floor.

“You haven’t eaten.”

I’m not hungry.

“You’re not a ghost either,” she said calmly. “So stop acting like one.”

I let out a bitter little laugh. You knew, didn’t you?

She hesitated.

You knew about the deal. “I knew some things. Not everything.”

“You built this. No deal could have forced you to do what you did. That was all you.”

I turned my gaze away. I thought Damian had saved me.

“He did, but he also used you. That’s the part you need to come to terms with. Power and love don’t usually coexist peacefully.”

I stayed silent. But he said he loves me.

“Of course he does. The real question is, can you love the man who created this mess while knowing he was the one who lit the fire?”

Later that evening, I found Damian in the garden, the same place where we once danced under fake stars, pretending we weren’t enemies.

He stood beneath a tree, his suit jacket off, his shirt drenched from the rain.

He didn’t turn when I approached.

“You always find me in the dark,” he said softly.

I didn’t say anything.

After a moment, he finally turned to face me. His expression seemed older, maybe even worn down by regret.

“You came to kill me?”

Not yet. I just haven’t decided.

He nodded. “Then speak while I can still hear it.”

“I made a deal with your mother because I thought it was the only way to keep you safe. I never expected to fall in love with you. That wasn’t part of the plan.”

You could’ve told me that.

“I was scared. If you found out the truth, I thought you’d hate me. Maybe you do.”

I stepped closer. I hate that I ever believed our connection was real.

“It was real. Every touch, every kiss, every moment I spent beside you. None of that was part of the plan. That was all me.”

I looked deep into his eyes, those same eyes that had once terrified me and now haunted my dreams.

I don’t know if I can trust you again.

He nodded.

But I also don’t want to walk away, I whispered.

He reached out, his hand brushing my face, his voice cracking.

“Stay. Not as my weapon, not as my heir, just…as mine.”

My eyes glistened, but I forced myself to keep them open.

Would you choose me if I burned everything we’ve built to the ground?

“Yes, even your ashes would be better than a kingdom without you.”

That’s when everything fell apart for me.

I stepped closer, letting myself sink into his embrace. Just for tonight, I let myself believe I could still love a man who had shattered my heart before he even had a chance to hold it.

Later, we lay in silence, tangled in black sheets while the storm finally passed outside.

I rested my head on Damian’s chest, my fingers tracing the scar on his side.

I want Lucien dead.

“I know.”

But not by my hands.

He turned his head to look at me, “Why?”

Because killing him would just make me like him.

Damian didn’t argue. Instead, he pressed a gentle kiss on my forehead. “You don’t need to be like him to destroy him,” he murmured. “You’ve already won.”

The next morning, I stood over Lucien’s cell. He looked up at me with bloodshot eyes, a twisted smile on his lips.

“Here to finish the job?”

No, I’m here to let you rot.

He laughed, but it turned into a cough. “You think that’s punishment?”

No, but it’s what my mother would’ve wanted. You don’t get to be a martyr. You don’t get a quick end. You get forgotten.

I turned to the guards. “Seal the cell. No lights. No visitors. He’ll die alone, just like the coward he is.”

Lucien didn’t scream. He just smiled, but this time it felt hollow.

Because I haven’t given him revenge. I’ve given him nothing.

And that’s the cruelest sentence of all.

Outside, the sun finally broke through. I took a deep breath. Damian joined me on the terrace, holding a new report.

“Spain wants a meeting.”

“They can wait. We’ve got a legacy to rebuild first.” He slid an envelope toward me.

“What’s this?”

“A gift,” he said. “From the devil you love.”

I opened it. Inside was the original contract my mother had written, signed by Damian.

Nullified.

“No more details,” he said softly. “Only choice. Yours.”

I stared at the paper, then back at him.

And for the first time since all of this began, I smiled.

Not because I won.

But because I chose my power, instead of letting it choose me.