Sold To The Devil's Heir

Chapter 1 – Zara POV The day my life fell apart began like every other ordinary Thursday. I stared at the digital clock on my office desk, silently counting the minutes until I could leave. It was already six in the evening, and the architectural firm had finally grown quiet after another exhausting day of meetings, revisions, and impossible deadlines. My shoulders ached from sitting in front of a computer for nearly ten hours, but I didn't mind. Today wasn't just another workday. It was Adrian's birthday, and for weeks, I had planned every little detail to make it special. A small smile tugged at my lips as I glanced at the gift box resting beside my handbag. Inside was the watch he had admired months ago while we were walking past a luxury boutique. He had laughed and said it was too expensive for someone like him, but I never forgot the way his eyes lingered on it. I had saved a portion of every paycheck for six months just to buy it. Maybe love really did make people foolish. "You're still here?" my manager, Mrs. Bennett, asked as she stepped out of her office, already dressed to leave. I looked up and smiled. "I was just finishing today's drawings." She shook her head with a gentle laugh. "The drawings can wait until tomorrow. Go home, Zara. Your fiancé deserves at least one evening without competing against blueprints." I laughed softly before shutting down my computer. "You're right. Thank you." As I gathered my things, excitement fluttered inside my chest. Adrian had no idea I was coming over early. He thought I had another late meeting, which made the surprise even better. I had reserved his favorite restaurant for dinner and invited a few close friends afterward. Everything was perfect. Or at least I believed it was. The evening air was pleasantly cool as I stepped outside. The city lights reflected against the glass buildings, making everything shimmer beneath the darkening sky. I stopped by a bakery to pick up the chocolate cake I had ordered that morning before driving toward my father's mansion. Calling it my home had never felt right. My father, Richard Hale, had built the enormous estate years before my mother passed away. After he married Vanessa only two years later, the place stopped feeling warm. Every room became colder, every dinner quieter, and every smile directed toward me disappeared. Still, it was the only place I had left. Adrian had moved into the guest house behind the mansion after his apartment lease ended. My father adored him. Vanessa treated him like the son she never had. Even Zoey—my stepsister—called him family. I had always believed I was lucky that everyone loved the man I planned to marry. The thought made me smile as I parked my car. Balancing the cake in one hand and the gift bag in the other, I quietly entered through the side entrance. I wanted to decorate Adrian's room before he returned from work. The mansion was strangely silent. Usually, Vanessa's laughter echoed through the hallway, or one of the maids hurried past carrying trays of food. Tonight, there was nothing, I frowned. "Hello?" I called softly. No answer. Maybe they were already setting up the surprise dinner. I climbed the grand staircase, careful not to make too much noise. As I reached the second floor, faint voices drifted down the hallway. One belonged to Adrian. The other... Zoey. I smiled to myself. They must have been helping with the decorations. I walked closer, intending to surprise both of them, but my steps slowed when I heard Zoey laugh—a low, intimate laugh I had never heard before. "You worry too much," she murmured. "I'm worried because she's smarter than people think," Adrian replied. I stopped outside the half-open bedroom door. Something about his voice made my stomach tighten. Zoey giggled again. "Please. Zara worships you. Even if she catches us, she'll forgive you." My fingers tightened around the gift bag. Us? A cold shiver ran down my spine. I leaned slightly toward the opening before I could stop myself. The gift box slipped from my hand and landed silently on the thick carpet. Then my entire world shattered. Adrian wasn't standing beside Zoey. He was kissing her. Not a brief mistake. Not an accident. His hands were tangled in her hair while she wrapped both arms around his neck as though they had done this a thousand times before. My heartbeat disappeared. The room spun violently around me. No. No... This wasn't real. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping they would disappear when I opened them again. Instead, I heard another kiss. Longer. Slower. More intimate. I felt physically sick. The cake almost slipped from my trembling hands. Zoey pulled away first, smiling as she rested her forehead against Adrian's. "When are you finally telling her?" Adrian sighed. "I planned to after tonight." "After she gives you your birthday present?" Zoey teased. He laughed. Actually laughed. "I might as well take the watch first." The words sliced straight through my chest. My breathing became uneven. The watch... He knew. He knew I had bought him a gift, yet he still stood here kissing my stepsister. "What if she cries?" Zoey asked. "She'll cry," Adrian answered casually. "She always cries." My vision blurred. How could he say that? How could someone who had held me every night for three years speak about me as though I were nothing?Zoey traced circles across his chest. "You should've left her months ago." "I wanted to," Adrian admitted, "but