Chapter 1 The proposal

The air felt too still.

Raven Sinclair sat at the far end of the long mahogany table, her fingers curled tightly in her lap, as though holding herself together. The room around her was suffocating in its silence—too large, too grand, too cold for what was about to unfold.

Her father hadn’t looked at her once.

Not when she entered.

Not when she sat down.

Not even now.

That alone was enough to make her stomach twist.

Something was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

The ticking of the antique clock on the wall echoed louder with each passing second, sharp and deliberate, like a countdown she hadn’t agreed to.

Then—

The doors opened.

Raven’s breath caught.

He didn’t rush. He didn’t need to.

The man who stepped into the room carried something far heavier than presence—it was power. The kind that didn’t demand attention… but took it anyway.

Ares De Luca.

She knew the name before she ever saw the face.

Everyone did.

He was the kind of man people whispered about. The kind mothers warned their daughters of. The kind who didn’t just walk through darkness—he owned it.

Dressed in black, tailored to perfection, he moved with quiet confidence, every step measured, controlled. His expression was unreadable, his gaze sharp enough to cut through anything it landed on.

And when it landed on her—

Raven stopped breathing.

It wasn’t curiosity.

It wasn’t warmth.

It was assessment.

Cold. Calculating. Detached.

As if she were nothing more than an object placed in front of him for inspection.

Her fingers tightened.

A monster, she thought.

Because no man should look that untouched by humanity.

He took the seat across from her, leaning back slightly, one arm resting against the chair like he owned not just the room—but everyone in it.

Maybe he did.

Silence followed.

Heavy. Pressing.

Until her father finally spoke.

“Raven,” he said, his voice unusually firm, “you will be getting married.”

The words didn’t register.

Not at first.

They floated in the air, meaningless, distant… like they belonged to someone else’s life.

“What?” Her voice came out softer than she intended.

Her father didn’t hesitate.

“It’s already been arranged.”

Her heart dropped.

Arranged.

The word felt like a cage snapping shut around her ribs.

“No…” she whispered, shaking her head slightly. “No, you—you can’t be serious.”

But he didn’t look at her.

Didn’t explain.

Didn’t comfort.

Instead, he turned toward the man sitting across from her.

“As agreed.”

That was it.

That was all it took.

Raven’s gaze snapped back to Ares.

And for the first time—

He spoke.

“You’ll marry me,” he said, his voice low, smooth… and completely devoid of emotion.

Not a question.

Not even a command.

A fact.

Her chest tightened.

“You don’t even know me,” she said, her voice trembling despite her effort to steady it.

His eyes didn’t soften.

“I know enough.”

The way he said it sent a chill down her spine.

Like he knew things he shouldn’t.

Like he didn’t need to know her at all.

“You can’t just—” she started, her voice rising, panic slipping through, “—decide something like this.”

Ares tilted his head slightly, watching her now with something faintly resembling interest.

But it wasn’t kind.

“If you think this is a decision,” he said calmly, “then you don’t understand the situation you’re in.”

Her breath hitched.

And slowly—too slowly—she turned her head toward her father.

“Please,” she whispered.

That one word held everything.

Fear. Confusion. Hope.

But it broke against him like waves against stone.

“There is no other option,” he said.

And just like that—

Something inside her cracked.

Silence fell again.

But this time, it wasn’t empty.

It was final.

Raven swallowed hard, forcing herself to look back at the man who had just rewritten her entire life in a single sentence.

Ares De Luca.

He was watching her closely now.

Waiting.

Not for her agreement.

But for her surrender.

Her hands trembled slightly as she lowered her gaze.

Not in submission—

But in realization.

She had no choice.

And somehow…

She knew this was only the beginning.

At the head of the table, Ares finally spoke again, his tone quiet, controlled—

“You’ll be ready by the end of the week.”

Raven’s heart pounded.

The end of the week.

That was all the time she had left before her life became something unrecognizable.

She didn’t argue again.

Didn’t beg.

Didn’t speak.

Because something in his eyes told her—

It wouldn’t matter.

And as the meeting came to an end, Raven Sinclair understood one terrifying truth:

She wasn’t just being married.

She was being handed over…

to the devil himself.

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