All Chapters of Healing The Devil I Once Loved: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

ZARIA “Are you okay?”His voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I blinked rapidly, lifting my eyes to Renzo while forcing a small, shaky smile onto my face.“Yeah,” I said, clearing my throat lightly. “I’m fine.”A lie.But if I wanted any chance of escaping him, him and the powerful family he was born into, I needed to lie. I needed to act perfectly normal. I needed to be careful…extra careful.Trying to slip away from a man raised in a syndicate, a man feared by police and respected by criminals, was going to be nearly impossible. “Have you gone for your monthly checkup?” Renzo asked as he walked closer. He stood behind me, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. We stared at our reflections in the mirror.“We have to make sure you’re fine,” he added softly.More like you want to check if I’m pregnant.Slowly getting up from the vanity chair, I turned to face him fully, reaching for his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze, playing the role of the devoted wife he expected.“I’m fine,”

ZARIA Finally. The plane touched down with a soft jolt that rattled through my bones, and for an irrational second, my heartbeat increased in tempo as if Renzo himself might be standing at the end of the runway, waiting with that calm, terrifying smile. My fingers curled tightly around the armrest, until the aircraft slowed and the engines’ roar softened into something almost gentle. I was really here. Brazil. A different continent. A different life. A different name stamped inside the passport tucked deep inside my bag. As the seatbelt sign blinked off, people around me stood, stretching, chatting, complaining about the heat, the flight, and the wait ahead… I remained seated for a few extra seconds, pressing my palm against my stomach again. “We made it,” I whispered, squeezing a little. “You’re safe. I promise.” The promise felt fragile, but I held onto it. It had gotten me this far anyway. The airport was loud, humid, and alive. Portuguese words flew around me whi

ZARIA “W…Who is it?” The knock came again, firmer this time… as if to tell me whoever stood on the other side knew exactly why they were there. To take me away. My breath caught in my chest, but I forced my voice to come out almost carelessly. “I’m coming,” I called out perfectly… the way it would if I were annoyed at being disturbed this late at night. And instead of moving towards the door, I tiptoed towards my phone lying on the table beside the couch. I picked it up, swiped quickly, and started recording. I turned the screen face down and set it carefully on the small shelf near the door, angled toward the handle, close enough to capture sound. My fingers trembled only slightly as I adjusted it. Whoever was knocking needed to believe I was still inside, still approaching. “I said I’m coming,” I repeated, a little irritated. The suitcase waited where I had left it, tucked neatly beside the hallway wall. I wrapped my hand around the handle and lifted it without he

ZARIA I didn’t look at him after that. The words hung between us… ugly, and I hated that I had said them, hated that they had come out so easily, like my mouth was already trained to hurt first before being hurt. Wang went quiet immediately. His eyes dropped back to the book in his hands, but he wasn’t reading anymore. I could tell by the way the page never turned. I stared straight ahead, my heart beating too fast for no reason that made sense. I hadn’t meant to snap like that. Or maybe I had. I wasn’t sure anymore. That made it worse. The rest of the flight passed in a strange silence that wasn’t heavy but wasn’t comfortable either. Wang didn't try to speak again and I found myself noticing the absence of his voice… The cabin lights dimmed as people slept. A baby cried somewhere behind us. I closed my eyes but didn’t sleep because every time I shifted, I was aware of Wang beside me, still, polite, giving me space without making it obvious. When the plane finally lan

RENZO Fuck me… Zaria! The thought didn’t finish. No, it didn’t even land properly. It detonated somewhere behind my eyes… loud, furious, and confused, then slipped through my fingers like smoke because nothing responded the way it should have. My body couldn't rise. My hand couldn't come up. My mouth couldn't shape her name the way it wanted to. Instead, there was pressure at the back of my head that exploded into a ringing so violent it drowned everything else. For a fraction of a second, just a fraction, I tried to understand exactly what had happened. All I could remember was… she had taken so long to prepare my tea… It had been her.Zaria.My beautiful Zaria. “Renzo?” She called softly, lifting my hands and letting them drop. Then realization hit in the most humiliating manner, flooding my entire consciousness. It hurt somewhere deep. A place of trust that had never been trained to take such blows of betrayal. And I trusted her so damned much! “Arghhh!” There