your father kept insisting I stay close until the business merger was finalized." My entire body froze. Business merger? Adrian continued speaking. "Besides, dating Zara wasn't exactly difficult. She's obedient. She believed every excuse I gave her." They laughed together. Every word crushed another piece of my heart. I remembered every late night he claimed he was working. Every canceled date. Every unanswered call. Every promise. Every lie. The tears finally spilled down my cheeks. I couldn't breathe anymore. My legs carried me backward before my mind caught up. The cake slipped from my hands and crashed onto the marble floor with a loud thud. Silence. Then hurried footsteps. The bedroom door flew open. Adrian's face is drained of color. "Zara..." Zoey stepped out behind him, but instead of looking ashamed, she looked irritated. "You weren't supposed to be home." I stared at both of them. Chocolate frosting spread across the floor between us like the remains of everything I had believed in. My voice barely worked. "How long?" Neither of them answered. "How long?" I repeated, louder this time. Adrian rubbed the back of his neck. "It just happened." I laughed. A broken, humorless laugh escaped my lips. "It just happened?" "Zara—" "No." I shook my head. "Don't lie to me anymore." Zoey folded her arms. "If you really want to know... almost a year." A year. Three hundred and sixty-five days. While I planned our wedding. While I worked overtime to help Adrian pay his bills. While I defended him whenever anyone questioned his loyalty. He had been sleeping with my own stepsister. Something inside me broke. Without thinking, I stepped forward and slapped Adrian across the face with every ounce of strength I had. The crack echoed through the hallway. His head snapped sideways. A red handprint instantly appeared on his cheek. He looked stunned. "So that's what your love was worth," I whispered. "A year of lies." Before either of them could respond, another voice echoed from downstairs. "What is going on?" My father. Within seconds, Richard Hale, Vanessa, and several servants rushed upstairs. My father's eyes landed on the shattered cake before settling on Adrian's reddened face. "What happened?" Zoey answered first. "Zara found out." Vanessa sighed dramatically. "I suppose it was inevitable." I slowly turned toward her. "You knew?" She didn't even deny it. "Everyone knew." The words struck harder than Adrian's betrayal. Everyone? My father remained silent. The servants lowered their heads. Even Adrian couldn't look me in the eye. I laughed again, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face. "So I was the only fool in this house." Richard finally spoke. "Enough." I looked at him, desperate for some sign that he would stand beside me. Instead, he sighed as though I were nothing more than another business inconvenience. "The engagement is over." Just like that. No apology. No anger toward Adrian. Nothing. I stared at the man who had raised me after my mother died. "You chose them." "I chose what's best for this family." "And I was never part of it?" His silence answered everything. Zoey slipped her hand into Adrian's. "I didn't mean for you to find out this way." I looked at her in disbelief. She expected sympathy? My father adjusted his suit before speaking again. "You'll pack your belongings tonight." I blinked. "What?" "You heard me." "I have nowhere else to go." "You'll figure it out." For a long moment, nobody spoke. I suddenly realized something that hurt even more than Adrian's betrayal. I wasn't losing my fiancé tonight. I was losing my family. The front door opened downstairs. Heavy footsteps echoed through the mansion. Every servant immediately stiffened. One by one, they stepped aside. Even my father straightened his posture. Confused, I wiped away my tears and looked toward the staircase. A tall man dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit climbed the steps with calm, unhurried confidence. His sharp features remained unreadable, while his steel-gray eyes swept across everyone before settling on me. The air itself seemed to change. Power radiated from him so naturally that nobody dared speak. I had never seen him before. Yet somehow... He looked at me as though he already knew everything about me. He stopped only a few feet away. My father forced an awkward smile. "Mr. De Luca... I wasn't expecting you tonight." The stranger ignored him. His gaze never left mine. After several unbearable seconds, he finally spoke. "I was." His deep voice sent an unfamiliar chill through me. I frowned. "What do you mean?" Instead of answering me, he reached into his jacket and removed a thick folder before handing it to my father. "I've come to collect what's mine." Confusion spread across my face. My father looked pale. His hands trembled as he accepted the documents. Then the stranger looked directly into my eyes again. "There has been a change of plans, Zara." My heart began pounding for reasons I couldn't explain. "What plans?" His expression never changed. "The ones your father signed six months ago." A knot formed in my stomach. "What are you talking about?" He took one slow step closer. "You." The hallway fell silent. "My debt was never money," my father whispered. The stranger nodded once before delivering the words that destroyed whatever remained of my world. "Seven days from now..." He paused just long enough for terror to settle deep inside my chest. "...you become my wife."