The Devil Who Claimed Me

Valentina’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

"This is getting interesting," she murmured. "It looks like Mila has been betraying Dominic already."

She smiled slyly. "Oh, Mila... you’ve just handed me something valuable. Dominic will never tolerate this. I should share this with Serene."

Without wasting another second, she headed toward Serene’s room.

Inside, Serene was pacing restlessly.

She stopped the moment she saw Valentina. "Valentina," she called, striding toward her, urgency in every step. "Where is Dominic? I can’t stay locked in this room any longer. I need to talk to him."

"I saw him entering the study with Lucas," replied Valentina. "They are having a meeting."

"Then take me there," Serene said immediately.

"But you are not allowed to go out of this room," Valentina reminded her. "Be patient. Wait a little longer. He’ll definitely call you."

Serene let out a frustrated breath and dropped onto the bed. "It’s been almost a week," she muttered. "I’m already fed up. And he..." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Her lips twisted bitterly. "He came back, but he didn’t even come to see me. I’m so disappointed in him."

"Don’t be disheartened. I have something interesting to tell you."

Serene looked up, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

"I think something is going on between Mila and Remy," Valentina said.

"What?" Serene’s eyes widened in shock. "Are you telling the truth?"

"I saw him coming out of her room."

"Really?" Serene exclaimed, interest flickering in her eyes.

"I am sure she is deceiving him," Valentina said with certainty. "If we can prove it, she will be finished."

Serene’s expression turned calculating. "Don’t jump to conclusions. First, gather evidence. If there is anything concrete, we’ll expose her."

"Don’t worry. I’ll follow her closely."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that day...

Serene was finally summoned to the study. The moment she stepped inside, her frustration burst out.

"I’m really disappointed in you," she snapped. "You locked me up and even took away my phone. This is too much."

Dominic’s fury surged instantly. "You still didn’t get why you were punished? It’s because of what you did."

He slammed his fist on the table, his loud voice echoing inside the room.

Serene flinched, terrified.

"First, you took Mila off the island without my permission," he growled. "Then you dragged her to that abandoned warehouse and almost killed her. And still, you dared to question me why I locked you up."

His gaze turned even sharper. "You should be thankful that I didn’t give you any severe punishment."

Serene staggered back slightly, shock filling her eyes. "I can’t believe this..."

Her voice trembled with emotion. "You are disregarding everything we had because of that woman? You are yelling at me for her?"

She pointed at herself, tears blurring her vision. "That woman is a snake." Her voice rose. "You are not seeing it. She is a threat. I was trying to teach her a lesson, and you..."

She paused dramatically. "You killed your men and locked me up. You are turning against your own people for her. Is she really worth it? Are you willing to destroy everything for her?"

"Don’t twist the fact," he barked, jumping to his feet. The chair scraped against the floor and hit the wall behind him. "You took her out of here. Then you tried to kill her out of jealousy and insecurity."

Serene’s breath hitched sharply. She hadn’t expected him to know everything so clearly. She had planned to twist the story and make him believe Mila had tried to escape. But her plan failed.

It only added to her fury.

"So what if I did?" she shot back. "She came between us. I wasn’t going to let her take you away from me."

"There is no ’us,’" Dominic said coldly. "You ended that. I’m free to be with whoever I choose. You have no right to interfere in my life."

Tears rolled down her cheeks. Emotions and fury mingled. "I told you I was wrong," she said, her voice faltering. "I regret my decision back then. Please don’t push me away."

She strode up to him and grabbed his hand. "I still love you."

"Love?" Dominic yanked his hand away. "Stop lying to me. You think I don’t know what you have been doing in Italy all those years."

He pulled open the drawer and threw a stack of photographs in front of her.

"This is what you have been doing—hooking up with different men. Is this your ’love’?"

Serene’s face turned pale as she looked at the photos.

"You were spying on me?" She gaped at him.

Dominic stared at her speechlessly and then laughed. "I don’t need to spy. Nothing stays hidden in our world for long. The truth always comes out."

Serene grew anxious as she realized why he was furious with her. It was not just Mila. It was because he was upset with her.

"Those men meant nothing," she said quickly, trying to salvage the situation. "I wasn’t serious about any of them. I was lonely when I was away from you... I needed distractions. But they were temporary. You are the only one in my heart."

She reached out and held his hand again.

"Enough," Dominic cut her off, pulling away. "I don’t care what you do with your life. Be with whoever you want. Go wherever you want."

His voice turned firm, unyielding. "But here—everything follows my rules. If you want to stay, you obey them."

He raised a finger in warning. "And stay away from Mila. You’ve done enough damage. If I find out you’ve plotted against her again, you will face serious consequences."

He straightened, squaring his shoulders. "I’m lifting your punishment for now. But I’ll be watching you. Don’t make another mistake."

He turned away. "You can leave."

Serene’s fists clenched tightly at her sides. Without another word, she spun around and stormed out, her chest burning with humiliation and rage.

"You’ll see soon enough what kind of woman Mila really is," she muttered under her breath. "Then I’ll see who you choose to punish."