Reborn As The Devil's Bride

Emily stared at the girl called Eve as she continued laughing uncontrollably.

Eve held her stomach and nearly rolled on the floor, her laughter echoing inside the basement cell.

“You think–” another burst of laughter cut her off before she could finish. She wiped tears from the corner of her eyes, still laughing so hard her shoulders shook. “Oh my God…..my stomach…”

Emily only stared at her in confusion.

Finally, Eve managed to calm down a little.

“You think because you did a wedding with a cardboard picture of Ghost, you’re actually married to him?” Eve asked before another laugh escaped her lips.

Emily’s fingers tightened around the rough fabric of her wedding gown.

“Honey, you were sold to Ghost. Not married to him,” Eve added, still grinning.

Slowly, she drops herself on the cold floor. The ugly shapeless wedding gown spread around her like crumpled paper.

She had hated the dress because of how plain and embarrassing it looked.

Now she was strangely grateful for it.

At least it covered her body.

“Are there really a lot of girls here?” Emily asked quietly.

“Yup.” Eve popped the p lazily. “A lot.”

Emily swallowed hard.

“We were all sold by our families. Some by parents. Some by uncles. Some by husbands. Some by relatives they trusted.” Eve shrugged carelessly. “Didn’t matter to Ghost though. As long as you carry the debtor’s last name, that’s enough.”

So many women.

So many people abandoned by the ones who were supposed to protect them.

For a second, she wondered how many of them cried on their first day here.

How many begged.

How many tried to escape.

How many survived.

Eve stared at her for a moment before sighing.

“Look girl, let me advise you for your own good. Remove that thought from your head about being Ghost’s wife.”

Emily slowly looked at her.

“You’re a slave that was sold to him. That’s the mentality you need if you want to survive here.”

Before Emily could ask another question, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the basement.

Both girls looked up immediately.

A woman in a dark security uniform stood outside the cell.

Her expression looked permanently angry.

“Emily.”

Emily slowly raised her hand like a frightened child in class.

The woman glared at her so hard Emily almost shrank backward.

What the hell did she even do?

Eve laughed from behind her.

“Don’t be scared Emily. That’s Dora. A bitch that hates everyone for breathing.”

The woman suddenly slammed the iron cell violently.

The loud bang echoed through the basement.

Emily screamed in shock and jumped backward so fast she nearly fell.

“You better watch your mouth, you whore!” Dora snapped, pointing a whip toward Eve.

Eve looked completely relaxed.

Emily couldn’t understand it.

The woman looked insane.

“What? Mama Florence didn’t give you permission for a whip, dog?” Eve shot back lazily.

Emily’s eyes widened.

Why was she provoking her?

Was she trying to die?

Dora unlocked the cell aggressively and stormed inside.

Emily immediately pressed herself against the wall, wishing the ground would swallow her whole.

Dora marched toward Eve, fury burning in her eyes.

But Eve barely reacted.

“Get off my face, Dora.”

“Oh bitch, you better pray you don’t break any rule anytime soon,” Dora hissed. “And I also pray I’m the one holding the whip.”

Eve actually laughed.

Emily stared at her in disbelief.

“Get off my face, dog.”

Dora looked seconds away from tearing her apart.

Then suddenly her attention shifted toward Emily.

“You. Out!”

Emily nearly jumped out of her skin.

She hurried outside the cell immediately.

Dora stepped out too and slammed the iron door shut loudly before locking it.

She kept glaring at Eve for a few more seconds before finally turning away.

Emily followed her silently upstairs.

The basement had smelled damp and suffocating, but somehow outside felt even scarier.

Two female guards stood near the exit.

One of them held Emily’s bag like she was holding trash.

“Is this yours?”

Emily nodded quickly.

The woman tossed the bag toward her carelessly. Emily barely caught it before it hit the floor.

“Another fish,” one of the guards muttered.

Fish?

Emily frowned slightly.

Why were they calling her that?

Dora nodded toward her.

“Follow me.”

Emily obeyed immediately.

As they walked outside, Emily noticed they were heading toward the building on the left.

Her eyes drifted toward the massive mansion on the right.

The mansion Damien had walked out from earlier.

The mansion everyone seemed terrified of.

Suddenly fingers dug painfully into her jaw.

Emily screamed.

Her bag dropped to the ground as Dora yanked her face roughly toward her.

“See that mansion over there?” Dora asked coldly.

