A proposal?
After the hellish ordeal of the past few days, Seraphina had thought nothing could ever shock her again.
She was wrong.
This masked, mysterious man—this man who had violated her on the most humiliating night of her life—was now standing before her, proposing marriage in a tone that was absurdly, terrifyingly calm.
Seraphina's mind went blank for a full ten seconds.
And then, the blankness was filled with a towering, incredulous rage.
"Are you insane?!" she shrieked. "Who do you think you are? A rap— a monster who doesn't even dare to show his face! What right do you have to propose to me?!"
Her words were sharp and scathing, a bitter accusation.
But the man seemed to have anticipated her violent reaction. His composure remained completely unshaken.
"What right?" His low voice echoed in the room, carrying a cold, irrefutable power. "The right of being your only option."
He began to pace slowly, his powerful presence making the very air in the room feel heavy. "Let's analyze your current situation, Miss Carter. First, your reputation is in tatters. To your family and all of high society, you are an unchaste, unstable woman who fled on the eve of her own engagement. No one will believe a word you say."
"Second, you have nothing. Your father has frozen all your assets and suspended all your duties. Right now, you don't have enough money to buy a cup of coffee, let alone mobilize the resources needed for revenge."
"Third, and most importantly," his gaze, as tangible as a physical touch, slowly, deliberately, fell to her flat abdomen. "You're pregnant. Aren't you?"
Those last three words were like three poison-tipped icicles, stabbing deep into Seraphina's heart.
The blood in her veins froze solid. She stumbled back a step, the color draining from her face, her eyes wide with unadulterated horror.
He... how could he know?!
This was a secret that no one, besides herself, could possibly know.
"Surprised?" The man seemed pleased by her shocked expression. "I told you. I know more than you imagine."
Seraphina's mind raced. Fear, anger, humiliation, confusion... the emotions warred within her, threatening to tear her apart. But with a supreme effort of will, she held on to the last shred of her composure.
"You've been investigating me," she said coldly. It wasn't a question.
"Yes," the man admitted without hesitation.
"What is your objective?"
"I've already told you my objective." The man moved to stand before her again. He leaned in, his cold silver mask now just inches from her face. "I want you to marry me."
"Why?" Seraphina stared into the eyes behind the mask, trying to read them, but all she saw was an endless, impenetrable darkness. "You and I... we were just two strangers who met by chance at our lowest point. Why would you want to marry a woman... a woman you ruined?"
At the word "ruined," the man's eyes seemed to darken for a split second.
"I have my reasons for marrying you," he said, evading the question. Instead, he laid out his terms—a devil's bargain that was both terrifying and impossible to refuse. "And by marrying me, you can get everything you want."
He reached out a hand and, with the back of his fingers, gently brushed against the faint, thin scratch on her cheek. His touch was light, almost tender, but it made Seraphina flinch as if she'd been burned.
"Your enemies," he murmured, his voice like a siren's song, lethally seductive, "I can take care of them for you. I can ruin Richard's reputation, make Liliana pay the price, and make your father, who cares only for his pride, regret the day he was born. All of it. All you have to do is nod."
Seraphina's heart began to hammer against her ribs.
She had to admit, she was tempted.
He was right. She was isolated and powerless. This man, on the other hand, clearly possessed an unfathomable power, enough to challenge her entire family. With his help... her path to revenge would be swift and certain.
But... at what cost?
"And what about you?" she asked warily. "What do you want from me? My body? Or... the power of the Carter family?"
"Power?" The man let out a low, soft chuckle, as if he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. "You overestimate your family, Seraphina. In my eyes, the Carters are not even worth mentioning."
His tone was arrogant, yet somehow, she didn't think he was bluffing. She could sense it in him—an innate, absolute confidence that placed him above everything.
"As for your body..." his gaze turned deep and dangerous. "We are already the most intimate of strangers, are we not?"
His words made Seraphina's face turn deathly pale.
He paused, seeming to savor her look of shame and fury, before he finally stated his ultimate conditions.
"Marry me. I will help you get your revenge."
"And in return, you only need to do two things."
"First, manage my money."
"Second, take care of... our child."
"I, and everything I possess, will belong to you."
Seraphina was completely stunned.
She had imagined countless possibilities, but never this.
It was a thoroughly unequal contract. What he was offering was the power to overturn worlds; what he was asking for was merely a title, a wife, a... ridiculously domestic arrangement.
What was his angle?
Seraphina couldn't understand it. She couldn't see through this man. He was a great enigma, shrouded in lethal danger.
Making a deal with him was no different from making a deal with the devil.
But did she have any other choice?
She thought of Liliana's triumphant face, of Richard's shameless greed, of her father's furious roars.
An overwhelming wave of hatred once again drowned her reason.
She wanted revenge.
At any cost.
Even if it meant... selling her soul once more, this time to a different kind of demon.
After a long, heavy silence, she slowly lifted her head. Her dead eyes were rekindled with two cold, resolute flames.
"Fine," she heard herself say, in a strange, emotionless voice.
"I'll marry you."
"But this is a transaction, not a marriage. It has nothing to do with love. When my revenge is complete, we cut all ties. We go our separate ways."
In the darkness, the masked man's lips slowly curved into a knowing, triumphant smile.
"Agreed," he said.
We'll see about that.