Chapter 1

I picked up my glass which stood regally in front of me and took a gulp of water in a pathetic attempt to alleviate the anxiety which was slowly but surely rising inside of me. I didn’t know why I was feeling this way, but it was surely because of the sexy hunk of a man sitting across from me.

Troy Knight wasn’t what one would expect a gentleman to be like. And that was the thing, he wasn’t a gentleman. Far from it in fact. He was the epitome of darkness and killed people for sport. It didn’t help that he was a Mafia don and could destroy me and my entire family with a snap of his fingers. But according to him he wasn’t so cruel as to kill us. No, he was just going to marry my sister and whisk her away to the Underworld, like the fucking Devil he was.

I couldn’t even stop this arrangement even if I wanted to. He’d been destined to marry my sister since they were old enough to walk. My parents were stupid enough to get involved with the Mafia and now they had to pay the price. Troy’s Father demanded the hand of my twin sister, Parys in exchange of clearing my Father off his debts. My father was more than happy to agree, which just made me hate him all the more.

“I think we should get married after a week,” Troy said as he cut through the lasagna in front of him.

Parys smiled, her eyes lighting up at his words. “I agree.”

As much as the thought of my sister marrying this demon made me want to throw up, I was glad that she was happy. When Troy and Parys were old enough to understand the arrangement between them, he began courting my sister. He made her fall in love with him and now my sister couldn’t wait to marry Troy. I guess, in a way I should be glad. I wouldn’t want her to marry someone she didn’t love.

“Isn’t it a little too soon?” I blurted out the words before I could think about the consequences.

Troy’s electric blue eyes shot to mine and I swore I felt my heart beginning to freeze. “We have been together for years. There is no point in delaying any longer.”

“You’ll have to forgive my sister. You know how us twins can be,” Parys said. “She’s just not ready for me to leave.”

Troy cocked his head to the side as he regarded me with a cold, calculating gleam in his eyes. “That’s strange. I understand you two have a bond, but we have been together since we were old enough to walk. This day was inevitable. Londyn knows that. So there is no room for sentiments here,” he said in a flat tone which made me want to get up and hurl the glass of water on his face.

“You know how younger siblings can be,” Parys said with a chuckle and rolled my eyes.

“I’m only twenty minutes younger than you,” I argued but as usual no one paid me any mind. And why would they when the two most important people were present at the dining table.

“Londyn, there is no need to get so riled up. It’s time these two got married,” my Father said and as usual I ignored him. He could try to be all nonchalant about this but I would never forgive him for selling my sister like that.

“Whatever. If Parys wants to marry him, then she can. I’m a nobody anyways,” I said and took another gulp of water.

“Yes, you are,” Troy said in a scathing tone before focusing on my sister again.

His words stung but they weren’t anything new. No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, the rivalry between Troy and I continued to deepen until the sight of each other turned our blood sour. As a Mafia don, he was used to getting what he wanted. There was no one who could deny him. If anybody dared to do so, he just put a bullet between their eyes. And since the agreement between our parents, Troy had considered Parys his. So whenever I tried to spend time with her or exercise my right as her twin sister, he was quick to give me the death glare, which had become his signature look in my opinion. Although I hated how good it made him look; like a sexy fallen angel rising from hell. I hated that the Universe decided to bless him with good looks and a body which could make the angels weep, but there was nothing I could do about it.

But yes, according to him, Parys belonged to him and no one had the right to talk to her or have any kind of relationship with her. That’s why I was afraid that I would never see my sister if she married him.

“Troy, come on,” Parys said. “Be nice.”

“Nice?” I scoffed. “That’s like expecting the sun to emit snow rather than sunlight.” I got up and tossed my napkin next to my empty plate. “Excuse me.”

I stormed out of the dining room, ignoring my sister’s pleas for me to return and have dessert with them. The man had once again succeeded in ruining my mood for the night. I wish I could make his life miserable the way he made mine.

It didn’t take me long to reach my bedroom and once I did I threw myself in bed and buried my face in my favorite pillow before letting out a loud scream. Curse Troy and his entire family! That man was the bane of my existence.

The soft knock on my door forced me to sit up and watch my sister enter. I didn’t miss the glass of my favorite milkshake in her hands as she came and sat down beside me.

“I brought you your favorite,” she said and I did my best not to smile.

“What’s the point? In a week all this will stop,” I muttered, folding my arms in front of my chest.

