The Devil's Bargain
1030 Words
Pain was the first thing Aria felt—then silk.
Soft sheets.
Cold air.
A scent like winter and cigar smoke.
She jerked upright. Her wrists were bound, not by ropes, but by something worse—silver cuffs attached to the headboard of a bed that was far too expensive, in a room far too quiet.
Where the hell was she?
“Relax,” came a smooth, cultured voice from the shadows. “If I wanted you dead, you'd already be ashes.”
A tall figure stepped into the light. Pale blue eyes. Bone structure sharp enough to wound. A scar along his jaw, partly hidden by an expensive suit.
Aria’s breath caught.
“…Lucien De Luca.”
He smiled, amused. “Ah. So the little snake knows her monsters.”
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
“Exactly why I’m still dangerous.”
Lucien moved closer, fingers brushing her cheek, not tender—calculating.
“You played a bold game, seducing Rome,” he said. “But you don’t even know the rules yet. So I’m here to offer you a choice, Aria. Help me destroy him—and I’ll show you the truth about your father.”
She blinked. “You’re lying.”
He dropped a file on the bed.
Photos spilled out. Grainy. Black and white. One showed a man—her father—being led into a black van, eyes covered, hands bound.
Timestamp: Three weeks ago.
“No one’s ever truly dead,” Lucien said, “unless someone wants them that way.”
Her chest twisted. Everything she believed—Rome killing her father, Cassian selling her out—was it all a lie?
“Why me?” she whispered.
“Because,” Lucien murmured, leaning in close, “they all want you. And that makes you the perfect weapon.”
He unlocked her cuffs. “Now get dressed, sweetheart. You’re going back to Rome.
The dress was black satin. A mirror of the one she wore the night she first kissed the beast.
This time, her body trembled—not from seduction, but confusion.
In her ear, the tiny earpiece hummed with Lucien’s voice.
“Get in. Make him want you. Find the vault key.”
“Shut up,” she whispered, stepping into Rome’s penthouse.
It was silent.
Too silent.
No guards. No music.
No Rome.
Then—glass shattered in the distance.
Aria followed the sound, her heels echoing on marble floors until she stepped into the dining room—and froze.
Blood.
Everywhere.
A body on the floor. Lifeless. A gun in his hand.
Rome stood over it, breathing hard, shirt ripped open, blood on his knuckles.
He looked up—and saw her.
For a moment, everything stopped.
Then he spoke, voice low, dangerous.
“You lied to me, Aria. So I killed for you. Now we’re even.”
Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
“What… what did you do?”
Rome stepped over the corpse and closed the distance between them.
“He followed you from the gala. Worked for Cassian. Had your necklace.”
Aria’s eyes widened. “Cassian sent a spy?”
Rome’s fingers touched her jaw. “I warned you. Everyone wants you, Aria. But I’m the only one willing to kill for you.”
She trembled, unsure if it was fear or something far worse.
“You should run,” he whispered.
“I don’t want to.”
“Then stay.”
He kissed her.
Hard. Hungry. Possessive.
But something was different this time. There was no performance. No lies.
Just heat and war.
Her hands dug into his chest—half a plea, half a threat.
“I’m not yours,” she breathed.
Rome’s eyes burned. “You are now.”
—
Elsewhere – Underground
Cassian slammed his fist into the wall of the wine cellar beneath his estate. Blood dripped from his cheek where Zayne had cut him.
“She chose him.”
Dr. Vega, seated calmly across from him, flipped a page in her notes.
“She didn’t choose anyone. That’s what makes her valuable.”
Cassian paced like a caged animal. “Rome won’t give her back.”
“He won’t have a choice,” Vega said.
“Why?”
She smiled. “Because the auction is back on.”
Cassian’s head snapped up.
“You’re going to sell her?”
“Not just her,” Vega said. “You’re going to auction the truth.”
—
Back at the Penthouse
Aria lay beneath Rome, her body still burning from his touch, when she whispered, “Why did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Kill for me.”
Rome looked down at her, the mask he always wore slipping for the first time.
“Because if you die… the game ends. And I haven’t won yet.”
She stared at him, trying to see the man beneath the beast.
“What are you playing for?”
He leaned closer.
“You.”
—
Later That Night
Aria rose quietly, sliding out of bed. The vault was behind a painting in the hallway.
Lucien’s voice hissed in her ear: “Go. Now.”
She moved to the wall, pressed the trigger, and watched the painting swing open.
Inside—files. Drives. Photos.
And one red envelope.
She grabbed it all.
But before she could close the vault, a shadow loomed behind her.
Rome’s voice was a whisper of fire.
“What are you stealing from me now?”
She turned slowly, hand still on the evidence that could burn his empire to the ground.
But he didn’t attack.
He just stared at her.
Like he already knew.
“Go ahead,” he said. “Take it. Burn me to the ground. Just remember…”
He stepped closer.
“When you light that match—you’re in the fire too.”
Cassian stands beneath a massive screen. Images flash—Rome killing a man, Aria seducing him, the vault files.
And one final shot.
Aria Vale—standing beside Lucien De Luca.
Cassian turns to the crowd of masked bidders.
“Let the game begin.”
- Writer
