When I woke, my vision blurred and my whole body ached like never before.

Then I remembered why – I was cornered in an alley and was beaten by Liam's crazy fans, but then I was rescued... by a man who claims to be the devil.

"The name is Arlo Frantz, darling." A voice spoke across from me, a deep rumble I felt in my chest.

My eyes caught sight of the man leaning back against his leather chair.

And almost immediately, my blood heated to an impossible level when I heard his voice again, either because I still recall how ruthless he sounded when he ordered those girls to have their limbs broken... or... I was just smitten by his appearance.

Up close, I began filling in the gaps in my earlier assessment about him. He was beautiful in a dark way – dressed in darkness from his pitch-black hair to his suit. Shadows pooled around him like a throne sculpted for demons – that, or I am too dizzy.

I had always thought that no man would ever rival Liam's handsomeness, but seeing this person now, I was wrong.

"Where am I?" I hadn't realized that my curious gaze stayed on his face far too long, and I scrambled to break the silence between us.

The room was dimmed, but my sense of smell wasn't so busted from the beatings to not know this place smelled luxurious, contrary to the garbage-filled alley I remember so well.

"You're in my office," His lips curved into a harsh smile, drawing attention to his strong jaw.

The silence that followed was uncomfortable.

I fidgeted and crossed my legs, only to feel regret washing over me when I saw his eyes drop to my exposed legs, feeling the weight of his fiery gaze settle over me-it was intense and consuming, as if he could see far deeper than I wanted him to.

I can't help but think that even though I had escaped Liam's crazy fangirls, I might have ended up somewhere far more dangerous.

His lingering gaze went back up to my eyes when I spoke, "Why did you bring me here?" That question had been burning in my mind for quite a while.

Why did this strange man save me in the first place when almost every single person in this country hated me down to the core...?

Then, without warning, he leaned forward.

"Marry me," he says, once again in a smooth manner as if he was ordering coffee. "Marry me and I will help you,"

Marry him? This person who has no remorse for his violent actions?

Those words made anger gather in my chest.

Because it made me remember what I once heard from a man who promised me the world, but once I signed our wedding certificate, he hid me like a crime as if I was the most shameful thing to ever happen to him.

Startled by the ridiculous offer I was given, I scoffed and shook it off with a nervous laugh, "Are you not aware that conversations between two strangers usually starts with 'Nice to meet you'?"

But this man, Arlo, was not laughing.

In fact, his initial devilish smile had disappeared.

He remained serious as his gaze was still locked onto mine – steady, and terrifying.

Whatever he said had no ounce of a joke which scared me even more, prompting me to abruptly stand up, eyes flickering from side to side to find the exit, but it was too dark to even see anything.

"You must be joking! A normal person won't just throw out a proposal like that."

"But I am not a normal person," he retorted. "I am Arlo Frantz," he said, as if expecting I should know the name, but it didn't ring a bell.

"Yeah, and I'm the President of the United States," I hissed, sarcasm dripping in every word I spat.

I was beginning to get tired of everything.

I had just survived a deadly encounter with Liam's fans and god knows what else is waiting for me next, but I do know a wedding with a strange man isn't in my calendar.

"Let me go, I do not know you, and you do not know me-"

"You are Kerri Coleman, but after your divorce, you dropped that last name, but it still haunts you wherever you go... so why not change it to Frantz?"

He was not smiling, not even moving. His steady gaze held mine, like a predator watching its prey struggle.

But I refuse to get tied down to another loveless marriage.

From the villainous coldness in his voice, I know that he was not offering kindness, he was offering a deal.

A deal that I might regret soon.

"Mr. Frantz," My fists throbbed from clenching so tight, but the pain was nothing compared to the fury of being treated like an object, that I was only something to be passed around. "My last marriage destroyed me, I won't walk straight into another. No matter what you offer,"

There was a flicker in his eyes, almost destroying that devilish aura he had after hearing my trembling voice.

"Even if I offer the chance to make your ex-husband crawl, broken, and beneath your heel?"

I admit, hearing that made me think for a moment.

Imagining Liam, the man who wasted my younger years away and discarded me once he got his goal, groveling on my feet for forgiveness made me ecstatic. I almost cracked a smile.

My fist loosened, and my heart pounded as if trying to jump towards the temptation that spilled from this man's perfect pair of lips.

Fire ignited under my skin as I was reminded by all the hardships I went through, but I quickly dimmed it down before I took a bite from that forbidden fruit.

"I refuse,"

My answer made Arlo's eyes slightly widen. He must have been so sure that I would accept his deal, but I won't sell myself like that again.

