My Husband Is The Devil Himself

"Mrs. Knight, your husband is entangled with a woman in Room 2588 of the Orchid Hotel."

Elin Knight's heart thundered against her chest, her breath hitching as the elevator slowly ascended towards the ominous floor.

Fresh from a grueling business trip to Eighving, Elin had barely set foot back home when a cryptic text message threw her into a maelstrom of doubt.

Initially, she brushed it off as a tasteless prank, but her unease deepened when her husband became unreachable, his digital footprint hauntingly centered at the Orchid Hotel.

Her anxiety swelled as she arrived at Room 2588, her eyes widening at the sight of the door, carelessly left ajar.

Abruptly, a mysterious force jolted her from behind, propelling her into the dimly lit room. As she steadied herself, a warm presence abruptly pinned her against the door, catching her off guard.

"Honey?" Elin murmured, her voice laced with hesitation and a flicker of hope.

Silence hung in the air, yet in the obscurity, the figure located her lips with flawless accuracy, kissing her with a fierce and fervent urgency.

The clues fused in her mind-the slightly open door, the fervent welcome-suggesting that her husband, Dean Knight, could be staging this elaborate scenario to celebrate their reunion.

Surrendering to the narrative she hoped was true, Elin relaxed into his arms, her own lips responding with equal passion.

As dawn crept across the sky, Elin stirred, sunlight dappling through grand windows to highlight the love bites delicately scattered across her arms. Though her muscles ached from the night's exertions, a profound sweetness surged through her veins.

Their marriage, though a year old, had never been consummated, their demanding careers leaving little room for intimacy.

Last night, they finally made it happen.

"Baby..."

As Elin turned around, poised to chastise Dean for scaring her last night, she was greeted by the stark emptiness of the bed. No lingering warmth hinted that he had departed hours earlier.

Resting on the bed was a necklace, exquisitely crafted from the Pure Affection series by a prestigious designer-its rarity was undeniable.

It seemed he had remembered to leave a token of his affection.

With a sweet smile, Elin clasped the delicate necklace around her neck. Just as she adjusted the necklace, the room's door slammed open with violent force. A group of reporters burst in, their cameras voraciously snapping photos, encircling the bed aggressively.

The incessant flashes bathed Elin in a stark, revealing light, highlighting the soft curves of Elin's barely covered body.

"Mrs. Knight, were you embracing a secret lover here at the hotel immediately after your trip? Has your union with Mr. Knight crumbled?"

"Is it true that you've secretly filed for divorce?"

"Mrs. Knight, can you clarify your current marital status?"

Blindsided by the intrusion and the venom in their queries, Elin recoiled, her back pressing into the softness of the headboard, eyes wide with horror.

"H-how dare you imply such falsehoods? I shared last night with my husband, not anyone else!" Her voice cracked as she tightened her grip on the flimsy blanket, her other hand shakily pointing towards the door. "I insist-leave at once!"

"Elin!"

The word cut sharply through the air, delivered in a chilling, irate tone that pierced the tumult around her.

At that instant, Elin felt a shadow fall over her. Lifting her eyes, she was met by the sight of her husband standing imposingly before her. The usual warmth and refinement in his expression had dissolved into a grim solemnity.

"Honey, your timing couldn't be more perfect," she said, her voice laden with relief. She hadn't even had the chance to inquire about his early departure or the stormy expression clouding his face. Hastily, she crawled toward him, her fingers trembling as they sought his arm for support. "Wasn't last night meant to be your delightful surprise for me? These reporters, they're accusing me of being unfaithful..."

Her words were abruptly cut short by the sting of his palm against her cheek, the force of the slap sending her sprawling back onto the bed, her mind reeling.

With a look of scorn, Dean snapped a stack of photographs in her direction. The sharp corners of the photos whipped against her cheek, splitting the skin and drawing a swift bead of blood.

"We're getting a divorce. Be at the courthouse by nine tomorrow morning. I'll be waiting!"

His voice was devoid of any warmth, a frosty blade that cut deeper than the chill of the room. Without another glance, he turned on his heel, his every step radiating disdain.

As Dean's figure receded, Elin clutched the aching side of her face, her eyes wide with shock and pain. A single photograph fluttered down before her, capturing a man stealthily exiting Room 2588. It showed only a side profile, clearly not that of her husband.

The timestamp on the photograph read six o'clock that morning.

Shivering with the cold realization, Elin gripped the photograph, her entire body quaking.

The truth was clear and yet so far from reach; the man from last night was definitely not Dean.

