Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 30540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 122(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30540 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 153(@200wpm)___ 122(@250wpm)___ 102(@300wpm)
Fear assaults my senses as soon as I realize I'm all alone, and I run as fast as I can until I'm out of the stairwell. My heart pounds frantically against my chest as I find myself back in the lobby, and there's this tiny part of me that's already drowning in despair.
This is the end, isn't it?
Aaron has to be looking for me right now.
And he'll find me before the Devil can.
Nausea threatens to claw out of my throat as I make my way out of the hotel and take the bus back to the dorm.
You're okay, Sheena. You're okay. You're okay.
I nearly jump out of my seat when my phone starts to ring, and my fingers curl against my lap. "Hello?"
"Is it true?"
I don't know whether to feel disappointed or relieved that what I'm hearing from the other end is Paola's voice and not the Devil's.
"Sheen? Can you hear me?"
I clear my throat and force myself to concentrate on Paola's words. "Sorry, what was that again?"
"Have you seen Tara's Instagram story? I want to know if it's true—-"
"I...I don't know. What did she post?"
"She has a video of you being escorted out by security from some party you supposedly gatecrashed—-"
"It's true," I admit stiltedly.
"And?"
"What do you mean 'and'?"
"I know you, Sheen. You'd never gatecrash a party without a valid reason, so that can't be the whole story. There's more, isn't there?"
The conviction in Paola's voice means the world to me, and I realize that while I may not be lucky with most aspects of my life, I sure hit the jackpot in the friend department.
"Thank...you." My voice catches in the end.
"Oh, Sheen." Paola's voice fills with worry. "What's wrong?"
How do I even begin to answer that?
Tara wanting to turn me into some social-climbing psycho I can care less about, but...I've just bumped into the man who threatened to ruin my life while the other man I asked help from turns out to be a billionaire I don't think I can or should trust.
Those are just some of the things that aren't right about my life, but I also know I can't talk about any of it to Paola and risk having her involved in my mess. And besides—-
"Can we just talk later?"
"Oh, um, sure. Take care of yourself, do you hear?"
I'm getting this feeling that Paola thinks I'm in a hurry to end the call because I don't want her to hear me bursting into tears, but it's not like I can tell her the truth—-
"Hello, Sheena."
Like the fact that I have the Devil on call waiting, and oh God...
It's my first time to hear his voice - his real, undisguised voice purring into my ear, and the sound of it has my knees wobbling as I hop off the bus.
"I'm sorry I had you thrown out of the ballroom like that."
I want to know why he's done that, obviously, but right now there's something else more pressing that I want to know about.
"It's really you then?" I whisper. "The Devil?"
"Yes."
Hearing him admit this so easily has me walking really, really fast, and still keep walking even when I realize it's a subconscious attempt to run away from reality.
Sasha Adrianov is the Devil.
Isn't that too crazy to be true?
"I know you have a lot of questions," he says quietly, "and you can ask me anything you want, and I'll answer all of them. But right now, let me ask the questions first."
"W-What kind of questions?"
"First of all, I need to know if you're alright. Has he hurt you in any way?"
I almost answer him outright, but I hesitate in the end because things have changed...now that I know who he is.
"Sheena?"
Hearing him say my name so normally like that makes me bite my lip and take the longer and darker way back to my dorm. It's not a particularly scenic route, but at least I know there'll be fewer people likely to see me crying if I do end up breaking down.
"I need to know why you're doing this," I say jerkily. How can I trust him if it turns out that what's life and death for me...is nothing but a game to him?
"This isn't the time—-"
"I don't trust you, okay?" He's a billionaire, for God's sake. What good reason can he possibly have to keep risking his life to help people like me?
"You don't trust me as Sasha, fine. But you trust me as the Devil...don't you?"
Oh God.
Why is this man so good at twisting things to his advantage?
"Just think of me as the Devil for now, Sheena. We need to take things one step at a time, and right now, if you need to forget who I really am so we can move forward, then just think of me as the Devil. Can you do that for me? Please?"