His gaze steadied, and he leaned back against his chair again. "I understand... but I know you'll come back," he flashed a knowing smile, as if he knew I would come knocking down on his door again.

He stood up and approached me, while I instinctively raised my arms up as if preparing for a fight, but seeing me react like this made him laugh instead, a smooth, velvety laugh that sent chills down my spine.

This man is dangerous.

He could just ask his underlings to kill me, bury my body, and no one would know I had disappeared – in fact, the world would have rejoiced if I just dropped dead.

The media would not mourn me, they would feast on my death just like they did with my divorce.

"I won't lay a hand on you, darling." He leaned forward, dangerously close to my neck since I felt his warm breath caressing my skin.

Certain that he would bite a chunk of my flesh, I instinctively covered my neck with my hand and leaned away.

"Don't approach me so brazenly," I hissed, and he did take a step back, respecting my wishes, but his smile had dropped and was, once again, replaced with a serious expression.

"Pierce, escort her outside." He spoke in a calm tone.

I looked to my side and a tall man emerged from the shadowy corner, as if he had been standing there all along as quietly as possible.

I left the room as fast as I could without stealing one last glance at the man who offered me a ticket to destroy Liam's career, though the delicious image of that lingered in my mind.

"Follow me," this man called 'Pierce', led me through a series of corridors until we finally reached the elevator and rode it down all the way to the first floor.

Pierce opened the car's door for me and I slid inside as fast as I could, terrified that one of Liam's fans were waiting to ambush me again.

"Where to?" Pierce spoke for the first time, a low and emotionless tone.

I didn't think that Arlo would have me escorted all the way, so I didn't prepare an answer to his question.

I have no home.

I have nowhere to go to.

"Uhh..." I began, racking my mind for a place to go to. Then I remember I was ambushed and might need medical care, "The... city hospital, please."

Pierce looked at me from the rear mirror, narrowing his eyes.

"What?" I ask with furrowed brows.

"But Sir Frantz has already treated your injuries-" He abruptly stopped and began driving, avoiding eye contact.

It felt as though he wasn't supposed to say that.

I looked down on my hands and saw that my wounds were indeed wrapped carefully with bandages, then I reached for my face to feel a plaster at the same spot where I was slapped repeatedly.

Arlo Frantz treated me? That's outrageous coming from a man who spits commands of brutality.

"Would you like to listen to the radio?" I heard Pierce's voice again and I nodded.

He must have seen me clutching my hair out of frustration.

I want anything to keep my mind away from Arlo's rattling proposal.

I leaned my head against the car window, desperate for some music – but instead, Liam's voice cut through the soft static of the radio.

Of course, he's everywhere.

"Please welcome Hollywood's golden boy!" The DJ swooned, ecstatic. "Tell us, what's your secret? How did you build your career from the ground up?"

It was because of me. I built his career.

"I never gave up, that's how I did it." I hear his humorless laugh and my eyes rolled all the way back.

The DJ crooned, "And the rumors? We hear that you got help behind the scenes. I don't know, from a certain assistant, slash ex-wife, for instance?"

Liam's tone became confident, as if he was spilling the truth. "Every bit of success I have today is because I earned it. No one helped me, I did it myself."

I felt my nails digging into my palms. They almost spilled some blood.

You did it yourself? Ridiculous!

I felt my throat closing in from the rage gathering in my chest.

The more the spotlight shone on him, the darker the shadows were where I stood.

All those years I spent devoted to building his career, all of them, my efforts, erased... just like that.

Tears burned my eyes, and it felt like lava as it dripped down on my cheeks.

The next thing I knew, I was back in Arlo's cavernous office, slamming the doors open without care to see him leaning in his chair as if expecting me to arrive.

"Fine," My voice was harsh and loud.

He tilted his head, amused. "Fine what?" He wanted me to say it myself. He wanted to hear the words.

"I will marry you,"

Then comes his wide smirk, devilish and triumphant.

He looked like he had just won a game, but I don't care.

I would bring Liam down even if it meant making a deal with this devil of a man.

His POV

I hear the door roughly slide open.

Then a wailing man was dragged in and was forced to kneel in front of me.

Puffing a smoke out, I looked down on him, groveling on the floor and crawling towards my feet to beg for forgiveness, but before he could even stain my expensive shoes with his filthy blood, Pierce stopped him by the collar and slammed him back.

"Please... please..." I hear his whimpers.

I see his bloodied nose and his busted lips from the beating he had received from my men, but it isn't enough to pay for the crime he committed.

"I didn't know it was her... her face was covered... please spare me!" He reeks of fear, as he should.

