THE BLACK CARD
1000 Words
ISABELLA
I practically ran out of Voss International the second Rafe — Mr. Voss gave me the rest of the day off. My face was still burning from his public dressing-down, and my neck ached under the scarf I kept yanking higher. Every step sent fresh aches through my thoroughly used body, reminders of how the Reaper had claimed me all weekend while the billionaire CEO had just humiliated his “Ugly Betty” assistant in front of the entire executive floor.
God, the irony is going to kill me before he ever does.
I felt so small, so pathetic. The same man who had me cuffed to his bed, choking on his c**k and begging for more, had looked at me today like I was something disgusting stuck to his shoe. He couldn’t even recognise me. I’d surrendered everything to him; my body, my signature on that devil’s contract, and he still saw me as frumpy, invisible Reyes.
I hated the lies. I hated myself for signing that contract, but most of all, I hated how much I still wanted him.
Needing to feel something like control, I headed to a nearby luxury boutique I’d always walked past with longing. Today, with his black card burning a hole in my bag and some savings of my own, I was determined to buy a few proper outfits. No more hiding.
Big mistake.
The moment I stepped inside the sleek, minimalist store, I heard familiar, poisonous laughter.
“Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.”
My stomach dropped. Sarah, Megan, and Tyler, my three favourite workplace tormentors, were browsing near the designer dresses. Their eyes widened in mocking surprise when they saw me.
“Ugly Betty?” Sarah cackled. “What are you doing in a place like this? Did you get lost on your way to the thrift store?”
Tyler smirked, crossing his arms.
“This isn’t Goodwill, sweetheart. Nothing here fits… your style.”
Megan snatched a silk blouse from a rack.
“Yeah, go back to your cardigans and orthopedic shoes. People like you don’t belong here.”
People like me?
I tried to ignore them, clutching two beautiful tailored blouses and a sleek black pencil skirt, the last ones in my size. I just wanted to pay and leave.
Tyler stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“Where do you think you’re going with those? Those are the last ones. We wanted them.”
“Give them back,” I said quietly, reaching out.
Megan laughed in my face.
“What would you know about fashion, Betty? You dress like a depressed nun. Hand them over.”
The manager appeared, all polished smiles until he saw me.
“Is there a problem?”
Sarah immediately jumped in.
“This… person is causing a scene. We don’t know why your store lets just anyone walk in. She clearly can’t afford anything here.”
The manager turned to me with a cold stare.
“Miss, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“I’m a paying customer,” I said, voice shaking but firm.
He raised an eyebrow.
“And how exactly do you plan to pay?”
I reached into my bag for my debit card. In my panic and humiliation, I pulled out the wrong one.
The sleek black card. Rafael Voss’s black card.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Tyler’s eyes bugged out.
“Is that… Mr. Voss’s card?”
Megan gasped dramatically.
“She stole it! Ugly Betty stole the boss’s black card!”
“I didn’t steal it!” I cried, but my voice sounded weak even to me. How could I explain?
Yeah, your terrifying boss f****d me senseless all weekend, gave me the card, and still doesn’t know I’m the same woman he just publicly shamed this morning. The contract I signed forbade me from saying anything.
The manager snatched the card from my hand. I lunged to grab it back.
“Wait, please—”
*Slap!*
Megan’s hand cracked across my face so hard my glasses flew off and my braces cut into my lip.
“You disgusting little thief!”
Pain exploded across my cheek. Before I could recover, Tyler shoved me hard. I stumbled backward and crashed to the floor, items scattering everywhere. My scarf slipped completely, exposing Rafe’s marks on my neck.
They all saw them.
“Oh my God,” Sarah laughed cruelly. “She really is a w***e. Look at those hickeys!”
Security arrived within seconds. I begged, tears streaming down my face, but they dragged me kicking and crying to a small holding room in the back like a criminal.
***
Now I sat on the cold floor, knees pulled to my chest, sobbing quietly. This day couldn’t possibly get worse.
I had two identities with the same dangerous man. Bella — the woman who let the Reaper cuff her, choke her, and ruin her so beautifully. And Isabella Reyes — frumpy, mocked assistant who got publicly humiliated by him this morning. The contract bound my tongue. If I told the truth, I’d be breaking it. If I lied… what lie could possibly save me?
Rafael was terrifying, cruel, and soulless. Handsome as sin, but I couldn’t let that cloud my judgment. If he found out I’d been lying to him this entire time…
The door suddenly opened. The temperature in the small room dropped instantly. Heavy footsteps, pure dominance radiating off him.
I looked up through tear-blurred eyes and my heart stopped.
Rafael Voss stood in the doorway, still in that perfectly tailored charcoal suit, looking down at me like I was something he wanted to crush. His storm-gray eyes were glacial with rage; cold, calculated, and utterly terrifying.
This wasn’t the CEO who had yelled at me this morning.
This was the Reaper.
And he was staring straight at me like he was deciding exactly how painful my punishment was going to be.
- Writer
