The Devil's obsession with the Heiress

Aliana took a deep breath to calm herself before replying, "Oh... nice to meet you, Mister Winston. No need to apologise... it was just..."

Her voice trailed off as she suddenly became aware of the fact that she was practically sitting on the floor like a complete mess.

Slightly embarrassed, she quickly cleared her throat before attempting to push herself off the ground. However, it took far more effort than expected because her legs were still trembling faintly beneath her.

Winston, on the other hand, pretended as though he had witnessed absolutely nothing and continued calmly, "Master asked me to show you to the guest room. A clean set of clothes and a hot bath have already been prepared for you. Please follow me so that I may direct you there."

Aliana was honestly a little surprised that Gavriel was at least being somewhat hospitable towards her after casually threatening to own her soul five minutes ago.

With a small nod, she followed the butler out into the foyer where she had first entered, before he led her up two long flights of stairs that opened into a grand corridor. The hallway was decorated with expensive ornaments, dark abstract paintings, and elegant vases overflowing with red roses placed at nearly every turn.

She found herself wondering if red roses were Gavriel’s favourite flowers, considering they practically occupied every corner of the mansion like they lived rent-free there.

But the moment the thought of him calling her "little rose" crossed her mind, her heart abruptly skipped a beat.

And, unfortunately, so did her feet.

Her steps faltered enough for Winston to pause and glance back at her.

Quickly clearing her throat, she forced a painfully awkward smile onto her face, silently begging the man not to ask questions she herself did not want answers to.

Thankfully, Winston possessed the wisdom of an experienced butler and simply turned back around without a word.

Aliana quietly released a breath before inwardly scolding herself.

’Stop making a fool of yourself and get a grip!’

Her eyes then moved to the large floor-to-ceiling black-panelled windows and looked outside at the tempest that was only growing worse. She could only thank her stars that she was no longer wandering out there or trapped within the lonely walls of her own penthouse.

It was better that she was here... under the same roof as him.

At least for tonight, she did not have to worry about ghosts coming for her.

But as the little devil’s words whispered through her mind once again, her heart began to race with a different kind of anxiety.

’Great, at this rate, I might as well say a permanent goodbye to sleep at this point in my life,’ she mumbled inwardly.

"Miss," suddenly Winston’s voice cut through her chaotic thoughts, making her jump again like a startled cat.

"Y-yes?" Aliana replied. She could already feel her cheeks burning from being such a clutz.

"Here is your room," Winston said, pointing to her right. "Right ahead is the master’s room."

"Oh, thank you, Mister Winston."

"You’re welcome, Miss. Please, you can just address me as Winston," he added politely.

"Oh... alright."

When he still did not move from his place, Aliana finally asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Yes, I wanted to ask whether you would prefer to have dinner here in your room or in the dining hall tonight."

Aliana pursed her lips briefly before replying, "Here would be fine."

"Certainly, Miss. Is there anything specific you would like to eat? I’ll have it prepared immediately," Winston asked in his usual calm, professional tone that barely carried any emotion.

"No preference. Anything light would do, thank you," Aliana replied quickly, despite the fact that she had little to no appetite at the moment.

"Very well, I shall see to it right away," he replied smoothly before adding, "Should you require anything else, you may let me know by pressing one on the intercom. I shall take my leave now and have your dinner sent up within the hour."

"Yes, thank you."

With that, Aliana watched the butler walk away down the dimly lit corridor before her eyes slowly drifted ahead to where he had told her Gavriel’s room was.

The moment her gaze landed on the large wooden doors at the end of the hallway, her heart skipped faintly against her chest.

Taking a sharp breath, she quickly turned the doorknob and stepped inside. The moment the door slammed shut behind her, she leaned against it and closed her eyes in relief, finally away from everything else.

Slowly, she slid down the door until she sank onto the floor, pulling her knees up as she blankly took in the large, luxurious room she had been given.

But her mind was far too chaotic to properly register her surroundings.

Gavriel’s words continued to echo in her ears like a stark reminder that this one day of grace had only been given so she could consider everything carefully before making a decision.

Perhaps the most important decision of her life.

As the weight of everything slowly began to sink into her, she found herself questioning why someone like him would go to such lengths only to push her away like this.

To her, Gavriel had always been an enigma she could not even begin to unravel, because the man possessed far too many layers for anyone to truly understand.

To many women, he would be a deadly temptation, and they would probably leap at any opportunity he willingly offered them.

But to Aliana, even though he was temptation in the flesh, she could not help but question his motives.

What could he possibly achieve by offering her something like this?

From an outsider’s perspective, he already possessed everything a person could ever desire.

He could have any woman he wanted, so then... why her?

Granted, she was the sole heiress of the Van Empire and one of the most desired women in the country. But she knew that was hardly something that would make a man like Gavriel even blink.

Wealth and beauty did not seem to interest him in the slightest, at least not from what she had seen so far.

As her thoughts spiralled further, she began to wonder... could it have something to do with all the supernatural things she had become entangled in?

She had already shared quite a lot with him, yet she did not know anything remotely about him, so could it really be that?

No, if that were the case, then he would not be pushing her away so harshly while warning her with every step she took towards him.

Releasing a frustrated sigh, she could no longer bring herself to think any further.

Maybe a good night’s rest would help clear the chaos in her mind, she thought to herself before finally forcing herself to rise to her feet.

And as the storm continued to rage mercilessly beyond the mansion walls, two restless hearts remained wide awake through the entire night, unable to find even a moment of peace.

The next time Ali’s eyes fluttered open was to the relentless buzzing of her phone echoing through the quiet room.

Still trapped in the haze of sleep and barely aware of her surroundings, she blindly reached for the phone before answering the call without even checking the caller ID. "Who is it?" she mumbled groggily, her voice thick with sleep.

"Boss! Oh, thank god you answered! I was seriously starting to panic. Wait, I’m almost at your house right now." Nigel’s frantic voice burst through the phone, instantly making Ali’s brows knit together.

"Nigel? Why are you calling me so early? Is the world ending?" she asked dryly.

"Early? Boss, it’s already nine thirty! We have a meeting with Archon Group today for the Atlas Gateway project, remember? Wait... why do you sound like you literally just woke up?"

"Oh god!"

Ali abruptly gasped as every ounce of sleep vanished from her body at the reminder of today’s meeting.

In a panic, she scrambled off the bed so quickly that she nearly tripped over her own feet, only for her surroundings to finally register in her mind.

"Fuck!"

"What’s wrong?! Is it another ghost? Don’t worry, I brought sage this time! I’m coming right now, boss!" Nigel’s horrified voice exploded through the speaker as the sharp screech of tyres echoed loudly from his side of the call.

Ali squeezed her eyes shut before pinching the bridge of her nose, feeling an entirely different headache beginning to form.

"Nigel..." she groaned while dropping back onto the edge of the bed, "I’m not at my house right now."