Rejected by My Fiancé, Claimed by the Devil

Chapter 4: I'll Marry Her

The ballroom had never been this silent before.

Not during business announcements.

Not during scandals.

Not even during the city's biggest charity auctions.

But now—

Hundreds of people stood frozen beneath the golden chandeliers, staring at one man.

Damien Volkov.

The Devil himself.

Ariana's breathing slowed painfully as Damien stepped forward from the shadows of the ballroom.

His black tailored suit fit him perfectly, sharp enough to look dangerous.

Everything about him screamed power.

Control.

Fear.

The kind of fear that made grown men lower their eyes when he walked past them.

And right now—

Every single person in the room was watching him.

Waiting.

No one dared to speak.

No one dared to interrupt.

Even Lucas had gone unnaturally still.

Because everyone in New York knew one thing:

When Damien Volkov spoke…

People listened.

Damien walked calmly across the ballroom floor.

His polished shoes echoed against the marble.

Slow.

Steady.

Controlled.

But somehow every step felt terrifying.

Ariana had heard stories about him before.

Everyone had.

The ruthless billionaire.

The untouchable mafia king.

A man whose name alone made people nervous.

Some called him a genius.

Others called him a monster.

Most simply called him dangerous.

And now—

He was walking directly toward her.

Ariana's pulse quickened.

Something about his presence felt overwhelming.

Like standing too close to a storm.

Lucas straightened his posture slightly.

Trying to regain control of the situation.

Trying to look confident again.

"Mr. Volkov," Lucas greeted carefully.

Damien didn't answer immediately.

His cold grey eyes remained fixed on Ariana.

Studying her.

Watching her tear-filled eyes.

The slight trembling in her hands.

The heartbreak she was desperately trying to hide.

And somehow…

That look felt more intimate than a touch.

Ariana suddenly became painfully aware of herself.

Of the tears she hadn't fully wiped away.

Of the humiliation burning through her chest.

She hated that he was seeing her like this.

Broken.

Weak.

Humiliated.

Damien finally stopped a few feet away.

Close enough for Ariana to notice the scar barely visible near his collar.

Close enough to feel the dangerous calm surrounding him.

Lucas cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I apologize for the scene."

Still no response.

The silence stretched.

Tense.

Heavy.

Uncomfortable.

Then Damien finally looked at Lucas.

And the temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly.

The look in his eyes wasn't friendly.

It wasn't polite either.

It was cold.

Cold enough to make powerful men nervous.

Lucas visibly stiffened beneath that stare.

Damien tilted his head slightly.

"As far as I know," he said calmly, "a man usually protects the woman he's about to marry."

Lucas's jaw tightened.

Ariana looked up in surprise.

The guests exchanged whispers.

Nobody had expected Damien Volkov to involve himself.

Especially not in this.

Lucas forced a smile.

"Unfortunately, Ariana and I have realized we aren't compatible."

The lie sounded rehearsed.

Clean.

Professional.

Damien's expression remained unreadable.

Then his gaze slowly shifted back to Ariana.

And for the first time all evening…

Someone looked at her like she mattered.

Not like a scandal.

Not like gossip.

Not like a problem.

A woman.

A hurt woman.

Ariana's throat tightened unexpectedly.

She looked away at first.

Unable to handle the intensity in his eyes.

Damien slipped one hand into his pocket.

Completely calm.

Completely in control.

Meanwhile, the entire ballroom looked seconds away from exploding from tension.

Lucas spoke again carefully.

"I'm sure Ariana will eventually understand this was the best decision."

That was it.

Something dark flickered inside Damien's eyes.

Gone within a second.

But Ariana saw it.

So did Lucas.

And suddenly—

Lucas looked uneasy.

For the first time tonight…

The confident businessman seemed nervous.

Damien let out a quiet hum.

Then he asked what nobody expected.

"Do you want her?"

Lucas blinked.

The room froze again.

"What?"

Damien's expression didn't change.

"Do you want her?"

Lucas frowned slightly.

"I'm not sure if that's your concern."

Damien took one slow step closer.

The atmosphere instantly turned suffocating.

Even the air felt heavier.

"If you don't want her…" Damien said quietly.

Then his gaze moved toward Ariana again.

And everything inside the ballroom stopped.

People stopped breathing.

Stopped whispering.

Stopped moving.

Because the way Damien Volkov looked at Ariana Moretti…

Wasn't casual.

Wasn't pity.

Wasn't sympathy.

It was interesting.

Pure dangerous interest.

And somehow—

That was far more terrifying.

Damien's voice remained calm.

Deadly calm.

"I'll marry her."

The words hit the ballroom like an explosion.

Gasps erupted instantly.

Someone dropped a champagne glass.

A woman nearly choked.

The whispers became chaos.

"What?!"

"Did he just—"

"Oh my God—"

"Damien Volkov wants to marry Ariana?!"

Lucas's face lost all color.

"What?"

For the first time that night—

Lucas Hart looked completely blindsided.

Ariana herself couldn't breathe.

Surely she had misheard.

This couldn't be real.

Damien Volkov—

One of the most feared men in the country—

Was offering to marry her?

In front of everyone?

The ballroom buzzed with shock.

People stared at Ariana like she had suddenly become the center of the universe.

But Damien looked unaffected by the surrounding chaos.

As if proposing marriage in the middle of another man's broken engagement was completely normal.

Lucas laughed nervously.

A fake laugh.

Forced.

"This isn't funny."

Damien slowly turned toward him.

"I wasn't joking."

Silence crashed over the room again.

Lucas swallowed hard.

Even he looked intimidated now.

Because everyone knew Damien Volkov never said things he didn't mean.

Never.

Ariana finally found her voice.

"W-What?"

Her words came out barely beyond a whisper.

Damien looked at her again.

And somehow his gaze softened slightly.

Only slightly.

Enough to confuse her even more.

"You deserve better than humiliation," he said calmly.

The simple sentence shattered something inside her.

Because all evening people had watched her suffer.

Watched her cry.

Watched her get humiliated.

But Damien—

Damien looked angry about it.

Ariana didn't understand why.

She didn't even know this man.

Yet somehow his presence felt overwhelming.

Dangerous.

Protective.

Terrifying.

Lucas stepped forward angrily.

"This is ridiculous."

Damien barely glanced at him.

And somehow that was worse.

Being ignored by Damien Volkov seemed more humiliating than being insulted.

Lucas clenched his jaw.

"You can't just walk in here and—"

"I can."

The interruption was calm.

Simple.

But deadly.

Lucas immediately went silent.

The entire room did too.

Because Damien wasn't a man people argued with.

He was a man people feared.

Damien stepped closer to Ariana.

Close enough for her to smell the faint scent of expensive cologne and black coffee.

Her heartbeat became uncontrollable.

He lowered his voice slightly.

Low enough that only she could hear.

"Marry me, Ariana."

Her breath caught.

Everything blurred around her.

The guests.

The whispers.

The music.

The humiliation.

All of it faded.

Because standing in front of her was the most dangerous man in New York.

And somehow—

He was looking at her like she already belonged to him.