A Forced Contract Marriage with the Devil novel Chapter 145

Chapter 145

NIKOLAI’S POV

The camera clicked. Again. And again.

Bright white flashes lit up the studio in rhythmic bursts, but I hardly noticed them anymore. I moved instinctively, shifting angles with every shutter, holding poses just long enough to please Steven, who hovered behind the lens like an anxious mother hen.

“Perfect, Nikolai,” Steven said, grinning from behind the camera. “God, you’re glowing today. What happened, fall in love overnight?”

I laughed under my breath and adjusted my jawline, giving the lens another expression.

If only he knew.

The glow wasn’t from makeup or lighting or the perfect fitting suit hugging my frame. It wasn’t the coffee I’d gulped down this morning or the high from a successful campaign.

It was him.

It was Alessandro, slipping into bed behind me last night after everything.

I’d felt his warmth before I was fully awake, his arm sliding around my waist, his breath against the back of my neck. And when I shifted, still half–asleep, and pressed into him, he didn’t pull away.

He held me tighter.

That one quiet, unexpected moment had rooted something deep inside me. It erased hours of doubt, days of silence. It didn’t fix everything, but it whispered something I didn’t dare say out loud:

He came back and cuddled even when I ruined the date.

I couldn’t stop smiling.

“Nik, babe, hold that smirk,” Shan called out from across the set, her heels clicking against the floor as she approached. “You look like sex and secrets. Love it.”

I gave her a polite chuckle, but it was all background noise. My body was here, striking poses under hot lights, but my heart was still tangled in rumpled sheets and soft sighs. It was back in that quiet room where he pulled me in like he’d missed me all along but didn’t know how to say

1. it.

I could still feel the press of his chest against my back, the weight of his arm slung over my waist.

God, how I’d wanted to turn around and kiss him. But I didn’t. I didn’t want to break the moment. Didn’t want to risk him letting go.

I’d fallen asleep like that wrapped in him and woken up still cradled in his warmth. But he didn’t say much in the morning, he just went in his office and I also came to the studio.

A low buzz from the makeup table pulled me back to the present. My phone.

I walked over and picked it up, checking the screen.

No name. Just a number.

1/3

Chapter 145

Not Alessandro

They were many missed calls from the unknown number but I didn’t care. I didn’t want any call except Alessandro’s. Minding less about the unknown number, I slipped the phone back in my pocket before Steven called for the final look.

We moved on to the next setup, new backdrop, new outfit. Shan changed into something sheer and smoky, her dark hair pulled back tight to show off her cheekbones. We posed together, her hand brushing my chest, my fingers grazing her waist. To anyone watching, it would’ve looked

electric.

But I felt nothing.

“Almost there, just a few more frames,” Steven called out.

I nodded, stepping into the light again. My body was on autopilot. Chin up. Shoulders square. Soft eyes. Slight smile. Click, Click. Click.

I could do this in my sleep.

But behind the performance, I was aching to check my phone. I’d tried not to be that guy clingy, desperate but it was already too late for pride. Not when Alessandro had apologized to me last night. Not when he’d held me like I meant something.

When Steven finally lowered the camera, I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

“That’s a wrap,” he said. “You killed it today.”

Shan gave me a wink as she peeled off her heels. “Whatever magic you’ve got going

I just smiled, offering a soft “Thanks,” and walked off the set.

on,

I want it bottled.”

/

The second I was out of view, I pulled out my phone. Two notifications. One spam

From him.

> Alessandro:

email from the unknown number and one text.

I’m outside. Waiting.

My heart stopped for a second, then kicked back in, beating hard enough to make my ears ring. I read it again.

Waiting.

Was I really hallucinating. It can’t be true. I was still in disbelief but I didn’t even think about replying. I just moved fast grabbing my bag from the dressing room, giving a rushed goodbye to the assistant asking if I needed a car.

“No,” I said quickly. “Someone’s picking me up.”

I pushed through the exit doors, the cool air slapping against my warm skin. My eyes scanned the curb.

And there he was.

Leaning against the side of a sleek black car, hands in the pockets of a fitted jacket, head tilted slightly like he was trying to act casual but was anything but. His eyes met mine instantly, dark, but there was something softer in them something only I’d been allowed to see.

I took a step toward him. Then another. He didn’t move, didn’t speak, just watched. When I reached him, I stopped a foot away.

“Hey,” I breathed. He looked at me for a second longer before speaking.

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