BOUND TO THE DEVILS VOW

The heavy mahogany doors closed behind her with a finality that made her chest tighten.

Aria Bennett clutched the strap of her worn handbag, staring at the man seated behind the glass desk. He didn't look up at first. He didn't need to. The air shifted the moment she entered, as if the entire room bent to his will.

Damien Volkov.

The name everyone in the city feared. The billionaire whose empire was built on steel, blood, and ruthless precision.

And the man her mother expected her to marry.

"Sit." His voice was deep, smooth, commanding. Not a request. An order.

Aria hesitated, her knees weak as she lowered herself into the leather chair opposite him. She had heard rumors about him cold, merciless, untouchable. But seeing him now made her heart stumble against her ribs. He was devastatingly handsome in the kind of way that was dangerous. Dark hair, sharp jawline, gray eyes that looked at her as if she were already something he owned.

"Your family's company," he said without preamble, flipping a file open, "is bankrupt. Your father owes more than he can ever repay."

Aria swallowed hard. She already knew this. Every sleepless night, every tear her mother shed, reminded her.

"I can save him." Damien's gaze lifted to hers. Cold. Predatory. "On one condition."

Her fingers tightened against her bag. "What condition?"

He leaned back, slow and deliberate, like a predator toying with prey. "You marry me. Tonight."

Her breath caught. "What?"