THE DEVIL IN A SUIT
490 Words
The morning after her wedding didn’t feel real.
Selena stood on the balcony of her assigned room, looking out over the gray waves crashing against the cliffside below. The ocean roared like it was warning her You shouldn’t be here.
She clutched the silk robe tighter around her. Even it felt like a lie. Nothing about this life fit her. Not the rich silence. Not the view. Not the cold marble beneath her bare feet.
And definitely not the man downstairs.
Her phone buzzed on the table.
One new message.
Unknown Number: Come downstairs. Now.
No name. No greeting. Just a command.
She exhaled sharply and walked to the closet where a dress had been laid out for her. Dark green. Designer. Price tag still attached.
“Wow,” she muttered. “You really went all in, huh?”
She took a breath, pulled the dress over her body, and stepped into heels that didn’t belong to someone like her.
Then she went to face the devil.
⸻
The dining room was too elegant to feel like a home. A long table. Crystal glasses. Gold-trimmed plates. Luca sat at the head, reading something on his phone, dressed in another flawless black suit.
He didn’t look up when she entered.
“You’re late,” he said calmly.
“It’s seven-oh-two.”
He finally glanced up. His gaze flicked over her not in desire, but in calculation.
“Try seven sharp next time.”
Selena sat, folding her hands neatly in her lap like this was a test.
Maybe it was.
“You didn’t eat last night,” he said, eyes still on the screen.
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“Eat anyway.” He nodded toward the plate already set before her eggs, toast, and fruit so perfectly arranged it looked fake.
She stared at it.
“You really expect me to play the obedient little wife?”
Luca’s eyes met hers. Still unreadable. Still cold.
“I expect you to follow the contract you signed.”
Selena’s mouth tightened. “Do you even know how to be human?”
His expression didn’t flicker. “Not in ways that matter to you.”
She pushed the plate away. “Then don’t expect me to act like we’re something we’re not.”
Luca stood. The chair barely made a sound as it slid back.
“For the record,” he said, buttoning his jacket, “I didn’t want a wife.”
“Then why me?”
He looked at her really looked and for the first time, she thought she saw something behind his stare. A shadow. A scar. But it disappeared as quickly as it came.
“Because you were easy to control.”
Selena stood too. “We’ll see about that.”
⸻
He walked out.
She sat alone.
And for the first time, Selena didn’t just feel like a prisoner.
She felt like a match… about to be struck.
- Writer
