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 even 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.