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The Brutal Gamble

The Brutal Gamble

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Elena faked her identity to survive, caught between desperation and ambition. When billionaire Damien Cross offers a contact marriage backed by promises, she sifbs away her soul for a future built on lies. But in Damien's world, loyalty is the currency and Elena is broke. One night of passion, a forbidden love and a secret betrayal. As enemies close in and truths unravel, Elena realizes too late that she was never the player. She was always the pawn. Now divorced, left in ruins and exposed, the woman who once dreamed of fortune must fight to survive the empire she at one point, was a part of. But the greatest betrayal is yet to come.

Chapter 1 A Dangerous Masquerade

In a world built on lies, Elena was an artist.

Portraying herself as a character that existed only in her imaginations, but acting so well, such that everyone she came across easily believed it. And since everyone was busy trying to get strings pulled in different aspects of their lives, they cared less about verifying her identity and claims. Over time, she had made substantial gains through her schemes, but she was yet to hit her jackpot... her main target. she believed that it was only a matter of time before she would get it done, and after that, she would quit for good and make something reasonably substantial out of her life.

This was just another day in her constant attempts to fix herself within the one group she didn't belong to.

There had been an announcement of a party for the elites, the kind they held quarterly, and it was indeed everyone's dream, except only the select few could attend. Invitation-only, strict security, and only the elite.

Elena gracefully walked up to the entrance and handed her invitation to the security, who checked it against the guest list and within a few seconds, smiled back at her and let her through.

The golden chandeliers in the hall sparkled like frozen fire, casting a pretty glow over the sea of designer gowns and hand tailored tuxedos. Elena adjusted the delicate crystal mask over her face, feeling the whisper of silk against her skin as she slipped effortlessly between the world's untouchables.

Yet here she was, a nobody dressed in stolen dreams and walking among the sea of prestigious individuals as if she belonged with them.

A waiter passed with a tray of champagne and Elena plucked a glass with gloved fingers, tilting her chin just right, effortlessly giving off the arrogance of old money. Elena knew how to play the game. Through constant practice, she had memorized every rule, every subtle cue. Eye contact, but not too much. Smile, but with the perfect edge of boredom. Every move, every breath, simply calculated to perfection.

And for a while, it worked. at least until he found her.

The stranger stood by the marble staircase, a black mask concealing half his face, but doing nothing to hide the raw magnetism pouring off him. He was danger clothed in velvet, tall, cold, very commanding. His gaze followed her across the room, sharp as a hook through flesh.

Predators recognize other predators. Or maybe... a prey in this instance.

Elena's heart kicked against her ribs, but she smiled in a well-practiced lazy way and drifted closer to him.

"You don't look like you belong here," he said, voice low enough, almost a whisper, so that only she could hear.

The words weren't cruel. They were... just curious, inquiring.

"And yet," Elena smiled, swirling the champagne between her fingers, "here I am. just like everyone else."

He laughed. A soft, dangerous sound. "And your name?"

She sipped her drink, letting the golden liquid burn down her throat as she leaned closer. The smell of him... expensive cologne and something darker, like a storm ready to break, curled around her senses.

"Where's the fun in giving away all my secrets?" she whispered, leaning backwards in a seductively inviting manner.

His eyes darkened beneath the mask. "Maybe I like games." He curled his lips to form a half smile.

Some games were survival. Others were suicide. She hadn't yet decided which this was, but she looked determined to play it.

"You look like you do," she teased, voice dropping a note, letting heat flicker in her gaze. She had to keep him guessing and appear distracted If he asked too many questions... if he pressed too hard.

Elena's pulse beat in her throat.

He stepped closer, so close their bodies brushed with every unsteady breath. The world blurred around them. Only the two of them, locked in some reckless, magnetic pull.

"You still haven't answered," he murmured, voice like silk over steel. "I know the majority of people in this room, even with their masks on. and somehow, I feel strongly that I do not know you. So, who are you?"

"Most... you say" Elena said in a calm and composed manner. "So, I easily fit into the few who you don't know. Case solved."

He was not satisfied with her reply. "That was a smart way to evade." He said.

"I'm quite interesting." She replied. "By the way," she continued, "how are you able to recognize everyone and also suspect me for being different?"

He did not answer.

"Hmmm..." she observed him from over the rim of her champagne glass. "You also took note of the body forms."

Elena set her champagne down with deliberate care, then smiled again.

Raised a hand to the side of his face, tracing the sharp line of his jaw through the mask slowly and softly.

And then, without warning, she lifted the bottom half of his mask just enough to expose his mouth.

"Maybe I'm nobody, maybe I'm somebody." she whispered. And then she kissed him.

A soft press at first, then a question, a dare, and then harder, hungrier, as the heat between them ignited.

The stranger's hands gripped her waist, dragging her closer. His mouth moved over hers with a violence that stole the ground from beneath her feet.

It was madness, it was freedom, it was everything she was never supposed to have.

The kiss deepened messy, desperate, two strangers clinging to the only real thing in a world made of lies.

Somewhere between the kiss and the hunger clawing at her skin, Elena grabbed his hand and led him through the maze of corridors. No words and no second guesses.

The door slammed behind them. A forgotten guest room in a forgotten corner of the estate. She didn't stop to think, didn't stop to breathe. She yanked his jacket off his shoulders. His hands fisted in the thin fabric of her gown, shoving it up, up, until silk whispered over her thighs. He kissed down her neck, her shoulder, teeth scraping where his mouth had just soothed.

Elena moaned raw, broken, and real. Continuously passed her fingers through his hair.

Tonight, there were no rules, no consequences. Only need.

Buttons scattered across the floor. Fingertips and teeth and desperate gasps filled the room. His body fit against hers like he'd been built for it, like he'd been waiting for her without even knowing.

When he finally entered her, rough and aching and overwhelming. Elena cried out, nails digging into his back.

It wasn't gentle, it wasn't sweet. It was a claiming... it was a destruction.

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Latest Release: Chapter 2 The Morning After   04-19 08:39
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