Betrothed to The Devil (Devil in Disguise Duet #2)

Chapter 15

《Selena Arabella Calos》

I should have known better by now. I should have known his kindness was an act. I should have known he could never stop hating me. But how he treated me after that night and the entire time we were in Themiu gave me hope. It let me believe he could love me again. Oh, what a fool I was.

Everything was fine the first day we got back to Kilanea. When we got home, we continued our routine from Themiu- cooking dinner together, me sitting in his lap while he finished his work and going to bed together.

But everything changed the next day. I had to go to the office for a few meetings, and when I returned home, the laidback, caring Daniel was gone. Instead, I saw the cold, dark version of him again- the one who looks at me like it is taking all that is in him not to kill me, the one who treats me like I mean nothing to him, the one who hates me like he never loved me.

I cried myself to sleep that night because I had gotten so used to his presence and care that going without it felt like the worst hangover of my life. I would have cried the next day too, but Alessandro got out of rehab, which diverted my attention.

At first, I did not say anything to Alessandro about what was happening with me, but he eventually got it out of me- like he always does. Alessandro reminded me that my and Daniel's marriage was never supposed to be anything more than a business contract. He made me realise that I have always known how Daniel felt about me, so his behaviour should not have shocked me.

"What do you think, Selena?" Gigi asks me, snapping me back to the present.

I take a second to compose myself. What is Gigi asking me about? The fall collection. The theme...

"The theme should be a cross between romanticism and nature- a fairytale for the ages," I say almost dreamily, smiling as I picture the stunning dresses and elaborate sets that would come to life with such a theme. I have so many ideas for this theme. I have almost twenty dresses designed to match it.

"I was talking to Layla, and she thought a modern, artsy theme would be a good idea. We should do that instead," Mother adds and my smile fades.

I take a deep breath to calm down. Mother still acts like she is the CEO of Georgia Ambrosia, even though it's been almost a year since I took over. And now she is including Layla in her decisions? Not on my watch.

"Fortunately for me, I am the CEO, and I make the decisions for this company, and I stand by my theme choice," I reply in a calm and collected tone.

Gigi looks at me and raises an eyebrow, surprised I did not give in to my mother's demand for the first time. So am I. But I am so angry about everything; I don't care what the consequences are- I will not let my mother walk all over me today.

Mother purses her lips, glaring at me like she is ready to kill me. "I am the chairwoman, and your mother, Selena. You will listen to me."

"Co-chairwoman," I correct, and Mother's jaw clenches. "And I do not need to listen to you. You never listened to Gigi when you were the CEO and she was the only chairwoman and your mother."

I can feel the tension rising in the room as my mother opens her mouth to say something, but I hold up my finger to silence her. "I'm not done yet, Mrs Calos," I say firmly. "We already did the 'modern, artsy' theme for the last fall collection - which, when I proposed, you hated, but you agreed to it because of Gigi. Repeating the same theme would not be a good idea businesswise - which, of course, Layla does not know because she is not a businesswoman."

As I finish talking, everyone in the room stares at me in shock, including my mother.

Gigi, on the other hand, looks at me with pride. "Lena is right, Aurora," she says, "We cannot let a model make such an important decision about the company. Especially when the CEO does not agree with it."