The Devil Who Claimed Me

Mila returned to the mansion an hour later, her steps slow, her mind restless. She walked toward her room in a daze.

’What kind of secret mission was he talking about?’ The question kept coming to her head.

The fear lingered. But another question tormented her.

She hadn’t forgotten what Dominic had said.

’The woman will come to you on her own.’

Her steps slowed. A chill ran down her spine.

’Did he... plan this? Did he deliberately put that boy in danger... just to make it happen?’

Her heart tightened.

"No..." she whispered, but doubt had already taken root.

’It’s just a child. How could he do that?’

Anger surged. Her hands curled into fists.

"I need to talk to him."

Without heading to her room, she turned and strode toward the master bedroom. Without knocking on the door, she pushed it open and walked in.

Dominic was on the phone. He turned immediately, his brows drawing together when he saw her expression.

She looked furious.

"I’ll call you back."

He ended the call and walked toward her. "What happened at the clinic? How is the patient?"

That calm question only made her angrier.

"Don’t you already know?" she snapped. "I can’t believe you’d do something like that."

Dominic frowned. "Do what?"

"You used a child," she said, trembling with rage. "You put his life at risk just to make his mother come to the clinic. That’s too much."

Dominic stared at her, caught off guard. He was silent for a moment.

"What are you talking about? I didn’t hurt any child."

"Stop pretending," she shot back, her irritation deepening. "You said she would come to me on her own, and she did. Her son had a severe allergic reaction. He could have died."

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, anger spilling through every word.

Dominic also stared back at her, a stunned silence enveloping him.

’Allergic reaction?’

He had no idea about it.

"How could you use a small child like that?" Mila questioned.

"I had nothing to do with that," he said firmly. "I would never hurt an innocent child."

But Mila wasn’t convinced. She firmly believed that he had done something with the boy.

"He was playing with his friends," Mila grunted out. "Someone fed him something. When he went back home, he complained about itching all over his body. Then he developed breathing problems."

Her tone turned sharper with each word she uttered. "When he arrived at the hospital, his pulse was weak. Thankfully, we had the necessary medications. Or it would have been difficult to save him."

Dominic held her shoulders. "I am telling you the truth," he said desperately. "I didn’t hurt any child. Trust me."

Mila paused. She studied him closely.

He didn’t look like he was lying. But still she hesitated to trust him.

"You said she would come," she pressed.

"Yes," he admitted. "But not like that. I never intended to harm her child."

He exhaled, running a hand through his hair.

"I arranged something minor. I paid someone to hit her with a car—not hard enough. It’s only to force her to seek treatment. Nothing life-threatening. I would never involve her child. Never. Even if she is a spy."

Mila’s anger faltered. She started to wonder if she had misunderstood him.

"You are saying... you didn’t know?"

"I’m telling you the truth."

She studied him closely. And slowly... her certainty cracked.

"I only wanted to pass certain information to Marco through her," he added. "I could have forced her to do so. But it would alert others. This was the safest way."

Silence stretched between them.

Seeing his sincerity, Mila finally realized she had misunderstood him. She regretted yelling at him.

"Since you were already in contact with her, I thought I would take your help," he added. "But I didn’t want the guards to suspect you. So I planned that. But I never hurt that boy."

Mila pursed her lips. "I’m sorry. I yelled at you."

She breathed. "The boy was critical. It irritated me when I thought you might have hurt him."

Dominic held her gaze. "I’ll find out what really happened," he promised. "I won’t ignore it."

"Thanks." Her voice dropped to a whisper, her expression softening.

"Just... don’t doubt me like that," he said, pulling her into his arms. "It hurts."

Mila relaxed against him, guilt settling in. "I won’t," she whispered.

They stayed like that for a moment—silent, steady.

Then she pulled back slightly, looking up at him. "This mission..." Her eyes held worry. "What if something goes wrong? What if you get hurt?"

"It won’t," he replied with confidence. "The plan is foolproof. This time, Marco will be under my paw."

But her unease didn’t fade.

"I want you to come back safe," she said, her voice thick with emotion. "Promise me."

Dominic watched her, his lips curling slowly. Affection softened his gaze. "You look so sweet when you worry about me."

He held her face, his thumbs brushing across her cheeks. "You make it hard for me to stay away. How can I resist you when you are so tempting?"

He leaned down and captured her lips. It wasn’t fierce or overwhelming. It was slow and steady, drawing her in, making her forget everything else.

Mila’s heart skipped, not because she didn’t expect it, but because of how slowly he was kissing her.

"Mila," he whispered her name.

His grip on her tightened slightly, pulling her closer until there was no space left between them. His thumb slid to her chin, holding her steady as his mouth moved against hers with growing hunger.

Her heartbeat quickened against his chest. Her breath broke against his lips, and he swallowed it. Her fingers fisted tighter in his shirt, her body softening against his, giving in without words.

Heat was building slowly and steadily until it was impossible to ignore.

"I want you," he said quietly, looking at her as if asking for her permission.

For a moment, she just stared at him. At the intensity of his eyes, she could barely hold herself back.

"Then take me," she said.

That was all he needed.

He captured her lips in a deeper kiss this time.

Mila gasped softly against him. The warmth of him, the strength of his hold, and the scent of his cologne—everything surrounded her.

She melted.

Her hands moved, slipping up to his shoulders, then into his hair, holding him there as she kissed him back with growing certainty.

He lifted her effortlessly as he took her to the bed.

Their clothes soon scattered on the floor. Moments later, the room filled with their heavy breaths.

"Oh, Mila... You feel so good."

"Uh..." Mila’s cries echoed inside the room. "Don’t stop..."