Married to the Devil

“I’ll break you until you can’t”

“Say it, Leia.”

Jake’s voice carried through the cathedral, low but commanding, like the toll of the final bell. He didn’t need to shout. His tone alone was enough to make her bones tighten.

Leia’s mouth went dry. The weight of hundreds of eyes pressed against her, sharp and suffocating. The white veil blurred her vision, but she could feel the stares, hear the hushed murmurs.

“She’s trembling…”

“Poor girl, she should be grateful.”

“He’s too much man for her.”

Each whisper was a dagger.

Jake’s hand was locked over hers, his grip bruising. His thumb traced slow, possessive circles against her skin as if to remind her: you don’t get to run. His expression was calm, smug even, but his eyes, those dark, unblinking eyes, warned her of what would happen if she resisted.

Leia’s heart pounded. She wanted to scream. To tear off the gown that felt like a funeral shroud. To shout at her father, sitting in the front row, stone-faced, betraying her with his silence.

But all she could do was choke on the words.

“I… I—”

She faltered.

The crowd rippled like restless water. Disbelief. Judgment. Excitement.

Jake leaned in, his lips grazing her ear, his whisper a blade dipped in honey.

“Say it, wife. Or I’ll make you regret breathing.”

“What is your problem?”

She wanted to slap him. She wanted to run. But her father’s glare cut into her, cold and merciless, reminding her that this wasn’t just marriage. It was a transaction. Her rebellion would cost more than her freedom.

Leia’s lashes fluttered. Her chest heaved once. Twice. Then, with a voice that cracked like breaking glass, she forced it out.

“I do.”

Applause exploded.

The crowd clapped, gasped, and sighed in satisfaction. They saw victory. She felt chains.

Jake’s smirk deepened, carving into her like a scar.

The priest turned. “And do you, Carter , take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Jake’s answer was immediate. Firm. Chilling.

“I do.”

Not a vow. A verdict.

The priest’s smile widened. “Then by the power vested in me, you may kiss the bride.”

Leia froze. Her stomach lurched. No. Not this. Not in front of everyone.

“Don’t you dare…” She starts to protest.

But Jake didn’t hesitate. He cupped her jaw, tilting her face up, his grip rough, unyielding. His lips crashed against hers, hard and merciless. It wasn’t a kiss. It was a brand, scorching her in front of hundreds of witnesses.

The crowd roared in approval.

Leia clenched her fists around her bouquet until the thorns bit her palms. The petals crumbled, falling between her trembling fingers. She wanted to shove him off, to spit in his mouth and scream, but she didn’t. Because Jake’s hand locked at the small of her back, holding her in place, owning her.

When he finally pulled away, her lips trembled, her lungs burned, her entire body shook with rage.

Jake’s mouth hovered by her ear, his whisper softer than silk, deadlier than poison.

“Congratulations, darling. You just sold your soul to the devil.”

Her blood froze.

The applause thundered around them, deafening, mocking. Her father stood and clapped. Her mother dabbed at the corner of her eyes with a lace handkerchief. The crowd cheered and tossed roses as if she hadn’t just been condemned.

Jake laced their fingers together and turned, leading her down the aisle like a king leading his trophy. She stumbled once, her heels sliding, but his grip yanked her upright without pause.

Outside the cathedral doors, the world exploded in light. Paparazzi flashed their cameras, guests cheered louder, petals rained down in a storm of red and white. To them, it was a fairytale. To Leia, it was the sound of a cage slamming shut.

She dared a glance up at Jake. His profile was cut from stone, sharp and terrifyingly beautiful, his smile cold enough to freeze. He didn’t look at her once. He didn’t need to. His hand crushing hers said enough.

When the car door shut behind them and the noise of the crowd dulled to silence, Leia’s breath rushed out in shaky bursts.

The limousine smelled of leather and danger.

Finally, she snapped. “You’re a monster and I hate you.”

Jake turned his head slowly, that same infuriating smirk curling his lips. He leaned back, stretching out like the predator he was. “No, wife. I’m your husband.” His gaze darkened, pinning her in place. “And tonight, you’ll learn the difference between love and hate.”

