Chapter 2:The Devil Knows My Name
1253 Words
Arielle could not remember how she got back to the cafe.
Her hands were shaking when she put on her apron behind the counter. Her heart was beating fast as she was using the espresso machine.
Lucien Valmont knew her name.
This was very bad.
He knew her last name. Beaumont.
Arielle thought to herself, “I have seen this man before, but where?”
This situation doesn't feel like a coincidence. Men like Lucien Valmont don't do coincidences.
She mistakenly dropped a cup that broke.
“Are you okay?” her coworker asked.
“Y-yeah,” but she was not okay.
She pulled herself together to get through the day.
At 8:17 p.m, the cafe was almost empty, and the door opened.
Lucien Valmont walked in like he owned the place.
Rafeal followed, smiling as if he belonged.
Everyone in the cafe went still.
Arielle froze in her spot behind the counter. Lucien’s gaze locked onto her instantly.
Predatory intent.
He walked straight to the counter.
“You,” he said quietly.
Her heart skipped a beat. “M-me?”
“I want coffee,” he said. “From you”.
Rafeal leaned against the counter beside him. “I need whatever makes her smile again.”
Arielle flushed.
She turned to the machine, painfully aware of Lucien’s eyes tracking every movement of her body.
When she gave him the cup, their fingers brushed in that moment. She felt the electricity snap between them.
Arielle took a breath.
Lucien did not let go of her hand immediately.
“Finish your shift, then come outside,” he said softly.
Her stomach flipped. “Why?”
“I am offering you a job,” he said
Rafeal looked surprised. “Cousin–” he said
Lucien cut him a look.
“Temporary assistant,” Lucien continued…. His eyes never leaving Arielle’s. “It has a high pay, and you start immediately.”
She screamed no in her mind, but her mouth whispered, “Okay.”
Lucien finally released her hand… as if letting go was a decision he didn't like entirely.
She pulled her hand back, trying to ignore the strange warmth she felt from just his fingers. Something about him made him feel familiar, and he made her nervous. Not just his voice but something she couldn't identify.
Thirty minutes later, she stepped out into the night air.
Lucien stood beside a silver luxury car.
Rafeal hovered near the door, watching her in case she might run away.
Lucien opened the passenger door.
“You sure took your precious time… Get in.”
The command in his voice sent a sharp shiver down her spine.
She obeyed.
The car smelled like leather and expensive cologne.
Lucien sat beside her. He sat too close.
Rafeal took the front seat.
The driver pulled away.
“You’re shaking,” Lucien whispered.
“I-I’m scar- nervous,” she stammered.
“What do you think of me?”
She turned.. Caught off guard by his question
“I do not know, but I know power when I see it… and it usually comes with a price,” she admitted
Something shifted in his expression. Not anger. Not amusement but interest.
He leaned close.
“You are right,” he said. “Everything has a price.”
Her breath caught.
“But I did not choose you for that reason because you’re easy to control,” he said.
“I chose you because you are trying your best not to fall apart.”
She was scared.
Rafeal watched all this happen through the rearview mirror of the car.
He turned back sharply. “Lucien—”
Lucien didn't break eye contact with her.
“You’ll report to the Valmont tower by 7. a.m tomorrow.”
Arielle couldn't sleep that night.
She kept thinking about the way Lucien looked at her.
The way Rafeal also smiled at her.
The way her body betrayed her.
She kept on thinking to herself, “This man feels familiar, he makes me feel warm.”
At 2:54 a.m., her phone buzzed.
It was an Unknown number.
The message said:
If you want your uncle to live long and keep his house, you’ll do exactly what I say.
Her blood went cold.
Another message followed.
A photo.
Uncle Thomas is standing outside his house.
Time-stamped ten minutes ago.
Then:
You have to work for Lucien Valmont now.
You will spy for me.
Or your precious Uncle loses everything.
You will also lose your life and everything important to you.
She dropped her phone.
She was scared….
She couldn't believe what she just saw.
She couldn't think of anything….
All she could think about was how to save her uncle.
She cried into her pillow, thinking, “Who could this anonymous person be?”
She said, “I have already lost my family, my inheritance…. Now I’ll also lose the only person who made me feel wanted. I really don't want that.”
The next morning, she walked into the Valmont tower…
Lucien assigned her an office directly beside his and Rafeal’s.
Rafeal bought her coffee personally.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She had to force a smile… remembering the message she received in the morning. “Just a little bit tired.”
Lucien called her into his office an hour later.
The office door closed behind her.
Arielle felt him closer to her.
Her heart started pounding.
“You are lying to me,” he said.
Her breath hitched. “About what?”
“Everything.”
He lifted her chin firmly.
Her knees nearly buckled.
She tried to laugh it off, but it came out strained… “You don't even know me.”
“I know enough.”
He reached out gently… tilting her chin up.
“You do not look at me like an employee,” he said.
“You avoid my eyes, and your hands shake when you think no one is looking. And when I get close–”
He stepped closer.
Her back hit the desk.
“—you forget how to breathe.”
Her chest rose sharply.
“That doesn't sound like an employee,” he finished.
“Then what does it sound like?” Arielle whispered.
“You look at me like a woman who’s terrified and turned on at the same time,” he said.
She looked away.
His fingers tightened at her chin, forcing their eyes to meet again.
“Look at me,” he said.
No blackmail… No fear.
Their lips met.
The kiss was inevitable... devastating.
Deep and possessive.
His hand slid to her waist.
He pulled her against him.
Her body melted into his.
She moaned slowly into his mouth… he groaned.
At that moment, she remembered the unknown number that texted her, and she pulled back… pushing him away.
She said, “We can’t do this."
“But we will,” he said.
She was shaking and trembling when she left his office.
Rafeal was waiting for his office.
He saw her face and how terrified she looked.
His jaw tightened.
She saw Rafeal and faked a smile… but he didn’t look at her…
He just walked past her with his fist tightened as he barged into Lucien’s office.
That was the first time she ever saw Rafeal angry.
Across town, the anonymous figure watched the live feed from the hidden cameras in Lucien’s office.
He smiled.
“Good girl, Arielle,” he murmured.
“Make him fall for you."
- Writer
