by Bella J.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Available Bella J Books
Author Note
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Available Bella J Books
About the Author
Copyright ©2020 by Bella J
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual living or dead person, businesses, events, or locales is purely coincidental.
Acknowledgments
Editor: Lori Whitwam
Cover Design: CT Cover Creations
Formatting: Pink Elephant Designs
PR Services: HEA PR.
Interior Illustration (Sketch): Manuela Soriani - [email protected]
Available Bella J Books
The Sins of Saint Trilogy
The Rise of Saint (Book 1)
The Fall of Sin (Book 2)
The Sins of Saint (Book 3)
American Street Kings
Depraved (American Street Kings, Book 1)
Defiant (American Street Kings, Book 2)
Deranged (American Street Kings, Book 3)
Destroyed (American Street Kings, Book 4)
The Twisted Duet
Blood and Lies (Twisted Duet, Book 1)
Blood and Vows (Twisted Duet, Book 2)
The Royal Mafia Series
Mafia Princess (Royal Mafia, Book 1)
Mafia Prince (Royal Mafia, Book 2)
Mafia King (Royal Mafia, Book 3)
Mafia Queen (Royal Mafia, Book 4)
The Shattered Secrets Duet
Regret (Shattered Secrets, Book 1)
Torment (Shattered Secrets, Book 2)
The Resplendence Series
Ruin (Resplendence, Book 1)
Rush (Resplendence, Book 2)
Rage (Resplendence, Book 3)
Author Note
The Devil’s Vow is a dark romance novel and contains scenes that might offend sensitive readers. If you have any triggers regarding sexual acts/situations then this might not be the book for you.
Prologue
The cold steel against my back relieved the burn of marred flesh. My body felt heavy, the weight of every bone pulling me down. Tears stained my face, and the dried-up sorrow of pain and torment clung to my cheeks like his vile lust stuck to my thighs.
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, trying to remember her face, her voice. With every lash of his whip, every bite of his teeth, and every insult he spat at me, her face would be as clear as daylight. Beautiful blue eyes. Innocent smile. Pure heart. But it was moments like these, the moments where exhaustion dug its claws into my body, despair choking the fight from my soul, that her face would disappear. I couldn’t forget her. Not now. Not ever.
“Schiava.” The bars reverberated against my spine as he slammed his cane against the steel. “Don’t you dare pass out on me now. The night is only beginning.”
I opened my eyes, staring at the monster who leaned over the cage with his arms stretched out wide. Sweat covered his naked body, his cock hard, and his expression that of pure evil. Dark brows framed wild eyes that reflected hell’s shadows within them, and I feared it would engulf me.
The five o’clock shadow that covered his jaw wasn’t there when I first met him. Those familiar eyes weren’t so wicked and malevolent either, possessed with an unspeakable evil as he unleashed the devil in him. He used me to fulfill his wretched fantasies as he bathed in his sadistic tendencies that pierced my flesh over and over again. The only part of my body which remained unharmed by him was my face.
“Let’s not ruin the prettiest part of you,” he’d say while he stared at me as if I was a dream to him. A dream caught in the web of this nightmare he created.
I glanced at the woman on the bed, settled on her knees, arms stretched above her head. She moaned as she fought against the chains, mouth gagged and ankles tied to a spreader-bar. But she was only playing her part, doing what she was paid to do. To let him fuck her while I watched, her body bent and used in the most depraved ways. But unlike me, she had a choice. She chose to be here. She chose to give ownership of her body to the monster who relished our pain.
“Eyes here, schiava.” He slammed his cane against the bars, the sound vibrating all around the cage and crashing against my chest as he demanded my attention. He glanced down at the fresh cut on my inner thigh. “If you get blood all over your cage, I’ll make you lick it up like a fucking dog.”
I snarled, my hatred oozing like an open sore. If I weren’t so tired, I would have launched myself across the cage so I could claw his eyes out while I spat in his motherfucking face. Piece of shit.
He smiled as if he could read my every thought. “No matter how exhausted you are, the fight in your eyes remains.”
I pulled my dirty knees up to my chest, wincing as the cut on my thigh stretched with the movement.
“I’ll tell you what.” He pushed away from the cage and sauntered toward the bed, the gagged whore moaning as he approached her. “You seem like you need some rest, so I’ll grant you a little reprieve by letting you watch. But tomorrow I’ll be sure to fuck the filth out of you, prove what a masochistic slut Emilio Moretti’s daughter really is.”
Renewed strength surged through my veins at the mention of my father’s name. The man whose actions and decisions had brought me to this moment. He might as well have placed me in this cage himself, locking it with his threats and lies.