Emily nodded quickly, fear exploding inside her chest.

“You don’t look at it. You don’t think about it. You don’t go near it if you want to live longer here.”

Emily kept nodding frantically.

“Fish like you come here thinking you’re special.” Dora’s grip tightened painfully. “Ghost doesn’t know you. I could kill you here right now and nobody would care.”

Emily closed her eyes immediately.

“I understand,” she whispered shakily.

“Know your place.”

Emily nods again.

Dora released her face harshly, making her stumble backward slightly.

Her jaw burned.

Quickly, Emily bent down and picked up her bag again before following Dora inside the building.

The moment she entered, her steps slowed.

Women.

Everywhere.

The huge living room was filled with women.

Some sat together laughing.

Some danced near the music playing softly in one corner.

Others played cards around a table.

A few simply lounged around talking.

But the thing Emily noticed most…

Was how beautiful they all were.

Beautiful enough to belong on magazine covers.

Beautiful enough to make her feel painfully ordinary.

These were all Ghost’s wives.

Women sold here just like her.

Women trapped here.

Her chest tightened.

Ghost.

Damien.

Were they really the same person?

But the man she met six months ago did not feel like the terrifying devil everyone described.

That man smiled.

That man joked with her.

That man called her beautiful when nobody else ever had.

The Ghost she heard about sounded cruel and monstrous.

The Damien she met in that car felt dangerously human.

Maybe it was because–

“Follow me,” Dora snapped.

Emily quickly looked away and followed her down a long corridor.

Some women glanced at her briefly before losing interest immediately.

New girls probably walked through these doors all the time.

She wasn’t special here.

Just another addition.

Dora stopped in front of a door and knocked once.

“What is it?” a voice called from inside.

“It’s the new fish,” Dora answered.

Emily resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

So they were truly going to keep calling her fish.

“Let her in.”

Dora opened the door and stepped aside.

“Go in.”

Emily slowly entered.

Madam Florence sat behind a desk, smoke curling lazily around her fingers from the cigarette she held.

The office was surprisingly small compared to the mansion.

Books filled almost every shelf.

Emily wondered what kind of work required this many books in a place like this.

Madam Florence blew smoke into the air.

She didn’t offer Emily a seat.

Emily didn’t dare sit anyway.

“What’s your name?”

“Emily–”

She stopped herself.

Collins.

The name suddenly tasted disgusting inside her mouth.

That surname belonged to murderers.

To monsters.

She didn’t want it attached to her anymore.

Madam Florence watched her carefully.

“Don’t you have a surname?”

Emily hesitated.

“I don’t want it attached to my name anymore.”

The older woman laughed softly.

“You hate your father for selling you.”

Emily stayed silent.

Where would she even begin?

How could she explain that the people who sold her were also her parents’ killers?

“How tragic,” Madam Florence murmured mockingly. “What’s the name of the man who sold you?”

Emily hesitated again.

“Collins.”

“That name will remain attached to you until you find a way to change it.”

Emily wanted to ask how.

But the next question froze her completely.

“How do you know Ghost?”

Emily’s heart skipped violently.

She suddenly wasn’t sure anymore.

Was Damien really Ghost?

Emily opened her mouth.

Then closed it again.

“I don’t know him.”

Madam Florence stared at her silently.

Then suddenly…….

Her body is slammed painfully against the door.

A cry escaped her lips.

Pain exploded across her back.

Before she could react, Madam Florence grabbed her arm and pressed the burning cigarette against her skin.

Emily screamed.

The smell of burnt flesh filled the room instantly.

Tears rushed into her eyes as she struggled violently.

Pain shot through her entire arm.

She shoved Madam Florence away with all her strength.

The woman staggered backward slightly.

Emily breathed heavily, clutching her burning arm.

“On your knees!” Madam Florence barked.

Emily stared at her in disbelief.

Enough.

Enough of kneeling.

Enough of obedience.

Enough of spending her entire life bowing to monsters.

The pain in her arm hurts.

“I said get on your knees!”

“Fuck you!” Emily snapped.

The words shocked even her.

Silence filled the office.

A dangerous silence.

Let’s just say it did not end well for her.

Minutes later, Emily was thrown back into the basement cell with a busted lip and aching ribs.

Her bag landed beside her roughly.

The cell door slammed shut.

Eve stared at her for one second before bursting into loud laughter.

“Oh boy…” Eve wheezed between laughs. “You’re going to be worse than me.”