The Devil Who Claimed Me

Mila’s mind refused to calm down.

Valentina’s words kept circling back, no matter how hard she tried to push them away.

’His first love, Alejandro’s daughter. She is back. Your time is up.’

She lowered her gaze to the file in front of her, but the words blurred. She couldn’t read, couldn’t think.

A part of her wanted to believe this was good.

If Dominic’s first love had returned, maybe he would stop troubling her. Maybe she wouldn’t have to serve him on the nights. Maybe he would finally let her go.

That was what she wanted, wasn’t it?

She wanted her freedom – an end to everything that tied her to him.

Then why did it hurt so much? Why did the thought of him with another woman make her chest tighten?

Her grip on the pen tightened slightly.

"Mila?" Remy’s voice broke her trance.

She blinked and looked up, startled to find him watching her closely. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"You need something?" she asked, trying to sound normal.

"No... But I think you do."

She frowned faintly. "I’m fine."

"No, you are not," he said bluntly. "You’ve been distracted all morning. You haven’t checked a single page."

Mila’s lips pressed together.

He was right.

The file had been open for hours, and she hadn’t absorbed a single word. Embarrassment crept in.

"Tell me what’s going on," Remy said. "I heard you went out to dinner with Dominic? Did something happen last night? Did anyone say something to you?"

Mila shook her head. "It’s not about the dinner. It went well. The deal was signed. I have been thinking about something else."

She raised her eyes at him. She hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "I heard... Alejandro’s daughter is back."

Remy nodded. "Yeah. I heard too."

"I didn’t even know he had a daughter," Mila said quietly. "No one mentioned her before."

"She’s not his biological daughter," Remy explained. "She’s the daughter of his mistress."

"What?" Mila narrowed her eyes, intrigued.

"I don’t know much." Remy leaned back, thinking for a moment before continuing, "Alejandro once got involved with a married woman. Her husband was abusive, almost killed her once. Alejandro rescued her and brought both her and her daughter under his protection."

Mila frowned slightly, her curiosity piqued. "And the husband?" she asked.

"He killed him."

Mila felt chills running down her spine. She didn’t question it further.

This world worked differently. Killing was the solution to all the problems.

She shrugged, dismissing the thought. "He never married her?" she posed another question.

Remy shook his head. "Men like him don’t believe in marriage. Love, marriage... they see it as weakness."

"In this world, falling in love and getting married are considered a weakness," he said. "Alejandro kept that woman beside him, raised her child as his own, but he had never given her the status of his wife."

Mila fell into a deep thought. Something about that felt painfully familiar.

She now understood why Dominic had made her his mistress.

He would never love her, never give her any status. But he would sleep with her until he got tired of her.

Mila’s heart twisted. ’What was I even thinking?’

She used to be a proud woman. But now, she had been reduced to someone’s maid, a mistress. She wondered if Dominic would change the stereotype and marry his first love.

"Is it true that Dominic loves her?" she asked.

Remy studied her for a moment before answering.

"Three years ago, Serene’s mother died. She broke things off with him and left for Italy. Dominic tried to stop her, but she didn’t listen. She cut him off completely."

Mila stilled.

A strange, unexpected sense of relief crept in. The tension that had gnawed at her heart since the morning seemed to ease a bit.

"Dominic was heartbroken at the time, but he had not contacted her during those three years," Remy added. "I don’t know what will happen now that she’s back."

The tension returned. Mila lowered her gaze again.

Remy observed her. Seeing she was silent, he thought she was disturbed.

"You should focus on your work," Remy said gently. "Let Dominic deal with his enemies. Once it’s over, you can leave safely. That’s what you want, right?"

Mila forced a smile. It was true. Freedom was what she wanted the most. Then why did it feel so heavy?

Dominic had another woman in his life. If he went back to Serene, he wouldn’t come to her anymore.

Wasn’t that what she had been hoping for? Then why did her chest feel so tight?

"Mila." He reached out and clasped her hand. "You are a doctor. You have lives to save out there. This is what you should think about."

Mila snapped out of her reverie. The reality hit her hard.

She didn’t belong to this world. She couldn’t let her attraction to Dominic overpower her. Her mother’s dream was to make Vega Biocorp the topmost pharma company.

She couldn’t let herself get trapped here, not because of Dominic, not because of anything. Her life’s purpose and goal were different from Dominic’s. She couldn’t be with him.

"I know," she said firmly. "I’ll get out of here someday."

Remy smiled. He had slowly, progressively started liking her and envisioned being with her in the future. For that, Mila had to leave this place and stay away from Dominic.

Knock-Knock...

They turned to the door and saw the guard stepping in.

"Miss Valentina has summoned Miss Mila."

"Valentina?" Remy creased his eyebrows. "What does she want from Mila?"

"I don’t know," the guard replied. "But she said it’s urgent."

Remy had noticed Valentina’s hostility toward Mila. He didn’t trust her intentions.

"Her duty here has not been done yet. Tell her to wait. Miss Mila will go back to the mansion in the evening."

"It’s urgent," the guard insisted. "She has to come now."

"Listen..." Remy wanted to protest, but Mila stopped him.

"It’s okay," Mila interrupted gently. "I’ll go and check what she wants. Then I’ll come back."

Mila stood up to leave.

"Wait..." Remy also rose from his seat.

"I’ll be fine." Mila left with the guard.

When she entered the mansion, Valentina was already waiting.

"You called me?" Mila asked.

Valentina looked at her coldly. "I don’t know what Dominic sees in you. The moment he came back, he asked for you."

Mila’s heart skipped. ’He wants to see me?’

She hadn’t expected that, not when Serene had just returned. A strange mix of anticipation and confusion rose within her.

"He is in the study, waiting for you," Valentina said.

Mila headed to the study, her steps quick, as if she couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say.

The door was slightly ajar.

She could hear faint voices coming out of the study. As she got closer, she could see Dominic seated in his chair, a woman standing close to him.

Mila’s steps came to a halt.

The woman was stunning and confident.

’Is she Serene?’

Just as she was wondering, she heard Serene’s venomous words.

"I know why you are keeping that woman beside you. She is just a stand-in, a distraction. But now, I’m back. You don’t have to keep her around."

Serene wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh, Dominic, I missed you so much. I know you missed me, too."

She leaned over and kissed him.

"Uh..." Mila turned her face away instinctively, as if she had seen something she wasn’t meant to. But it was already burned into her mind.

Serene kissed him, and he didn’t push her away. It was clear he still had her in his heart.

Her heart slammed painfully against her ribs. Tears pooled in her eyes.

Mila couldn’t take it. She ran away.