Only then did Elin faintly remember the fragments of last night. As she had been roughly cast onto the bed, a wave of nervousness had washed over her, her body tensing.

"Just relax."

The voice that murmured in her ear was rich and resonant, strikingly different from Dean's cold one.

"How... how did this happen?" Elin stammered, her eyes wide as she surveyed the chaotic spread of photos across the bed, her face drained of color.

Who was this man she had unknowingly shared her night with?

"Mrs. Knight, it's rumored you and Mr. Knight have been friends since childhood. What led you to cheat on him?"

"Was it all for a fleeting thrill?"

The reporters hounded her without mercy, their questions piercing the air like arrows, cameras flashing, capturing her every moment of vulnerability.

"Leave me alone! All of you, just leave!" Elin's voice broke as she desperately swatted at the air, trying to shield herself from the relentless swarm of reporters.

Yet, they encircled her like vultures, unyielding.

One particularly bold reporter probed, "Mrs. Knight, with so many marks of affection visible, did your encounter with this mystery man last all night?"

As she was bombarded by their relentless inquiries, Elin's resolve crumbled, and with a heart-wrenching cry, she collapsed.

Across the street, silent and unobserved, a black Maybach lingered.

The rear window gradually descended, unveiling the silhouette of a man with a detached, cold demeanor. His eyes, piercing and intense, fixed on Dean as he stepped out of the hotel, encircled by a swarm of reporters. The man's expression darkened.

"Dean... be gentler..."

Elin's voice, sweet and tender, seemed to resonate in his ears. He brushed his fingertips together, savoring the phantom sensation of her warmth that seemed to cling to his skin.

Dean, the adopted son of the prestigious Walsh family, was the president of the formidable Infinity Group. The Walsh family was Elin's maiden family.

Shortly after, the man's composed tone filled the car. "Dig up everything on Dean Knight."

"Understood, sir."

In the blink of an eye, headlines such as "Elin Knight Caught in Secret Rendezvous Behind Husband's Back" and "Scandal: Elin Knight's Alleged Affair" splashed across various media outlets.

The footage showed Dean intercepting her, with Elin's moments of vulnerability laid bare for all to see, sparking a media storm.

The Infinity Group, a jewel in the Walsh family's crown, saw its stocks tumble, teetering on the brink of disaster due to the scandal.

Disgraced, Elin returned home with the assistance of a loyal servant.

Her personal phone number, now public, was bombarded with relentless calls and messages, rendering her phone a constant, unusable buzz. In desperation, she borrowed the servant's phone to reach out to Dean, longing to clarify the truth.

Yet, Dean remained unreachable, ignoring every plea for contact.

In her solitude, Elin plunged into cold waters, scrubbing her skin fervently. Despite her efforts, the lingering scent of the man from last night haunted her, a cruel reminder of her plight.

She was haunted by the memory of Dean's cold departure, a wave of desolation overwhelming her, and tears threatening to fall.

Why had things taken such a turn?

Elin couldn't gauge how much time had elapsed when the phone perched on the shelf suddenly rang. She snatched it up in haste. "Honey..."

"Meet me at the courthouse immediately!" Dean's voice was terse and urgent before the line went dead.

Only then did Elin realize she had spent most of the evening submerged in the bathtub.

With a sense of urgency, she leaped from the water, hastily threw on some clothes from her closet, and dabbed on makeup while speeding towards the courthouse, trying desperately to mask her exhaustion and the unnatural paleness of her face.

She was determined to clear the air with Dean. The thought of a divorce was unbearable.

As Elin approached the courthouse, her eyes quickly found Dean. He stood there like a statue in a sharp black suit, his features carved in frost.

Not a single reporter was in sight-a clear sign Dean had kept them at bay.

"Baby, please, just hear me out," Elin implored as she darted towards him, clasping his hand, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. "I received a text last night claiming you were at the Orchid Hotel with another woman. Your phone's location seemed to confirm you were there, so I had to see for myself..."

Dean responded by calmly presenting his phone, the screen displaying a timeline of his whereabouts from the previous night, his stare as cold as steel. "I was simply escorting a guest to her room. I left within ten minutes."

As Elin's gaze fell upon his documented alibi, her legs trembled, threatening to buckle under the weight of her dread and confusion.

Had someone deliberately deceived her last night?

Dean hauled Elin into the courthouse with a steely grip, his voice icy as he pushed her into a chair. "We're getting a divorce!" he declared, unmistakable finality lacing his words.

