Married For Revenge( The Revenge Series)

The smell hit her first — a bitter mix of sweat, metal, and something damp that clung to the air like regret. Amara wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck, not because of the cold, but because every breath felt heavier the further she walked down the narrow hallway. The clang of a door behind her made her flinch. “Visitor for cell block C,” the guard’s voice echoed, his tone flat, practiced — as though he’d said it a thousand times. Amara’s heart thudded unevenly as she followed him, her heels clicking against the cement floor. The fluorescent lights flickered overhead, humming faintly like they too were tired of witnessing misery. She’d imagined this moment a dozen times since Lucas’s arrest — what she’d say, how she’d look at him — but now that she was here, her throat felt tight. Lucas, once polished and confident, now wore a face hollowed by confinement. His hair was longer, his beard rough, his eyes sharper than she remembered. He smirked when he saw her. “You came.” She hesitated before sitting across from him, the cold metal chair scraping softly. “Your parents think I should marry Ethan,” she blurted, unable to contain the anger that had been boiling inside her. “Can you believe that? They said you don't deserve me. That it would ‘keep me safe.’ Safe!” She let out a dry laugh. “They think pity marriage is protection.” Lucas leaned forward, his handcuffs clinking softly. “Ethan,” he repeated, his tone thoughtful, bitter. “He’s always been their perfect son. My parents never saw through him.” Amara frowned. “They raised him, Lucas. He’s like family.” “Family?” Lucas’s smile curved into something dark. “He’s the reason I’m here, Amara. He framed me for the money. And the murder? He did that. I took the blame because—” He stopped himself, eyes narrowing. “They’ll never believe me now. But you… you can make them.” She stared at him, confused. “Make them?” His gaze burned into hers. “Say yes to the marriage. Gain his trust. Get close. Then destroy him. Do it for me.” Her pulse skipped. “Lucas, I can’t—” “You can.” His voice hardened. “If you want to make him pay for this — for everything — you’ll do it. He ruined me, Amara. You’ll ruin him.” She looked away, her chest rising and falling rapidly. A part of her wanted to scream that this wasn’t her fight. But another part — the one that had lost her job because of Ethan’s company, the one whose dreams had been crushed under someone else’s lies — that part stirred. “How?” she whispered finally. Lucas’s lips twitched into a slow, knowing smile. “Make him fall for you. Make him trust you so deeply that when you strike, it cuts through his soul. And when it does…” He leaned closer, his voice dropping low, venomous. “… abandon him.” Her breath caught. The thought felt wrong — cruel even. But his eyes, dark with vengeance, held hers captive. “Lucas—” she started, but the guard’s voice interrupted. “Time’s up.” She froze as Lucas straightened, the handcuffs rattling softly. The guard moved closer, tapping his baton lightly on the table. Lucas leaned back, his smile returning — that familiar smile she trusted. “You said you loved me, Amara,” he murmured. “Now prove it.” The guard touched her shoulder gently. “Ma’am, visiting hours are over.” Amara rose slowly, her knees weak. She didn’t look back as she was led away, but she could feel his gaze burning holes through her back. As the heavy steel door slammed behind her, the sound echoed through her bones. Outside, the cold air bit at her cheeks, but it wasn’t the chill that made her shiver — it was the thought that she might actually do it. For Lucas. For revenge.