I rest my chin on my hand, thinking about his punishment.

On the outside, I was calm, but inside I was seething with rage.

He touched her.

He dared to put his hands on her and pulled her by the hair.

"Which hand did you use?" I cut in.

My voice was neutral, smooth, almost too soft towards a man who did something worthy of death.

He swallowed hard, choking on his own sobs.

He didn't answer, so I stood up from my seat and moved towards him, my slow footsteps served as a countdown to something inevitable.

My men tightened their grip on him when he planned to run away as he saw me approach, pressing him down hard against the floor.

"I asked a question, or am I talking to a dead man?" I asked, my tone eerily calm.

He finally nodded, "It was... it was my right hand, but I swear, Mr. Frantz, I didn't hurt her."

What I hate the most are people who refuse to own up to their mistakes, even when there was already proof... he should have hid it better.

"The CCTV footage from the bank says otherwise," I stepped on his right hand, slowly crushing it down with my own weight. "I saw her wince in pain, you hurt her," I added.

He tried to suppress his screams, but the pain was too much that he let it slip, tearing through the empty warehouse.

"Please forgive me! Please forgive... I was wrong!" He sounded more desperate, so I lifted my foot and walked back to my seat.

"If you know you did something wrong, justice must be served then," How ironic for me to speak of justice when I have evaded the law countless times.

Relief seemed to wash over the man's face, "Yes, I will serve time in prison-"

"Who said anything about prison?" I stopped him, leaning back against my chair and snapping my finger to gain Pierce's attention.

After working under me for a decade, Pierce already knew exactly what I wanted and immediately brought out a gleaming blade.

In my world, I decide what punishment to give.

"Cut off his right hand," I huffed out.

His tortured screams echoed as Pierce pressed the blade down while the rest of my men pinned him on the floor, their faces expressionless since this is a daily occurrence in our line of work.

The sound of flesh tearing and bones cracking was a symphony to my ears, a music that somehow dimmed the rage I was initially feeling after I found out that this filth of a man had hurt her...

When his hand had fully been cut off, he clutched the stump where it used to be and cried louder.

"Spread the word," I spoke, pulling out her photo from my pocket and sliding it towards his direction. "Anyone who dares touch this woman loses more than their hands next time,"

I snapped my fingers once more, and they dragged him out of my sight, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Except for Pierce, "Sir," he stood beside me with a crystal glass and I took it, letting the whiskey burn as it slid down my throat. "Mrs. Coleman had gone back to her work immediately after the robbery. She didn't ask for treatment for the injuries she got."

I leaned back, for a long moment, I just sat there and stared at the ceiling.

"Haah, should I just kill her husband?" I let my thoughts run freely, but Pierce was always there to ground me, weighing out the pros and cons of my horrid desires.

"Unfortunately, making Hollywood's biggest actor disappear won't be an easy feat, sir."

He's right, that man seemed to be untouchable nowadays, and I know it's because of her.

Tch.

Such boundless talent wasted on a vermin like Liam Tate.

I should have made her mine in the first place, I should not have allowed him to approach her that day... things would have been different for her, and for me.

So, imagine my fury when I saw the news on TV about her divorce.

Her photo was shown across every screen in the city. A woman suffering from a messy scandal.

She was disheveled, and her eyes were always red from continuous crying, from carrying years of sacrifice only to be discarded aside like trash by the man she built into a star.

The vultures constantly circled around her. Every reporter and magazine vilified her, shredding her reputation, and every fan sharpened their pitchforks and demanded her punishment.

My heart hurt for her but all I could hear that day was blood rushing in my ears and my deafening pulse of excitement.

She's divorced and alone.

Despite her cruel fate, I can't help but smile.

A dangerous smile from a man who had been waiting for so long.

Finally. The moment I had been waiting for had arrived, and the universe served it to me on a silver platter.

Kerri, the woman I desired, the woman that plagued my dreams, is broken, betrayed and vengeful.

Perfect.

Because a woman who has lost everything doesn't need comfort.

She needs a devil.

And I'm the only man wicked enough to play that role for her.

~Arlo Frantz~

The tinted window of my car kept me invisible, the window rolled down just enough for me to hear the furious voices of Liam Tate's worshipers slithering inside.

"Evil bitch!" one screamed.

"Go die!" another one spat.

Their words kept piling onto one another as if she was not a living person, but a carcass meant for public display.

I leaned back on my leather chair, puffing out the smoke from my cigar glowing faintly.

From here, I could see her clearly.

She was walking past the enraged crowd in a hurry, arms wrapped around her small body as if hugging herself, the comfort she needed amidst the chaos.

