Chapter 4: The debt

“Nadia’s POV

I walked down the street that led to the Bennetts mansion as the event of earlier today replayed in my head. That man is really a devil.

They call him the prince of hell, but they are wrong. He is the devil himself. The way his icy blue eyes stared at me, I could feel the hairs on my body sticking out.

I worked extra shifts today because my coworker called in sick. It was already past nine, and the street was eerily quiet.

I got to the gate of the mansion and it was locked. Fishing my phone out of my coat pocket, I called Max, the gatekeeper, he answered on the second ring.

“Max, hi. I’m really sorry for bothering you, but can you open the gate for me, please.” I pleaded.

“I’ll be right out, Naddie.” He responded.

The gates opened a few minutes later, I stepped inside the compound and smiled at him.

“You are quite late tonight.” He said, a worried look on his face.

“Yes, I worked extra shifts, hence the lateness.” I gave him a weak smile.

“It’s not safe for a girl like you to walk alone at night, please be careful.” he said.

“Thank you, Max.” I said to him and headed into the building. The house was quiet, it seemed like everybody had gone to sleep.

I climbed up the stairs and headed to my room. I opened the door and clicked it shut, turning on the lights, my heart skipped a bit.

Alex was in my room, lying on my bed. A wide grin on his face.

“Wha… what are you doing here?” I mumbled, my heart pounding against my ribs.

“Oh, come on, cuz. I’m just here to have some fun.” He smiled widely.

“Alex, get out.” I said, my voice trembling.

“Hey, you know we never got to do the main thing, how about we try it now. Hmm?” he said and got up from the bed, taking slow steps towards me.

“Don’t come closer, I’m warning you.” I murmured, taking slow steps toward the door.

“And if I do? Come on, Nadia. You cannot pretend that you don’t have any idea how gorgeous you are. Those curves of yours are driving me insane. I want to know how it feels when I’m buried deep inside you.”

I immediately broke into a run, my hand reached for the door knob. But he was too fast. He lunged forward and grabbed me, trying to forcefully kiss me.

“Let go! let me go!” I screamed. He kept forcing himself on me, grabbing the collar of my top and ripping it down. The fabric tore from the neck, revealing my chest. A shrieking cry broke from my throat as I fought him.

“Come on Nadia, let me fuck you, I promise I’ll be gentle.” he whispered. His disgusting breath fanning my face.

I lifted my knee and kicked him hard on his groin. He released me instantly, groaning in pain.

“Ahhhh! fuck!” I immediately reached into my bag and brought out the pepper spray, unleashing it directly on his face.

“Arghhh! what the fuck! Stupid bitch!” He screamed.

Gathering all the strength I had left, I threw the door open and shoved him out into the hallway, and slammed it shut, clicking the lock.

I leaned back against the hard wood before crashing down to the hard floor, my chest heaving.

I could still hear him cursing in the hallway. That was a narrow escape, that bastard.

I looked at my torn shirt, this was one of the best clothes I had. I took it off and dropped it in the waste bin then rushed into the bathroom as a wave of nausea hit my nerves, I threw up in the toilet and flushed it.

My body still trembled as I peeled off the rest of my clothes and turned on the shower, scrubbing my skin in a desperation to wipe his filthy touch off me.

I sat on my bed, scrolling through my phone as my eyes fixed on my university admission letter. I’ve been offered admission but I did not tell them.

I intend to leave once I’ve saved up enough to rent a small apartment. I have saved up enough to pay for my tuition fees.

My shift starts at ten tomorrow. I dropped my phone on the table and lay on my bed, my eyes drifting to the door at intervals as my eyes fluttered slowly until I shut them, falling asleep.

* * * * *

A loud bang inside the mansion snapped me awake. I opened my eyes to see that it was already morning. I looked at the wall clock, half past eight.

I straightened up and opened the door, walking down the stairs, I heard voices, unfamiliar voices.

I increased my pace until I came out to the sitting room, what I saw made my heart thump hard.

“Wha… what is going on? Who are you?” I asked. The family of four were on their knees, guns pointed to their heads.

My hand flew to my chest, my finger tips digging into my collar bone as air turned to ice in my lungs.

These people, whoever they are, danger is written all over their faces. The man who stood in front with his back to me seemed familiar, but I couldn’t recall where I’ve met him.

“You are finally here.” He said. That voice—no, it can’t be.

Slowly he turned around to face me, my breath caught in my throat as I stumbled backwards, almost falling.

Lorenzo Romano!

What the hell is he doing here?

I swallowed hard, trying to get myself together. He held a cigar in his left hand, slowly blowing a thick cloud of smoke into the tense air, a gun rested on his waist.

“Come here,” he ordered, gesturing at me with his finger. I blinked hard, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat.

“Wh… what do you want?” I muttered.

“One thing I dislike is repeating myself, do not make me repeat myself. Come here.” He repeated again.

I took slow, shaky steps toward him, my entire body shuddered, my hands trembled. I was just a few feet away from him when he lunged forward and covered the space between us, grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer to him.

I gasped and tried to release my wrist, but his grip kept tightening as his eyes bore holes into my body.

“What do you want?” I murmured, my voice trembling with fear.

A wicked grin crept up his face. “I came to collect a debt, and you have been given to me as repayment.” he said and shoved me roughly.

I lost my footing and hit the hard floor. My mouth fell open in a quiet gasp, my mind numb with shock.