chapter 0004

The guards continued pulling Scarlett until they got to the last room in the hallway, only then did they let go of her arms.

“Finally.” She muttered, rubbing her aching arm and neck. This time around, she wasn't bothered about her current situation, she just wanted to rest her aching head.

“You can leave her now.” Armani's voice came through.

“Yes boss.” One of the men said and the next few minutes, Armani and Scarlett were the only ones left in the hallway. Pushing the door in, Armani stepped in and then gestured to her to do the same and without a word, she did so.

“I think you should sign the papers before he comes around.” Aramni said, pulling the document out of the envelope.

“I'm not signing anything, you can tell that to him.” She snapped.

“How long will you keep this act up? No matter what you do, you're still going to sign this so go ahead and sign it.” He said, pushing the document towards her with a pen attached.

“I'm not signing.” She said with an air of finality and then turned her back on him.

Left alone in the large room, Scarlett wrapped her hand around herself as she began to take in the appearance. The interior wore a dark look, curtains, draperies, sheets were all dark colored, not to mention the soft rug she was standing on.

“Had no idea I had been barefooted all along.” She muttered, sinking her feet deep into the rug.

Still exploring, her eyes fell on the portraits on the wall. Amongst all five portraits, it was only one that caught her attention. Hands across her chest, she moved closer, narrowing her gaze on it.

In the portraits, Damien sat on a huge chair and by his side, a large lion stood upright, showing off its sharp canines.

“Damn! Who exactly is this man? He doesn't look normal to me.” she muttered. “And the picture isn't even edited.” She muttered, leaning close.

Still swirling the content of his glass with a hand, Damien continued his upwards movement, pushing behind his mother's words behind his ears.

He knew Garcia Moore of course but the issue was, she wasn't the kind of person he wanted to keep as a wife. He already knew of his mother's plan a long time ago when he wouldn't stop going extra miles to please him.

“She thinks it can work on me…” he said, sucking his teeth before taking a sip of his drink.

“Sir, she is occupying your room.” Armani said when he got to where he was.

Nodding, he waved him off as he continued walking.

“I will text you your schedule in half an hour.” Armani called after him but got no response.

Scarlett was still feeding her eyes with the interior decoration of the room when the door creaked open and with her heart in her mouth, she snapped her head towards the direction. She only relaxed when she discovered it was Damien.

With his gaze fixed on her, he continued swirling the content of his glass as a thousand and one thoughts spiraled through his head all at the same time.

To break the silence in the room, Scarlett cleared her throat and with her hands across her chest, she made her way towards him.

“Tell me everything is a joke. I will be mad at you of course, but I wouldn't do anything stupid.” She said with a firm tone.

Damien would have laughed at her funny words but since he wanted to maintain his stoic facade, he pretended as if she hadn't even said a word to him.

“I'm talking to you, would you please stop ignoring me? Just in case you don't know, it hurts being ignored.” She snapped, rolling her eyes to the back of her head.

“You didn't say anything that warranted my response.” He replied, taking several steps into the room until he got to where she stood. Leaning close, he stared into her eyes before leaning backwards.

“Why are you doing this to me? You claim we will live for six months, is this how you will be ignoring my existence?” She snapped.

“Seems you have accepted to stay with me.” He responded with a smirk.

“I didn't…”

“Here, you forgot to sign this to make things official.” He said, pushing the document towards her.

“I already told you I'm not signing it. Isn't it the scratch on your car anymore… I'm going to pay for it.” She scoffed.

“Go ahead and do so. Any form of payment is accepted, cash, transfer or cheque.” He shrugged and immediately her shoulders slumped.

The next few minutes, she was unable to say anything. She was just staring at him as she tried to organize her thoughts.

“This is my details, it seems you want to pay with a check.” He broke the silence, pushing a square shaped card towards her.

“I never asked you for your details. I'm going to pay you eventually but not now. I need time to work so I can gather the money. Trust me, I'm hardworking and within six months I will be able to pay off the debt.” She rapped, hoping her words will perform the miracle she was in a dire need for.

Damien went silent, taking an occasional sip from his glass. When he eventually finished the content, he let out a grunt and then placed it on the vintage table.

“Why should I believe you?” He asked, scratching the bridge of his nose with the tip of his finger.

“I said I'm hardworking, I can give you the contact of my boss, he will testify.” She rapped.

“How much do you earn a month?”

“$75,000.”

“Only? How much will you earn in six months?”

“$450,000.”

“And a year?”

“$900,000.”

“If you earn $900,000 a year, it will take you four years to pay off and who do you think will wait four years for a paltry sum?”

“I will work four jobs then.”

“And you expect to earn $75,000 from each job? You can't be serious.” He replied with a scoff. Biting the corner of her lips, she tried to come up with something else but her brain went blank.

“Scarlett Girogio, 22 years old from California. Father, late, mother, fraudster, gambler, drug addict… we call them druggies here… you look surprised?” He asked, raising his brow at her.

“How did you know about my family?” she was trembling now.

“I do a background check on all my debtors.” Gulping, she tried to calm her raging nerves but couldn't.

“If you sign the contract, not only will you wriggle yourself out of your debt but also, you will get yourself some compensation.”

Rolling her eyes, she asked, “Compensation?”

“Uhm. Just $25 million at the end of six months. What do you think?”

Doubting her ears, she bit her lips and pinched her neck with all her might. She even went ahead to hit her head to be certain she was conscious.

“Are you being serious here?” She asked, her eyes widened in shock.

“Go ahead and read through the contract, everything is stated there.”

Feeling sweaty all of a sudden, she made her way towards the bed and then picked up the document and without a word to her, he stepped out of the room.