5

Asaraiah

I knew he was gone before I opened my eyes.

The shed was empty. Cold. Silent

There was no warmth from his body near mine, no shadow moving in the corners, no quiet breaths like the ones I had memorized the night before

He was just... gone.

I didn’t even know his name.

And I let him kiss me. I let him see my—no, I was only showing him my scars. That’s all. Nothing more.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed outside. I jolted up

Was it him? Did he come back?

The door slammed open. A blur of a maid’s uniform flashed in before the face revealed itself.

“Afsana.”

Her cheeks were flushed, hair sticking to her temples from sweat. “My lady—Asa—you have to return home now. The Montovas are back, and it's only minutes before they start searching for you.”

Panic struck me like a whip.

I was strong enough to run now. Afsana and I bolted through the back entrance, slipping through the servant halls and the kitchen corridors.

I took a breath at the threshold, steeling myself. And then I stepped out.

The main room hit me like a punch. It was too bright, too pristine, like nothing had ever happened. The mirror was replaced. Same position. Same weapon, waiting again.

“Welcome, Father. Brothers. Sisters.”

My voice was low. So was my head.

“There she is,” my elder brother sneered, tilting my chin up with the edge of his gold hand fan. His eyes were calm. His Armani suit is crisp.

I never got to wear Armani. Not even a dupe. Not even a hand-me-down.

“Where were you?” he asked.

“I was assisting the maids in the kitchen to prepare your dinner. I lost track of time.”

One of my sisters scoffed. “Wow, are you trying to poison us now?”

“I would never do such a thing.”

“You had better not.”

Then he handed me an envelope. My hands trembled as I broke the seal

.

You are cordially invited to the wedding of Asaraiah Montova and Derek Saunders.

Wait.

Derek Saunders.

I had seen that name before…when I was filing Father’s documents. A seventy-year-old man. He owned seven drug rings. He trafficked women. A monster in human skin.

“No,” I breathed.

“Look at her,” my sister hissed. “She’s excited to leave us. To open her bastard legs.”

I snapped

.

“No. I do not want to—”

SLAM.

The hand fan cracked across my skull. Blades cut into my neck. Blood trickled down my collar

.

I crumpled to the floor.

Louboutins. My sister’s heel crushed down on my fingers. Bone scraped bone.

“Ungrateful slut. Didn’t you always want what belonged to me? Now I don’t want this engagement, and you have the audacity to say no?”

Her knee met my jaw. My teeth rattled. Blood pooled in my mouth.

Pain returned like an old friend. The wounds from the last beating tore open. My blood stained their perfect white tile.

“Ew. She’s leaking again. Get this trash out of here,” my other sister gagged.

“Go and reflect on your stupidity and ungratefulness.”

They didn’t expect it. The way my limbs twitched. The way my feet moved before my mind could. I ran.

Through the halls. Past the guards. Out the gates. Into the woods.

The shed.

My lungs burned. My vision blurred. The air smelled like smoke and secrets and him.

I slammed the door shut behind me and dropped to the floor. The mattress still bore his shape. Still stained with blood. My blood joined it now.

My fingers fumbled, ripping off the fresh bandages. Afsana couldn’t help me today. She was in the kitchen. I couldn’t drag her into this.

I pressed my palm to the mattress, feeling the ghost of his warmth

.

Tears burned. Maybe it was better to be sold. Better to die than marry that man.

And then…I heard it.

Engines. Footsteps. Voices. No.

No no no—

Did my brothers find this place?

Please, no.

My breath hitched. The air shifted. The door creaked open.

And my eyes connected with the gold rimmed ones.

Him. Dressed in black, a tailored suit hugging his broad frame, the collar crisp, his hair swept back like a god descending from war. Behind him stood men. Silent, deadly, in matching uniforms, holding weapons. He looked like a mafia.

He stepped into the shed like he owned it. Like he owned me.

“What the hell are you doing–what happened to you?” he asked, his voice flat, dangerous.

I couldn’t breathe.

“I—,” I choked out but my lips were red with my blood. “What are you doing here? I thought you left. I thought—”

He raised a hand. Silenced me with one look. His golden-ringed eyes narrowed.

“I was cleaning up loose ends,” he muttered. “Can’t have enemies knowing I even breathed here.”

He knelt beside me. Close. Too close.

“You’re a mess.” He muttered.

He looked away. Almost guilty. Almost.

“This mess saved your life ,”I said, clutching the wound on my neck.. “You said you owed me one.”

His jaw clenched harder. He turned to his men.

“Clear it.”

They moved like shadows. Burning old rags. Erasing traces. Wiping memories. Muttering codes into headsets.

I grabbed his arm.

He froze.

“I know my wish,” I said.

He looked at me fully now. Eyes glowing. Dangerous. Curious.

I didn’t know his name. Still didn’t.

But maybe the devil I’d kissed was better than the devil my father chose.

“Take responsibility for me. Marry me.”

The room seemed to stop.

He blinked. His lips curled into a slow, wicked smile. Not cruel, not mocking—interested. Like I had just given him something worth tasting.

“You don’t know a damn thing about me, Ruby," he said.

“I know enough,” I replied, steady now. “You’re not seventy. You don’t smell like rot. And I won’t be a burden.”

He laughed. Once. Dark and low. He brushed his knuckles beneath my chin. Then leaned in. His lips found mine again. This time tasting blood.

“Then pack your things, my little bride.”

My breath hitched.

“You’re mine now.”