Right now, she was fragile, trembling. As one would expect from a woman who devoted herself to her husband only to get betrayed and stripped bare from everything.

"The judge has given the final verdict today," I hear Pierce's voice from the other side of the seat, right across from me. "Kerri Coleman's assets will be handed to her ex-husband."

"All of it?" I ask, still keeping my gaze on her. I could see the tears from her eyes threatening to spill, but she blinked them back.

"Even her car," Pierce added, scrolling through his phone and reading what I presume is another degrading article written about her.

I guess darling Kerri will be riding the bus from now on.

"Sir, are we not going to intervene? The crowd is becoming hostile-"

"No," I cut him off.

Not yet.

Despite the rage burning in my chest.

I wanted nothing more but step out of this car and silence the crowd, painting the courthouse red with their blood.

But I shouldn't step in, no, not yet.

This is her punishment. Her crucifixion.

She must remember how loathsome the feeling is.

Betrayed, broken and alone.

Let this nightmarish experience burn into her soul and only when the world had ripped her apart would she finally look at me.

***

"Sir, Miss Kerri was turned away by her family. They refuse to accept her into their house," Pierce leaned in to report his findings to me after tailing her.

Her family discarded her? How predictable.

It was obvious that they wouldn't want anything to do with their daughter, especially when the media had already destroyed her name.

People are weak when reputation is on the line. Blood means nothing when shame has become too heavy.

That is something I have learned in my line of work.

I set my whiskey to the side and glanced out the window, relishing the view of the city from my high-rise building.

"And where is she now?" My tone was sharp.

No matter how much I look forward to her hellish encounters with her ex-husband's fans, I fear the possibility that they might hurt her so I had people following her everywhere she goes.

"She's currently staying with her friend, Alina Greene."

I stopped to think. Most likely she's going to hide there until the issue dies.

If that happens, how is she going to see what I prepared for her all over the city?

"Leak the address," I leaned back on my swivel chair, clasping my hands together.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Pierce's confused expression, though it was only for a second.

"To the media, sir?"

"The most aggressive ones," I added, meeting his gaze.

Silence enveloped my dimmed office.

Pierce never questioned me before, even when I asked him to shoot a person point-blank, yet now he's hesitating.

"But sir, she would be safer with her friend-"

"I want her out of there," I said, deliberately slowing each word. "No roof and no place to hide."

Pierce's eyes narrowed.

If only he wasn't my right-hand man, and someone I consider a close ally, then I would have shot him already for questioning my orders.

"I want her to see every goddamn corner of this city that is plastered with her ex-husband's face. I want her to see his triumph, his betrayal immortalized on glowing screens." I shift my gaze out the window to see the city that is mostly covered with Liam Tate's face.

Every step she would take, every street she turned to, her cheating ex-husband would be there, reminding her of what she had lost.

She will see all the billboards, posters, and advertisements... that I paid for.

My lips curved into a smile.

"Understood," Pierce finally spoke after a long pause.

He had known me for a long time to know that this was not cruelty, it was precision, it was strategy.

Kerri had to be pushed further, cornered until there was nowhere left to turn.

Every door slammed in her face only opened one closer to mine.

I am certain that once despair had already seeped into her bones, when she had been driven into a corner, and when she had begun falling faster, I would be at the bottom with open arms.

And now, a few days later, I have her here in my office.

She would have no choice but to accept my deal.

For her to finally be mine... marriage.

"I refuse,"

Kerri shut down my proposal.

For the first time in so many years, I felt my confidence crack. I sat perfectly still, using enough strength to control my expression while she sat across from me with a fiery gaze.

Right now, she was the complete opposite of the woman I have seen trembling out in the streets.

She was different tonight.

She was brave and bold that, for a quick split second, I caught a glimpse of her when she was younger, with that same expression.

I thought I wouldn't see this version of her anymore.

The woman I have loved.

The part of her that was buried from marrying Liam Tate, reshaping her into a submissive person.

My chest tightened, and my pulse drummed against my ears from excitement, knowing that she was still the same.

And it was because of me.

I smiled, "...I know you'll come back." I shot a glance at Pierce standing at the corner, giving him a subtle sign to play a recording of a radio show in his car when he escorts her.

Something that I believe would give her that one last push to start fighting for herself and bring down those who hurt her.

And come back she did.

The echo of her footsteps made me smile wider.

She burst through the door like a whirlwind, chest rising and falling with fury.

"Fine!"

Her furious voice echoed in my vast and dark office, but my smile just kept growing wider and wider.

"I will marry you."

Good girl.