Aliana’s eyes widened slightly at his words, only for Gavriel to lightly pinch her chin between his fingers.

"Answer me."

"Y-yes..."

Her voice came out far softer than she intended, almost breathless, as if that single word was all she was capable of forming after everything he had just done to her.

"Good girl." His expression darkened as his voice dropped to a lethal whisper. "And you are not allowed to pull away anymore... you cannot back out now, do you understand?"

As though trapped under some dark spell woven by the devil before her, Aliana gave him a slow, obedient nod.

But clearly, that was not enough for him.

Gavriel clicked his tongue softly, the sound echoing through the heavy silence between them as his gaze slowly drifted back down to her swollen lips.

"Use these pretty lips of yours," he murmured darkly.

"Yes..."

The instant the word left her mouth, the dazed haze clouding her expression suddenly shifted.

A faint scowl formed on her face as her sharpened eyes locked onto his once more.

Of course, Gavriel noticed the change immediately.

"What is it, little rose?" he asked softly.

Without warning, Aliana’s hands suddenly grabbed the front of his robe, clutching the fabric tightly enough to wrinkle it beneath her fingers.

"I expect the same from you, Gavriel." Her voice was still slightly breathless, yet every word carried unmistakable firmness. "I won’t leave... not unless you decide to become one of those filthy, cheating scumbags."

Her grip tightened even further as she stared directly into his eyes.

"Because mark my words," she continued slowly, "if you ever do that, then so will I, and this will end immediately." Her gaze narrowed slightly. "Do you agree?"

A fierce fire burned in her eyes, making Gavriel blink in surprise.

But his expression darkened instantly at the threat of her cheating if he crossed the line.

Just the mere thought of Aliana being in another man’s arms stirred the darkness within him so violently that his jaw instantly clenched.

"What did you say you would do?" he asked in a low, threatening voice.

But Aliana did not fear him in the slightest. If anything, she felt challenged because she meant every single word she had said.

"You heard me," she replied without backing down.

"Since you said this is as real as it gets, then you better not even think about crossing me." Her fingers tugged his robe as she continued, "Otherwise, I can promise you that I’m more than capable of taking revenge on anyone who dares to betray me."

Upon hearing her threaten him again, his darkened expression shifted.

Suddenly a low, sexy chuckle escaped his lips, the sound so unfairly attractive that it made Aliana’s heart somersault inside her chest.

He leaned into her, his voice deep and teasing. "Are you the jealous type, little rose?"

"Jealous type? Please." A scoff escaped her lips.

"I’m the type who ruins people when they give me the same courtesy. And just like you, I don’t share, Gavriel." Her gaze never wavered from his as she continued, "And if you’re claiming me as yours, then that only works if you are mine alone as well."

Her face was so serious that Gavriel found himself taken aback by the fearless intensity she displayed before him.

Then, slowly, a devastating smile spread across his handsome face.

"I accept."

The moment those words left his lips, Aliana’s expression finally softened.

Almost inevitably, both of their gazes drifted from each other’s eyes down to each other’s lips once again, the burning tension between them instantly returning as though neither of them had truly recovered from that kiss.

But just before either of them could give in to their maddening desires again, a sharp vibrating sound suddenly shattered the moment.

Aliana blinked first before her confused gaze dropped downwards, only for her to realise that she had left her purse inside the car, meaning it could not possibly be her phone.

Looking back up, she found the gorgeous devil still staring at her with an intensity so overwhelming it sent another shiver racing down her spine.

Her face immediately burned like a thousand suns as she awkwardly cleared her throat.

"Um..." She glanced at him nervously. "I think it’s your phone."

Gavriel continued to gaze at her, clearly not ready to let go of her yet. However, the persistent ringing of the phone caused a fresh wave of annoyance to build within him.

His jaw flexed slightly before he finally forced himself to untangle from her and reluctantly pulled away. He then walking towards the side table where his phone had been abandoned all this while.

Meanwhile, Aliana released a shaky breath as she placed a hand over her wildly racing heart, feeling it almost seemed determined to burst straight out of her chest after everything that had just happened between them.

Silently patting her chest in a failed attempt to calm herself down and lifted her gaze towards Gavriel. She noticed a deep frown forming on his face the moment he saw the caller ID flashing across the screen.

The second he picked up the call and placed the phone against his ear, a loud voice immediately exploded from the other side.

"Oh, finally! He picked up the damn phone!"

Aliana instantly had to bite down on her lower lip to stop herself from laughing as she watched Gavriel pull the phone away from his ear again in visible annoyance.

She did not even need to ask who it was.

After all, there was only one man in existence capable of making this terrifying devil react like that.

"Lower your voice, Cillian," Gavriel said with a sigh, his eyes drifting towards Aliana, who was watching him curiously from across the room.

"Ah, sorry about that! But if you had seen the news, even you would be blowing up like a pressure cooker right now!" Cillian continued in his usual loud voice.

"What news?" Gavriel asked flatly.

"I... ahem." Cillian suddenly cleared his throat awkwardly. "I’d rather not say it out loud. I’m sending you the link instead. Read it at your own risk."

And with that, Cillian quickly ended the call.

A second later, Gavriel’s phone vibrated with a text notification.

The moment he opened the link and his eyes skimmed through the article, the temperature in the room seemed to plummet several degrees.

Aliana quietly watched the way Gavriel’s expression darkened more and more with every passing second, as though someone had personally offended him in the worst possible way, and her curiosity instantly deepened.

Unable to hold herself back any longer, her soft voice finally broke the heavy silence.

"What happened?"

At her question, Gavriel slowly turned to look back at her, and the moment their eyes met, Aliana was instantly taken aback by the sheer madness burning within his gaze.

Never before had she seen him this angry.

Instinctively, she pressed herself further against the wall as she watched him stride towards her like a god of wrath, his phone clenched tightly in his hand.

Her eyes searched his in confusion the moment he stopped directly in front of her.

She did not even realise there were faint tremors running through her body from how terrifying he looked right now, as if she had personally betrayed him.

Unable to endure the suffocating intensity radiating from him any longer, Aliana finally asked,

"Why are you looking at me like I’ve wronged you?"

"You tell me, Aliana..." Gavriel replied darkly. "Had fun in the office today?"

Confusion instantly flashed across her face at his words.

That was when he raised the phone, turning the screen toward her.

The moment she read the bold headline displayed across the article, her breath nearly caught in her throat.

"Boardroom to Bedroom? CEO and Deputy CEO’s of Van Empire’s Shocking Affair Exposed!"

Right beneath the headline was a photograph of Aliana with her face buried against Jacob’s chest while his arms were wrapped around her.