3

Aspen

I could barely catch a whiff of sleep throughout the night. I kept tossing around in my bed thinking hard about my life choices. I did not want to get married to a man that I did not know or did not love. And I did not want a ruthless man like Killian.

The stories that circulated around the city about him were not nice. He was the main villain in the stories that mothers told their kids at night.

The next morning, I was still in bed when a loud knock came on my door. “We are leaving in 30 minutes.” My father said in a loud and authoritative voice and I exhaled sharply. I could easily run out of the window and leave forever. But someone had to care for my mother.

And I could easily go ahead to sleep with another man to break my virginity, but that would be for nothing. So I was left with one choice. I had to go with my father. I had a quick shower and picked out simple clothes. A t-shirt and black jeans. My hair was packed in a bun.

I went straight to the sitting room and my father was already sitting waiting. “I told you to dress nicely.” He frowned.

“These are the only decent clothes that I own.” I lied because I had better clothes. But I did not want to make an impression on Killian. I wanted him not to find me attractive.

“Let's move. We need to catch a taxi immediately. Killian hated lateless. He does not tolerate that.” My father was already hurrying through the door. I clutched my purse tightly and followed behind him.

My phone was still down and once we finished with Killian, I was going to the hospital. We boarded a cab and in 30 minutes, the car pulled up in front of a house.

It was just a normal modern house. There was nothing too special about the place and it did not look like a place that a person like Killian would want to reside.

“How did you even meet Killian Davenport?” My father was a drunkard. He spent most of his time gambling. So how he met Killian to strike a deal with him and even have his men come to our house was a mystery.

“From a friend. Killian does not need a wealthy girl. All he wants is a simple girl.”

“Why is that?” I asked as he walked to the entrance of the house. Few men were standing around and they were all dressed in black like the men from that night.

“Don't start asking stupid questions and move.” We met a man at the entrance. I was quick to recognize him. He was at my house the previous night.

“She will go in alone. She will leave with Boss if he likes her.” He opened the door, motioning for me to go in. I walked in and was met with a minimalistic sitting room. Everything about the room was simple and nearly arranged.

“If you are done staring, sit.” A deep voice startled me and I jolted out of shock. I followed where the voice came from and my eyes landed on a man sitting leisurely on the couch.

The moment I turned to face him, his eyes widened as he froze. For a moment, the usual sharpness in his gaze softened, replaced by something unreadable… shock, maybe. Then he stood up from his chair and he approached me.

“You are—“ His words trailed and he looked like he had gone pale.

“Aspen. You and my father have some sort of deal about you getting a wife.” He lifted his hand and I thought that he was going to hit me, but Killian’s hand hovered in the air as if unsure what to do next. His jaw clenched, and he took a small step back. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or just… surprised.

The rumors were true. Killian was fucking perfection. The bad kind of perfection. But that still was not enough to sway me. I did not want to get married. Since my father would not listen, Killian would.

“Listen,” I began, “Let's make this quick.” My fingers were trembling. My body was shaky. His presence was intimidating and there was an 80% chance that I would not walk out alive for the words that I was about to say, but I still went for it.

“I don't want to get married. I do not want to marry you. I don't care about the business that you have with my father. But he forced me here and I'm not interested in this whole arranged marriage bullshit. I'm not the girl for you. I'm insufferable and I have dreams. I refused to be tied down to a man for money. I have principles. So do me a favour and put an end to this.” He was the only one who could stop my father.

“Interesting,” Killian mumbled. He seemed to have regained from whatever shock that he was in just a while ago and he cleared his throat.

“I know that you are a busy man and I apologize if we wasted your time. I should take my leave now.” I would raise the money myself. I was desperate for money, but I did not want to get it from marrying a strange man. One with a terrible history.

I turned to walk away, but I was suddenly held back by a yank on my wrist. I tried to release myself from Killian’s hold, but he held me even tighter. My eyes widened and I watched as he casually pulled out his phone to make a call.

“Prepare the marriage certificate. I'm bringing my wife home.” My eyes almost fell out of the sockets and I began to struggle even more.

“Did you even hear the words that I just said to you?” I felt scared.

“Yes. And I have decided to keep you.” He announced. Then he pulled me close to himself, staring deep into my eyes like he was searching for something.

“That will be in your dreams. Let me go right now!” He held me even tighter.

“Being stubborn will do nothing and I hate stress, so behave.” He warned.

I really did not expect things to go the way they did. “I seriously don't have time to play. My clock is ticking and we both have papers to sign.”

“I seriously—”

“If you don't stop struggling, things will go my way.” He looked impatient.

“You must be joking if you think that I will come with you. I don't–” My voice trailed off when one of the men dressed in black stepped forward and handed a white handkerchief over to Killian.

“Please don't–” My voice trailed off when he pressed the cloth to my nose, not releasing me until I lost consciousness.