The Devil Who Claimed Me

Chapter 82: It’s time for you to step back.

When they arrived on the mainland, a car was already waiting for them. They got in without delay.

Serene, who had been cheerful all the way, talking lightly about her time in Italy, suddenly grew serious.

The change was abrupt.

The smile vanished. Her expression turned distant, unreadable.

The atmosphere inside the car shifted instantly, turning heavy.

Mila glanced at her from the corner of her eye, trying to read her face, but there was nothing she could grasp. The silence stretched, tense and suffocating.

"How did you save him?" Serene asked after some time.

Mila turned toward her. "I was on my way home when I saw the accident. The car was about to explode. When I realized the driver was still alive, I pulled him out."

Serene raised an eyebrow slightly. "You didn’t think about your own safety? You could have died."

"I’m a doctor," Mila replied firmly. "Saving lives is my responsibility. I didn’t think about anything else at that moment."

Serene listened to her carefully. She now understood why Dominic had taken an interest in this woman.

It wasn’t just gratitude that had made Dominic keep this woman.

It was her courage, her selflessness. And that made Mila dangerous.

If she continued to stay by his side, he would fall for her.

It was a threat to her. Alejandro was no longer alive. If she couldn’t be Dominic’s woman, her position in this world would be nothing. She didn’t want to lose that authority and power to an outsider.

"I appreciate that you saved him and took care of him," she said, her tone turning colder. "But the truth is you can’t be with him forever."

Mila stiffened in her place.

"We were together for eleven years," Serene continued. "Our bond isn’t something that disappears because of a few years apart."

She tilted her head slightly. "Have you seen the bullet wound on his body? Right here."

She tapped on her shoulder.

Mila’s heart sank. Of course, she had.

"He got that because of me," Serene said. "He shielded me and took the bullet. He loved me so much that he risked everything for me."

She smiled bitterly. "I was foolish to leave him back then. I had just lost my mother... I wasn’t thinking clearly. I thought leaving would make things easier."

Her voice softened, regret flickering through it. She had been so confident that Dominic would never forget her; she had taken his love for granted.

But he – he had already let go of her.

Serene was not ready to accept it. She wanted to win him back and believed Mila was the blockage on her way to him.

"But I realized my happiness was always with him," she said after a moment of silence. "I’m back now. And I’ll make up to him. It’s time for you to step back."

Mila didn’t respond.

This was what she had wanted, wasn’t it?

She had waited for someone to help her get out of this place, out of Dominic’s clutch. She had been so sure that she didn’t want to do anything with him, that they had no future together.

Now, there was someone who was offering her help. Shouldn’t she accept it and get out of here happily? Why was she hesitating now? Why did her chest feel so tight?

Not long before, she had tried to run away. Now... she couldn’t even bring herself to agree.

Why did the thought of leaving him hurt?

Confusion tangled her thoughts. Mila remained silent, staring at her blankly.

"You can leave right now," Serene said confidently. "Trust me. Dominic won’t stop you. I’ll handle everything."

The freedom Mila had desired was right in front of her. All she had to do was nod in agreement, and Serene would let her go. But Mila wasn’t excited at all. Instead, unease tightened her chest.

It sounded too easy, too convincing.

Something about Serene made her instincts scream. Mila couldn’t shake off the ominous feeling around this woman. She couldn’t trust her.

What if it was a trap? A means to hurt her?

"You seem very eager to get rid of me," Mila said at last. "Are you sure Dominic won’t come looking for me?"

"He won’t," Serene replied with confidence. "He won’t need anyone when I’m around."

Mila’s heart still ached when she heard those words. "But you were not with him for the past three years. Are you sure he still needs you?"

Serene’s features tense, the challenge in Mila’s voice stirring something dark and volatile within her.

At the same time, Dominic’s words—’I’m no longer the same man’—rang in her mind, making her chest constrict even more.

For a split second, doubt flickered.

Had Dominic really moved on?

But she crushed it instantly. She wasn’t willing to accept that Mila had become important to Dominic in just a few days.

"You think you can replace me?" Serene snapped, her composure breaking. "You are nothing but a stand-in. He kept you to make me jealous, to punish me."

Her voice turned sharper. "It’s a small fight between two people who are deeply in love with each other. In the end, he will choose me. And you..."

She snorted. "You will be discarded. I’m giving you an easy escape."

She pulled out a black card and shoved it into Mila’s hand.

"There are ten million in it. Take it. Get out of the car and disappear. Don’t ever contact him again, unless you want to face the consequences."

Mila stared at the card for a moment. Her lips curled slowly into a sneer.

"You sound very confident. Then why do I feel that you are insecure about me?"

She cast her a mocking stare. "I am just a stand-in. He will discard me anyway. Then why are you so desperate to send me away? "Are you afraid... he might choose me instead? Maybe he has already fallen for me."

"You..." Serene lost her composure. She raised her hand to slap her.

Mila caught her wrist in the air.

Both women glared at each other, the temperature inside the car rising.

Mila gave the card back to Serene. "I don’t need your money," she said coldly. "If Dominic asks me to leave, I will. But if he wants me to stay, no one can force me away."

That was it.

The last thread of Serene’s restraint snapped. Serene’s expression turned murderous.

"You dare to challenge me," she hissed. "You made a grave mistake. Now, you will face the consequences."

She dialed a number. "Come here and take her away."

Within minutes, a black Range Rover sped toward them and cut across their path, forcing the car to stop.

Mila’s heart dropped. "What are you doing?" she demanded, panic rising.

Before she could react, the door was yanked open. Two men grabbed her and dragged her out.

"Wait—where are you taking me? Let go." She struggled.

Her eyes darted around desperately as she looked for the guard who always followed her. She saw him stepping out from the car behind.

"Help me," she cried desperately.

The man stepped forward, but he was stopped. He could do nothing but watch them take Mila away.

The Range Rover sped away.

Serene stepped out of her car.

"You..." She looked at him from head to toe. "Are you Mila’s bodyguard?"

He lowered his head. "Mr. Russo entrusted her safety to me. It’s my job to protect her."

"But I don’t want you to protect her," Serene said. "You will say nothing about what happened here. You will tell Dominic exactly what I tell you to. Understood?"

The man swallowed, hesitating. He was loyal to Dominic. The thought of lying to him dried his throat. But he couldn’t offend her either.

It was Serene, the woman once favored by the former king, the woman Dominic had loved.

His throat went dry. In the end, he lowered his head.

"Yes, ma’am."