Leia’s heart slammed against her ribs. The car lurched forward, carrying her deeper into a future she didn’t choose.

And for the first time, she understood.

The wedding wasn’t the end.

It was the beginning of her war.

—

The limousine crawled up the endless driveway like it was delivering her to execution.

Leia pressed her forehead to the glass, staring at the mansion looming in the dark. Black stone, sharp edges, windows glowing like watchful eyes. It was massive, sprawling, dripping with power and coldness. Not a home. A fortress. A prison.

Her throat tightened. This is where my life ends.

“You live here?” Her voice cracked, thinner than she wanted.

Jake’s laugh rolled through the dark like thunder. Low, dangerous, cruelly amused.

“We live here now, darling.”

Her nails dug into the seat. “Don’t call me that.”

His head turned slowly, his eyes pinning her in place. He didn’t raise his voice, he didn’t have to. Every syllable came out like a sentence being passed.

“What should I call you then? Captive? Property? Or perhaps…” His mouth curved into that slow, devilish smirk. “Mine.”

“You are crazy.”. She snapped her gaze to the window again, refusing to let him see her flinch. If she looked at him too long, she swore he could peel back her skin and read the fear underneath.

The car rolled to a stop. Silence fell heavily.

The driver opened the door, bowing low. Jake stepped out first, tall and commanding, his suit catching the moonlight. Then he turned and held out his hand to her, like a gentleman offering assistance.

Leia stared at it. Cold dread crawled up her spine. She wanted to refuse, to slap that hand away and walk on her own.

But Jake’s smirk widened. He wanted her to defy him. He was hungry for it. And she knew, if she denied him here, in front of the watching staff and guards, he would make her pay tenfold once those doors closed.

So she placed her hand in his.

His grip locked instantly, iron beneath velvet. He didn’t just hold her, he claimed her.

They ascended the marble steps together. The air was sharp, the night too quiet. When the double doors opened, the mansion revealed itself in a cascade of gold light and shadows. Chandeliers dripped like captured stars, staircases spiraled upward like the arms of a beast. Roses lined the hall, their scent too sharp, too metallic.

Leia shivered. Roses were supposed to smell like love. These smelled like blood.

Jake bent close, his breath brushing her ear.

“Welcome home, wife.” His smile sliced across her like a blade wrapped in silk. “Tonight, you stop being a guest.”

Leia’s chest clenched. “And what if I refuse?”

Jake chuckled, the sound low and sinful. He leaned closer until his lips grazed the shell of her ear.

“Then, darling… I’ll break you until you can’t.”

Her knees buckled, but his hand held her upright, dragging her deeper into the mansion. Staff lined the walls, heads bowed, perfectly still. They didn’t look at her. They looked at him. Every soul in the house bent to his shadow.

And now, so did she.

He led her up the staircase, each step echoing like a countdown. Leia’s breath quickened, the dread clawing higher into her chest with every heartbeat.

Halfway up, she tore her hand from his grip. The sound cracked like a whip through the hall.

The staffs gasped. One dropped her tray.

Jake stopped. Slowly, he turned to her, his expression unreadable.

Leia’s chin lifted, her fire sparking through her fear. “I’m not your possession. You can drag me here, but you will never own me.”

For a heartbeat, silence reigned.

Then Jake laughed. A slow, dangerous laugh that slithered through the hall and made the servants scatter like frightened birds.

He leaned down, his mouth inches from hers, his voice a promise wrapped in sin.

“Oh, Leia. That’s what makes this fun.”

He seized her wrist again, tighter, harder, dragging her up the final steps.

The corridor stretched long and endlessly, doors lined like prison cells. At the end, the master bedroom loomed, dark wood, gold handles, a door too heavy to ever open on its own.

Jake pushed it open. The air inside was warmer, thicker, scented faintly of leather and smoke. Shadows pooled in the corners, the bed towering like an altar.

Leia froze at the threshold. Her chest rose and fell too fast.

Jake didn’t push her in. He didn’t need to. He only leaned against the frame, his eyes drinking in her fear like wine.

“Tonight,” he murmured, his smile slow, devilish, inevitable, “you’ll understand what it means to be mine.”

The door slammed shut.

Darkness swallowed her whole.