Chapter 3

I pulled myself off the ground and stood in front of him. “You are Damien Holt? The DAMIEN HOLT?” 

He smirked and just stood there looking at me with a smug smile on his lips. 

I had slept in  Damien Holt’s house. I had called Damien Holt the worst lay? Oh no. 

My legs buckled under and I was falling but then he caught me at the last minute. 

“How many times will you fall for me in one night?” He asked and I flushed. 

Kicking him away, I straightened my clothes and pointed at Mr Lopez then at myself. “This has nothing to do with you so stay away. I can take care of myself.” 

Audible gasps could be hard from the crowd around us. 

“Is she insane?” Someone whispered. “How can she talk to Mr Holt like that? Does she have a death wish?” 

“I hear he owns all the clubs in the area, including this one.” someone else chimed in but I tuned them out as I turned back to Mr Lopez. 

“Let's go to your office and discuss important matters.” I turned to leave but Damien grabbed my arm. 

“You’re coming with me, wife,” he ordered and without waiting for a response, he grabbed my arm and lifted me over his shoulder as if I weighed nothing. 

I flushed realising that position put my ass in the air and since the hem of my dress wasn't so long, all my goods were on show. 

“Kill everyone who dares to look at my wife,” he barked as he carried me outside. 

I groaned and buried my face in his shoulder embarrassed at the turn of events. 

He stopped by a shiny black car that looked more expensive than I probably was on the black market and opened the back door. 

He tossed me inside and shut the door. I huffed as I sat up and watched as he made his way towards the other side. 

A mischievous part of me wanted to get back at him by locking the doors but I thought better of it. 

Knowing him, he'd get back at me and I would be the one losing a lot at the end of the day. 

His smell of his aftershave filled the car as he sat beside me and I suddenly wanted to rub myself against him so I could smell like him. 

Crazy. down girl. 

“Here,” I looked up just as he tossed a brown envelope in my lap. 

“What is this?” I asked as I eyed it suspiciously. 

He didn't reply and instead pulled a cigar from his breast pocket and slipped it into his mouth. 

“I guess I'm on my own,” I whispered to myself as I dug into the envelope. 

Reading it, I frowned and stared back up at him. “What is this?” 

“Surely you can read, right?” he shot back at me as he kept the cigar in his mouth without lighting it. 

“Do you need a lighter?” I asked, changing the subject. 

Once again, he ignored me and I gave up and focused on the file I had retrieved from the envelope. 

“Marriage contract,” I read and shivered. “Why are you showing me this?” 

“It's written in plain English sweetheart. It's a marriage agreement and once you sign, you'd belong to me for a periods of six months during which I get to decide what you can and cannot do.” 

“That's not how marriages work,” I retorted and he sighed. 

“Your family is in debt, shouldn't you be looking for a way out? Besides, would you rather be stuck with that sleazy man from earlier or be here with me?” 

I scoffed but knew deep down that he was right. Still, or refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was. 

“I don't want to marry you.” I said vehemently. “I'd rather drown in a sea of debt or be married off than be stuck with you.” 

He laughed in my face and then shrugged. “It's unfortunate you don't have a choice.” 

“Excuse me?” I asked, my eyes narrowed. “Of course I have a choice. It's my decision who I end up with!” 

He suddenly grabbed my chin, his grip bruising. “Listen to me carefully, I am Damien Holt and I don't repeat myself twice. If I say we're getting married then for damn sure we are or else I'll ruin your entire family.” 

He let go of me and I shrunk back in my seat rubbing my sore chin where a bruise was starting to form. 

This was his way of revenge, it had to be because why on earth did he want to marry me anyway? 

He could have his pick of beautiful women and even as any other one of his choosing so why me?

This was definitely to get back at me for calling him a bad lay. 

I smirked and chuckled softly. His ego has been damaged. 

“What are you laughing at?” He asked, his eyes boring into mine. 

I shivered from the intensity of his gaze but didn't look away. 

“Believe me, I'm your only ticket out of the mountain of debts you and your family have incurred. If I say the word, you and your mother could disappear and no one would notice you are gone,” 

At the mention of my mother, my heat stopped. “You wouldn't dare!” I'd kill him if he laid a finger on her. 

He just scoffed and looked away. Tears welled up in my eyes at the thought of my mother. 

She had already been through so much. From dealing with an abusive man like my father to battling illness after illness, she couldn't take anymore suffering. 

But was this truly the only way out? Wasn't there someone else who could help me?

I should call his bluff, tell him to do his worst but I could not especially since he had involved my mother. 

If he hurt my father I wouldn't care less since it was his fault we were in this mess anyway. 

I took a deep breath and glanced at him. “I'll do it.” 

I grabbed the pen he placed inside the envelope and signed the file. 

What could it hurt? It was just six months.  With these rules he added, nothing would happen and the six months would come and go. 

Right? So why did it feel like I was making a deal with the devil himself?