I watched as he tightened the belt around the whore’s neck, pulling her head back. Her back arched and spine bent with a sickening curve. The glint of a knife in his hand demanded my attention, and I gasped as terror stole my breath.
“Nothing is as pure as the color of blood, don’t you think, Daniela?” He placed the tip of his knife against the pulsing vein in her neck, and my mind was already a few seconds ahead, picturing her cut throat and bleeding corpse hanging from silver chains. “You know,” he brought the knife up to his lips, feigning a look of thought, “I think this was the part I looked forward to the most.” Evil eyes locked with mine. “The part where I could share my most immoral and heinous fantasies with you. The part where I could show you just how perfect we are for each other.”
Before I could digest his words, he flipped the blade and pressed it against her shoulder, slicing it down her arm. She screamed through the gag, and I slammed myself harder against the bars, my cries joining hers with alarm. I tasted my fear as I watched blood ooze from her flesh. The monster behind her dragged his fingertips through the crimson liquid and spread it across her skin, his eyes dark and hooded, his expression that of the devil’s lust. Tears of pain slipped down the woman’s face. Dirty blonde hair clung to her cheeks and forehead, but no matter how she screamed, the lust glowed in her eyes as she tasted hell.
I sobbed while watching him fuck her from behind, her blood soiling the white satin sheets. Her cries of pain turned into shrieks of pleasure, the chains above her head complaining as her body was used mercilessly. It was an endless game of mindfuckery, a gauntlet on the devil’s playground. His low grunts of euphoria mimicke
d a demon’s laugh. The wickedness that radiated from the scene clawed at my soul, and I could no longer keep the bile down. I heaved and pressed my palms against the cold ground. My body expelled the morsel of stale bread he had fed me, and along with it the last shred of strength I had left.
The bars reverberated as I collapsed against it, my palms drenched in vomit. My mind pulled me back to the day my life changed irrevocably. The day my fate was decided because of my need to protect her.
“Do not defy me, daughter.”
“If you refuse, this duty will be passed on to her.”
“One of my daughters will marry the Silvestro boy. It’s up to you to decide which one.”
I decided.
While their moans of ecstasy filled the room, no part of my body untouched, and in agony, I didn’t regret my decision. I never would. No matter what kind of torment fell upon me, I’d endure it for a thousand lifetimes if it meant sparing her one day of pain. But now it no longer mattered. Nothing mattered anymore. But still…I did not regret it. There was only one thing I regretted the most, and that was falling for his deceptive lies. It was the biggest mistake I had made since I walked down that aisle. It was a mistake I would pay for every second I spent in this cage—an eternity because no one would come for me. No one.
So, even though my soul cried for God to help me, I refused to pray. I refused to fall asleep with hope, dreaming of a life before I walked down the aisle. She was a part of that life, and remembering those times hurt more than the whips and chains that sliced my flesh.
This was my life now.
This was my fate.
This cage.
This hell.
Chapter One
(Few weeks earlier)
It should be the happiest day of any girl’s life—a day she gets to wear a designer label wedding gown and Jimmy Choo heels. Instead, the soft layers of white lace and exquisite embroidery that embellished the delicate bodice and sleeves of the dress handmade by one of the world’s most famous designers made me feel like a sacrificial lamb adorned with wealth so the gods would accept my family’s offering.
Not a day went by in the past eleven years that I didn’t think of this day. Wondered how it would be, how it would all play out. The day that marked the beginning of a future destined for me because of the name I carried. It was yet to be determined whether the Moretti name would be a blessing or a curse. The warning at the back of my skull said the latter.
For years I prayed this day would never come. That I’d be spared the burden which laid upon my shoulders—the duty of the firstborn Moretti daughter. I dreaded it, feared it, even rebelled against it. But my father had made the decision without deliberation, and my fight against it only rewarded me with my father’s scorn.
I still remembered the day my father informed me of my duty to our family. The day I went from beloved daughter to prized possession to be kept in a gilded cage until negotiations had been set. It was carved in stone, written in my blood that my virtue would be exchanged for an alliance on my twenty-first birthday. It would be a union blessed by my father to secure a business merger of families worth millions. I hated it. I hated that I was nothing but currency used to buy an ally.
Defiance had filled my veins for so long. Not a day went by that I didn’t challenge my father. He claimed that choosing a wealthy and powerful husband for me was for my benefit, but I saw through his superficial bullshit. I was hellbent on showing him that no matter what he did I would never marry any man who wasn’t of my choosing. I refused to comply with his ridiculous demand…until he swept in with a weapon which assured I would. And that was’ how I came to be here today, dressed in a wedding gown with only a few moments of freedom left.
