Chapter one: Marry Me

Eva's POV

Clank!

The warden's baton hit my cell. I looked up, expecting another taunt or to be dragged out and whipped for rules I never disobeyed. 

Instead, she said, “You have a visitor.” 

I stepped out of the cell in my tattered prison uniform that clinged to my lean frame. My hair fell messily over my face as I followed the warden to the visiting area, wondering who the visitor was.

Except for my best friend Dana and my brother, Caleb, no one else has visited in the past three years. Of course no one else could visit, I was an orphan and the man I loved put me in here.

I stopped upon seeing the handsome man in front of me. He was oddly familiar yet I couldn't place where I'd seen him.

A strand of his jet black hair hung above his brows, casting a casual and composed aura around him. 

His piercing green eyes met my blue ones at once.

“You need to sit, Eva.” He spoke, his voice reverberating in the cold room.

“Who are you?”

He tilted his head lazily and said, “There's only one way to find out.”

I suspected that he could be one of Margaret's thugs. Ever since my ex-boyfriend mother, Margaret, framed me for a crime I did not commit, she has stopped at nothing to harass me even while in jail.

I forced my legs to move and sat down on the opposite chair.

“I'm here to get you out.” He mumbled underneath his breath. “I know you didn't do it.”

Tears glossed my eyes. His words instinctively brought memories of the night I was accused of embezzling funds from the Hale Group. 

No one believed me. Not even Damien Hale, the man who claimed to love me.

I tried to prove myself innocent but Margaret had my brother abducted, forcing me to admit to a crime I did not commit.

“How?” My voice broke as I spoke. “How do you intend to do that? The Hale family is more powerful than you think.”

I paused and added, “I've served three years of the fifteen I was sentenced to. Isn't it too late?”

He reached out and took my hands in his.

“I just need you to trust me, Eva.”

My name on his lips was soft and assuring. A glimmer of hope basked in my heart. Nothing felt more fulfilling than stepping out of here and revenging my unjust treatment.

“I already have everything in place for your release.”

My eyes widened. “Really?” 

He nodded. “All you have to do is marry me, Eva.”

At that, I slowly slipped my hand out of his grip. He leaned back on his chair, his sharp, green eyes searching my face.

“I don't know you. In fact, why are you willing to help me?”

“The name is Enzo,” he answered, “I've been hurt in the past by the Hales. I'm only strong enough now to get back at them.”

He paused and added, “After witnessing how they ruined your life, I decided to lend a helping hand. Together, we can bring them down.”

I shook my head and stood up abruptly, my earlier hopeful expression gone.

“Marrying you is too much to ask, Enzo. After Damien's betrayal, getting close to another man is certainly something I wouldn't do again.”

“Eva—”

“I'm sorry.” I cut him off, “I appreciate your help but I can't take your offer. I'll do my sentence and get my revenge when I can.”

I turned and was walking away when he spoke.

“Your brother won't be alive by then.”

I stopped and turned abruptly, my countenance changing almost immediately.

“What are you talking about?”

He rose. His height is about 6ft. His build reminded me so much about Damien that if I didn't know better, I'd have thought they were brothers from the same family.

He slipped his phone from his pocket and played a video. 

I watched my brother being beaten by several thugs, his face was badly injured. My hand instinctively went to my lips. My best friend, Dana, was tied to a chair, unconscious.

They had only come to visit me yesterday. 

My gaze shot up. “How did you get this? Where is my brother? Are you trying to blackmail me?”

“Eva, your brother was abducted by Margaret Hale.” He dropped the bombshell.

“How could she?!” I became instantly worried as I began to pace the small room, “I already took the fall! I've been here, silent, for three years! What does she want?”

“They want to do the exact same thing they did to you three years ago, Eva.”

I glanced up, “Frame him?”

He nodded. “Your best friend too.”

Shivers ran down my spine.

“After embezzling more funds, Margaret has decided to use Dana and Caleb as the scapegoat, considering how easy it is.”

“Her thugs are currently torturing them to confess to the crime and even add that you orchestrated it.”

“What?” My tone was disgust.

“Think about it, Eva. With that your sentence could be increased, or worse, you could be sentenced to death.”

He added, “And the only family you have left? Probably the same fate.”

He tucked his phone back into his pocket.

“Considering how easily she thwarted the hands of the law and had you confess to a crime you did not commit, imagine what she'd do just to ensure you stay silent forever.”

My breath caught in my throat.

He was right.

“You're nobody against the Hales, Eva. Marrying me will give you the social status you need. They will have to go through me to get to you.”

“Simply getting you out of jail does not stop them from putting you back. That's the reason for our marriage.”

Picking up his suitcase with a resolved expression, he said, “Perhaps I thought too far and overstepped my boundaries.”

“I will keep my hands to myself and take my leave now.”

He turned and walked towards the door.

“Wait.”