A deal with the devils heart

Chapter 3

Mia's POV

My eyes fluttered as Celine opened the curtains

“Do you really have no plans to get to work today?” she asked, her arms crossed, ready to lecture me if need be.

I sighed, pulling the bed sheets over my head. “Can I just skip today?” I mumbled.

“ Not under my watch.” She said, and after much struggle she pulled the sheets away.

“ I really don't feel like going to work today.” I said .

“Then you will face Ryans wrath.” She said

I sighed.

“Celine, I have bigger problems and Ryan is the least of my problems.”

“ And what big problem of yours, mind telling me what exactly happened with you and Damien? Aside from his dejavu rescue scene and you crying yourself to sleep, I want details,” she pressed

I hesitated for a while, “Damien asked me to marry him.”

Celine burst into laughter, clearly assuming I was joking. But her amusement faded when she noticed my deadpan stare.

“You’re serious?” she asked, her brow furrowing.

I nodded.

“Is that why you cried out your eyes last night?”

“ It's complicated,” I said, shaking my head.

“How complicated Mia, wait don’t tell me you’re considering it,” she said, half-joking but with a serious tone.

“Hell no,” I said .

“Then what’s bothering you?”

“I just want to know *why* he asked,” I admitted, walking around the room. “Something about this doesn’t feel right. Can you look into what he has been up to? I need to know why he is asking me to marry him.”

Celine gave me a skeptical look. “Remind me again what my job is? I’m your personal assistant, not a private investigator.”

I gave her my best pleading look.

She groaned. “Fine. I’ll see what I can find. But you need to get ready for work. You’re already late.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said, saluting her playfully as she left the room.

I headed to the restroom as I quickly took my bath and headed downstairs, Celine was already in the car, her full concentration was on her phone.

“Anything on Damien?” I asked as I enetered the car.

Celine didn’t look up. “Apparently, he hit rock bottom about five years ago. After his father died, he couldn’t manage the company properly, no wonder it went bankrupt. He’s broke, like completely broke. He’s squatting at a friend’s place and reportedly owes money to some loan shark.”

Hearing this made my day and I couldn’t help but smile. “Serves him right,” I muttered.

“ And how do you know this much about him in less than an hour?” I asked .

“ A detective never reveals her secret.” She said with a smile.

“Suit yourself.” I said in-between chuckles

As I arrived at the office, I saw Damien standing beside the gate.

"Mia, please, can I have a minute?" he asked, as I got down from the car.

I raised an eyebrow, surprised by his bruised face. "My office," I said, gesturing for him to follow me.

As we stepped inside, Damien's eyes scanned the room.

“You didn’t ask to meet me here just to admire my office, did you?” I asked as I took a seat.

“Of course not, I—”

I cut him off mid-sentence, holding up a hand.

“Last night, I let you speak your piece, but I didn’t say what I needed to. So let me take my turn now,” I said with a smile.

“For ten years, you stayed out of my life. Now, after all that time, you show up with the nerve to ask me to marry you?” I scoffed

“Let me get this straight,”.

“You’re broke. You can barely afford to take care of yourself. You are definitely not the rich billionaire I know, with the way you look, I can tell your bruises were gotten from a loan shark, And poor Damien let his father’s company go bankrupt, and you think I would be foolish enough to marry you ?” I said with a smile all over my face, I liked the way I made him feel, rubbing his failure to his face was more thrilling than I expected.

“Here’s the thing,” I continued, as i spinned around in her chair.

“I don’t see what’s in this for me. Why would I marry you? My ex-husband or rather a man whose life is falling apart asks me to marry him, for what reason?”

He bit my lip, clearly holding back the urge to snap.

“As you’ve probably heard, my father’s company went bankrupt. I owe a lot of money…”

I held up a finger, cutting him off again. “Spare me the sob story. Get to the point. Unlike you, I have a busy life.”

“Do you always have to interrupt me?” he asked, his voice a bit high.

“Would you prefer I sit quietly and pretend to care?” I asked

“Could you at least let me explain?” he asked.

I waved a hand toward the chair opposite me for him to sit down. “Fine. . Let’s hear this grand explanation of yours.”

“First, I want to apologize for the way I treated you in the past,” He paused. “It was wrong of me and I take full responsibility for what I did but I was in love so I really did not have an option.”

I opened her mouth to say something, but he raised a hand to stop me.

“Let me finish, please,” he said firmly.

She leaned back, crossing her arms.

“After you left, my father found out what I did to you. He was furious but couldn’t take the company back because he had already handed it over to me. Instead, he made sure to punish me in a way I could never forget.” he paused.

“He left a slush fund in his will—worth a thousand billion dollars but he tied it to two conditions. I can only access the money if I marry you. And we have to stay married for at least three months before I can get access to it.”

I burst into a long laugh, the laugh so hard that I could see tears fall down from my eyes.

Let me get this straight,"I said, still chuckling. “Your father thought forcing you to marry me would be a suitable punishment, and you actually think I would agree to this ridiculous plan of yours.?”

“This was what I thought but as crazy as it sounds, it took me five years Mia, five years to exhaust every other option, Mia. I tried everything before coming to you. I swallowed my pride and came back because I had no other choice. I need you… I need your help.”

My laughter changed to a frown, replaced by a cold look. “And why exactly should I care? Why should you being in a miserable state be my problem?”

“I’ll give you two hundred billion dollars,” he said, abruptly.

I raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

“Fine. Half. Fifty-fifty. I wouldn’t be able to get the money without you anyway,” he added, trying not to sound defeated.

“Get out,” I said abruptly, my voice high.

“What?” he asked, taken aback.

“You heard me. Get out,” I repeated. “I don’t need your money, Damien. I don’t need anything from you. Watching you be miserable is far more satisfying than any deal you could offer me.”

“Then make me miserable,” he said, more like he pleaded “But please, Mia, help me this once. I’ll do anything—anything you want. Just agree to this.”

I stood up as I pointed to the door. “Leave, Damien. I’m done with this conversation.”

He stood up slowly, then he headed to the door. As he reached out to the door handle.

“I’ll marry you,” I said abruptly.