The Devil's Match | n.mikaelson

Prologue

Cas leaned against the balcony of her penthouse apartment in one of New York City's most exclusive, gorgeous high rise buildings, watching the city's glittering lights with a glass of red wine in hand. Years of hard work led her to this amazing city, where anything and everything was possible. It was a relatively warm summer night, just a few scattered clouds with a full moon and a light breeze drifting through her messy waves of blonde hair and ruffling her silk pajama bottoms. It was warm enough that she didn't need a shirt, instead just wearing a lacy black bra. She was lost in her thoughts as her older sister, Karoline, came outside and leaned beside her. The two girls lived in the penthouse together.

"You okay?" Karoline asked her with a small frown on her face.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking is all." Cas ran a hand through her unkempt hair and finished off the wine in her glass. "What about you?"

"I'm okay. What're you thinking about?"

"Just about life I suppose. The company, the city, how it all led to this." Cas gestured to the penthouse.

"That's a rather deep thought for a Thursday night don't you think?" Karoline joked lightly and nudged her younger sister with a smile. Karoline was the COO to EvaCul Industries, her younger sister Cas being the CEO. The two women were the ultimate dream team. "What's got you thinking about it all?"

Cas couldn't help the small smile on her face at Karoline's joke. "I don't really know, to be honest with you. It just crosses my mind from time to time. Sometimes I wonder if all my hard work is just a dream."

"Well you know I'm proud of you, right? And so are mom and dad. I know you don't have the best relationship with them, but I know they're proud of you too." Karoline gently rested a hand on her back. "You should be proud too. The fact that you built a trillion dollar company up from the ground without using the family name or any other means is an amazing achievement that people could only dream of."

Cas's smile faded slightly as she looked over at her sister. "Sometimes I'm not so sure about that," she let out a soft sigh as Karoline mentioned their parents.

"Is this about the whole deal with their stance on relationships thing? Because honestly I think it isn't their place to tell you what you wanna do about that."

"Yeah, well, I don't think they're exactly fond of their youngest kid having one night stands constantly."

"Like I said, it isn't their place to tell you what you can and can't do. I know after the whole Jackson thing it's... a lot, for you, to think of relationships-"

"Jackson was nothing but a drug addicted manwhore with a small dick and a god complex who just wanted me for my money," Cas growled out lowly as she cut her sister off, desperate to change the topic from him.

Karoline sighed and put her hands up in surrender. "Okay, I won't mention him again. Cas, look, it's been almost a decade since you've had an actual relationship. I know your focus is on the company right now, and mine is too. But not all relationships turn will always turn out like yours did with him. Maybe dating here and there isn't such a bad idea."

"Are you the one preaching about relationships now, Miss Mom-And-Dad-Can't-Tell-You-What-To-Do?" Cas rolled her eyes at Karoline's hypocrisy. "My focus is on EvaCul right now. A relationship is the last thing I want right now. I'm perfectly fine with just my casual one night stands or quick fucks and that's that. I don't want anything else. If Mr. Right just happens to come along at some point, cool. But it's not my priority."

"Just something to think about." Karoline kissed her sister's temple and rubbed her back gently. "I'm gonna head to bed. I'll see you in the morning okay?"