“Daniela.” My mother strolled into my room just as the hairstylist placed the last pin in my hair. “Oh, my God. You look…” She struggled to find her words. “I’m speechless.” The plush white carpet muted her heels as she made her way toward me. My eyes met hers in the mirror, the reflection of a proud mother and an apprehensive daughter creating a daunting image.
“Thank you, Mother.” My reply was polite, but it lacked the sweetness of a daughter reveling in a parent’s approval.
She gently placed her hands on my shoulders, careful not to disturb the delicate fabric. Her touch was warm yet did nothing to thaw the fear in my gut. “I can’t believe this day is finally here. My baby girl is all grown up.”
I smiled, knowing all too well it didn’t reach my eyes.
“Daniela,” she started, “I know you’re nervous, and rightfully so.”
“I’m not nervous. I’m unhappy.”
She recoiled at the word no parent wanted to hear their child say. I watched her reflection, how she diverted her gaze, unable to look me in the eye.
“All we can do is trust that your father made the right decision in this regard. It wasn’t an easy decision for him to make. But it was based on what he felt was right for you.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.”
“Daniela Faye Moretti. Mind your language.” Her reprimand did nothing to ward off the ice in my veins.
“You and I both know I’m getting married today because it’s best for him, for family business. It has nothing to do with what’s best for me.”
She stepped back and brushed a blonde strand from her face. “I know you don’t agree with your father’s way of things, but you carry the Moretti name, and with that comes certain responsibilities.”
I turned to face her. “The only responsibility I am taking today is to make sure the same fate doesn’t fall upon my little sister. That is the only reason I am doing this.”
“Nevertheless,” she straightened her shoulders, the fabric of the lavender shade dress pulling taut around her arms, “it has to be done.”
I narrowed my eyes at her in disbelief. “How can you be okay with this? How can you stand there in your five-thousand-dollar dress and high heels pretending this is a real wedding?”
“It is a real wedding.”
“No, it’s not. Nothing about this is real. There are no pretty flower girls throwing petals down the aisle, no bridesmaid to hold my train. No reception where my love and prosperity with my husband is celebrated. It’s just a ruse.”
“You didn’t want that,” she shot back. “You were the one who said you didn’t want all those things.”
“Because it’s not a real wedding.”
“You’re only making this more difficult than it needs to be.”
“Faye.” Alessa came rushing in, the rose-gold satin dress floating above her feet. She wrapped her arms around my neck, almost knocking me over. “I can’t believe you’re getting married!” She all but squealed with excitement and leaned back, narrowing her eyes at me, pulling her lips in a teasing grin. “I knew it would only be a matter of time before one of those handsome Silvestro brothers would sweep you off your feet. You’ve always been the prettiest girl at every party with your deep red hair, wild curls, and flawless skin. You’re like a Renaissance goddess.”
“Oh, stop.”
She snickered, her eyes filled with excitement that would have been infectious under different circumstances. My younger sister took more to our mother than I did. Bright blue eyes, light hair, and a dusting of freckles on her dainty nose. Me, on the other hand, I was lucky enough to inherit the fiery red curls of my grandmother from my mother’s side. Apparently, the gene decided to skip a generation and made me its target.
Alessa smiled. “This is going to be such a beautiful wedding.”
I wondered if she’d still carry the same amount of enthusiasm if she knew the truth masked with a fairy tale of lies. Protecting her from this fate wasn’t enough. I had to protect her from the truth about mine as well.
Her blonde strands curtained around her shoulders. “I still can’t believe you never told me you were dating a Silvestro.”
“Let my lack in sharing my personal life with you be payback for your decision to go to Oxford
University and move halfway across the world.”
“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”
“Nope.”
“It’s not my fault you decided to stay close to home.”
I smiled, knowing the truth about why I couldn’t leave like she did. I was the prize. The cattle. The princess who couldn’t go too far from the kingdom, waiting for the day when the king would decide who would have her hand in marriage. My education consisted of private tutors and online classes instead of lockers, uniforms, and overcrowded halls. But deep down I was thankful Alessa had the freedom to go to Oxford. The more distance there was between her and our family, the better chance there was of our father not corrupting her life as he was mine.
“But seriously.” She took both my hands in hers. “You look beautiful. Like a princess about to marry her prince.”
Oh, how naive and innocent my little sister was. The idea of romance and fairy tales was still alive in her heart, and I’d do anything to keep it that way.
I merely smiled, the strength of our bond reflecting in her unshed tears of happiness for me. If lying to her meant she’d never shed a tear of sorrow in my name, then I’d live with lies for a thousand lifetimes.
“I love you, Faye.”
Tears stung the back of my eyes. I could still remember her smile the day I told her to call me Faye as she struggled to pronounce my first name.