Chapter 4 The Devil Is Binding You

Valeria's panting, Rafael's words reaching deep down into her bones.

"If you attempt to run again, I will chain you to my bed.

His voice had been soft-nearly gentle-but there was no mistaking the warning behind.

She was his.

Not by choice. Not by love. But by violence, by a cruel twist of fate that had cast her into the bed of a man who wore fright like a second skin.

Her hands were quaking by her sides, but she forced herself to meet his penetrating gaze. "You can't hold me here forever."

Rafael smirked. "Oh, dear, you underestimate me."

Without another word, he let go of her wrist and stepped back, as if he hadn't just snatched every scrap of power she had left.

Valeria swallowed her throat lump, her pulse racing still from the confrontation. She wanted to scream at him, to argue, to *hurt him back the way he had hurt her.

But what would that change?

He was the mafia king.

She was but a prisoner in his gilded cage.

A Different Kind of Punishment

The following morning, Valeria heard her door unlock.

Looking inscrutable, Matteo stepped inside. "Señor DeLuca requests the pleasure of your company."

Requested.

As if she had a choice.

Stifling a yawn, she cast the silk sheets aside and swung her legs off the bed.

By the time she entered the dining hall, her stomach twisted.

Rafael sat at the head of the large table, in a crisp black shirt with sleeves rolled to his forearms. He looked like a king, his mere presence able to hold an entire room captive without saying a single word.

His emeralds flitted to her. "Sit."

Valeria paused before sliding into the chair opposite him.

Just as she did, two maids came to the table, sliding a plate of steaming food in front of her.

She got quickly embarrassed: Her stomach gurgled loudly.

She had hardly eaten the night before)-her nerves refused to calm after Rafael's warning.

She reached for her fork; Rafael's voice made her hesitate.

"Not yet."

Her brows furrowed. "What?"

He reclined in his chair, toying with a glass of whiskey in his hands even though it was morning. "I do not give rewards to disobedience."

Valeria stiffened. "Disobedience?"

He sipped, never taking his eyes off hers. "You tried to escape me."

A chill ran down her spine.

Rafael placed the glass down with a gentle clink. "So now, you earn everything. Even food."

She gaped at him. "You're depriving me of food as punishment?

"Not starving." A lazy smirk dimpled his lips. "Just teaching you a lesson."

Rage coiled in her stomach.

This wasn't about food. It was about control.

About the tableau she was creating, about proving she was at his mercy.

"You're a monster," she spat.

Rafael chuckled. "And yet, you belong to me."

The words sent a chill through her.

She hated how easily he could contort the truth.

Loathed how much control he held over her life.

Her hands going to fists, her hunger forgotten. She refused to let him win.

So she sat, back straight, not touching the food.

Rafael's smile didn't fall away, but something danced in his eyes- not anger, maybe even respect.

"Suit yourself," he said, standing up from his chair. "But remember, querida..."

He lowered his head, his breath chafing her skin.

"In my world, the strongest ones only survive."

And just like that, he was gone.

A Strange Kindness

Valeria didn't eat.

Not that day. Not the next.

She refused to give Rafael the satisfaction.

But when the third day came, her body betrayed her.

Her sight faded, her limbs weakened.

She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, but when she opened her eyes, she wasn't in her bedroom anymore.

Her heart pounded against her ribs.

She was in another room-his room.

She could smell the dark, masculine scent of Rafael in her lungs before she even turned her head.

She swung upright, gushing panic through her veins.

And then she saw him.

Sitting in a chair close to the window, one leg crossed over the other, observing her.

Something unreadable flickered in his emerald eyes.

"You're awake."

She swallowed, her throat hanging dry.

"Why am I here?" she croaked.

Rafael got up and walked over to the bed.

"You fainted."

She blinked. "I-"

And then she remembered.

The hunger. The dizziness.

She had collapsed.

Her fingers gripped the silk sheets. "So what? You came here to gloat?"

His jaw tensed. "I brought you here because you weren't going to die."

She let out a bitter laugh. "You made me this way."

Rafael snorted through his nose. "You're a feisty little thing aren't you?

She glared at him. "If starving me was meant to break me, you should've tried harder."

For a moment, silence hung between them.

Then, to her complete disbelief, Rafael made a soft laugh.

"Oh my God," he muttered, shaking his head. "You're lucky you amuse me."

She pursed her lips into a thin line. "Amusing?"

He bent down, his face centimeters from hers.

"Yes, Valeria. You amuse me."

There was something in his tone that sent a shiver down her spine.

Because for the first time, there wasn't ridicule in his voice.

No cruelty.

Just... something else.

Something she didn't have the guts to try to understand.

A Dangerous Offer

Rafael straightened up and walked to a small table near the bed.

A tray of food sat there.

Warm bread. Fresh fruit. A steaming bowl of soup.

The odor was overpowering and twisted her stomach painfully.

She refused to look at it.

Rafael sighed. "Eat, Valeria."

She scoffed. "So now you're in a generous mood?"

He arched a brow. "Would you like me to return to punishing you?

She clenched her jaw. Of course not.

He picked up a spoon and plunged it into the soup, offering it to her.

Her eyes widened. "You want me to allow you to feed me?

His lips formed that damn smirk.

"If you're not going to eat on your own, what am I going to do?"

Valeria's pride wrestled with her hunger.

She hated him.

But she hated the feeling of weakness more.

Breathlessly, she grabbed the spoon and snatched it from his hand straight into her mouth.

The heat of the soup washed over her, warming the chill that had taken up residence in her bones.

Rafael stared at her, satisfaction shining in his emerald eyes.

"Good girl."

She froze.

Her grip began to tighten on the spoon.

She felt she wanted to smash it in his face.

So she swallowed her pride, the same way she swallowed the food, because she needed her strength.

But if she ever wanted to break free, she had to live to do that.

And staying alive was playing Rafael's game.

Even at the cost of losing herself in the process.

Has Valeria really broken, or is she plotting her next move?