"No!" Elin's voice cracked as reality slammed into her. She clung to Dean's arm, her eyes brimming with desperation. "Please, don't do this. We've grown up together, been inseparable since we were kids. You know how deeply I care for you-you're everything to me."

"I can't be with someone who betrayed me like that!" Dean's retort was sharp, slicing through the tense air.

Elin's heart shattered, sending a jolt through her body that left her slumped in the chair, her fingers weakly falling away from his sleeve.

Did he think she had gone behind his back and betrayed him?

Just then, a woman with long, wavy hair and an air of composed maturity burst into the room. "Dean, I have the documents you requested," she announced, her voice a calm contrast to the storm brewing in the room.

Elin's eyes flickered with a glimmer of hope. "Camila, please, talk some sense into Dean. Remember how you've always been our peacemaker?" she implored, her voice a mix of hope and desperation.

Camila Mills had gone to the same university as Dean, and all three of them had been inseparable.

Every time Elin and Dean fought, Camila would step in, calm Dean down, and he would make up with Elin soon after. Elin assumed this time would play out just like all the others.

Camila hesitated, a shadow of worry in her eyes. "Elin, we've been through so much together, but what happened at the hotel was a big mistake.... I'm sorry, I can't side with you this time."

As they exchanged these tense words, Dean flipped open the folder, his tone commanding. "Sign it, Elin. Now," he insisted, his impatience palpable.

Elin's gaze flickered towards them, a memory surfacing: before their marriage, Dean suggested they sign a contract. According to the document, the one who cheated would walk away empty-handed.

"I won't sign, I won't!" Elin vehemently protested, shaking her head with desperate intensity. "Please, I'll do anything you ask, just don't end our marriage..." Her voice broke with the weight of her plea.

Yet, Dean's face was a mask of detachment.

Without a hint of emotion, he pressed the pen into her trembling hand and firmly instructed the staff, "Proceed with the divorce paperwork."

The process was brutally swift; within moments, they completed the divorce procedure.

"Dean!" she cried out, her voice choked with tears. Scrambling to her feet, she dashed after him, only to see him slipping into a car with Camila.

Through her tear-blurred vision, she thought she saw Camila's lips meet Dean's in a fleeting kiss.

Frozen in shock, Elin watched the car disappear into the distance. Just then, her phone shattered the silence, its ring sharp and urgent. It was the hospital.

"Ms. Walsh, your grandmother's in critical condition. You need to get to the hospital right away!"

"What?!" Panic surged through her as she hastily wiped her tears and flagged down a taxi.

Since the sudden demise of her parents, Asher and Julissa Walsh, last year, her grandmother, Paula Walsh, had been her sole remaining family. When Paula was battling tuberculosis in the hospital, it was Dean who had been by Elin's side offering unwavering support.

But now...

As Elin hurried to the hospital, the stark reality set in. She braced herself as she entered Paula's room, only to find her grandmother's condition alarmingly deteriorated, her life seemingly hanging by a thread.

Elin stepped toward Paula, lips parting to speak, when Paula bolted upright in bed and delivered a stinging slap across her face.

"I warned you, Elin! Dean was nothing more than your parents' adopted son. He was never meant for you, but you wouldn't listen! Now look at the ruins of what your father built!" Paula's voice was thick with scorn.

The scab on Elin's cheek was fragile, barely healed; Paula's slap tore it open anew, sending a rivulet of blood trickling down her jaw, a stark red against her skin.

"Grandma, don't worry. Infinity Group is still in my hands," Elin countered weakly, her voice a mix of defiance and despair.

Even amidst the chaos of a divorce, the shares she held in Infinity Group remained untouched, ensuring her position as the majority stakeholder.

But Paula was livid, her anger palpable as she hurled a newspaper at Elin. "Read it and see for yourself!"

Elin retrieved the paper from her lap, her eyes scanning the headline that blazed back at her: as of seven this morning, Dean had amassed sixty-three percent of Infinity Group's shares, wresting control of the company completely from her grasp!

"How... how did he acquire so many shares?" Elin's voice cracked, her eyes widening in shock and betrayal.

She remembered, a cold realization settling in; merely a month after their marriage, Dean had casually suggested a share transfer under the guise of corporate restructuring.

Believing their assets mutual, Elin had agreed, suspecting nothing.

But Dean had played her-a cruel game, using her trust to usurp Infinity Group right from under her.

"You foolish girl! How could you let a man deceive you so thoroughly?" Paula's voice was sharp, cutting deeper than the slap.

Suddenly, Paula's expression contorted with pain as she clutched at her chest, collapsing back onto the bed, her breaths shallow and strained.