“No, it won’t, silly. You know how to make milkshake,” she said.

“Yes, but you wouldn’t be bringing it to me.” I pouted.

“Yes, but I’ll come and visit,” she replied.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “Yeah right! As if that creep would let you out of his sight. Face it, Parys, your new home will be nothing but a gilded cage, and your husband is nothing but a psychopath.”

“He is not a psychopath. He’s incredible once you get to know him,” she defended.

“I do know him. That’s why I say he’s a psychopath. And let’s not forget how this man kills people for sport,” I snapped and took the drink from her. I drank the milkshake through the straw, which was my favorite way to drink.

“He’s not. I’m sure you’ll love him just as much as I do once you spend some time with him,” she said as I continued to drink.

“No thank you. I have no interest in spending time with that monster. And I’ll never love him, like never,” I stated and downed half of the milkshake.

Her beautiful smile refused to leave, making her look like an angel. No wonder Troy was so smitten with her. He would be a fool not to see how incredible and beautiful my sister was. He should thank his lucky stars for getting a wife like her.

“Alright fine. Have it your way. Just finish the drink and then we can watch a movie,” she said.

I looked at her chuckled. “Watch a movie? How in the world is the big, Mafia don okay with this?”

“I had a little talk with him and he agreed to let us spend some time together before the wedding. So for the next one week, it’ll be just you and me,” she told me.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” I said. There was no way Troy would let her spend an entire week without meeting her. It just wasn’t in his nature. He was extremely possessive about her and demanded to see her at least once every day. So her telling me this was plain hogwash.

“Just finish your milkshake and help me pick out a movie,” she said.

“Sure,” I said, feeling a tingling sensation in the tips of my fingers. “By the way, why haven’t you changed into your pajamas? I thought you wanted to watch a movie.”

“I’ll do that in a while. Just finish your drink right now,” she insisted.

I shrugged and drank the rest of the milkshake before setting the now empty glass on my nightstand. “There. All done.”

“Perfect!” She clapped her hands with excitement. “Now just pick a movie and I’ll be back in a little bit.”

She dashed out of my room before I could try and stop her. I yawned and stretched my arms over my head before dropping them to the side. I sat on my bed, waiting for the tingling sensation to disappear. But the longer I sat, the worse it became until I felt my arms and legs going numb.

Dread uncurled its claws before slowly sinking them in my heart as my limbs became heavy, making it difficult for me to sit up straight.

Perhaps I should lie down. I don’t know why I feel so tired.

I lay down on my bed and willed my body to bounce back. After so long I was getting the chance to watch a movie with my sister. I didn’t want to blow it by falling asleep at the most inopportune time. No, I had to get up. I would cherish the days I had left with my sister and no one was going to stop me.

But the harder I tried to fight off the fatigue, the stronger it became until I could barely raise my head from the pillow. My limbs refused to obey me and when I tried to speak, my voice barely came out. The words I tried to find morphed into pathetic moans, leaving me helpless.

There was something wrong with me, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I was fine a moment ago, so why was I feeling like this all of a sudden. And where the hell was Parys? I thought she went to change. She should’ve been back by now. I wanted her to come so she could call for help. There was no one else who would come here.

By despite my fragile hold on my senses I felt the minutes tick by with no sign of my sister anywhere. My senses dulled until I found myself in a trance-like state where I couldn’t tell what was real and what wasn’t. I tried my best to keep my eyes open but it was getting difficult by the minute. No matter what happened, I wasn’t going to give in to this fatigue. Not tonight.

The sound of the door opening made the pounding of my heart slow down a little. Finally Parys was back. She could now help me figure out what was wrong with me. I would just have to find a way to make my mouth work.

But when I tried to speak all I heard were my moans, which frustrated me to no end. My ears picked up on the sound of footsteps as Parys came close to me. However, I couldn’t hear the sound of high heels, so I assumed that she must’ve changed into pajamas and was finally ready to watch a movie with me.

“What do we have here?” I heard a male voice speak just before the bed dipped. “My darling, little fiancée is ready for me it seems.”

What the hell? What was Troy doing in my room and why the hell was he referring to me as his fiancée? I knew Parys and I looked alike but he was the one person—apart from our parents—who had always been able to tell us apart.

But when his fingers brushed over the side of my face, I knew something was really wrong. Troy would never do this. He knew who I was and hated me with a passion. There was no way he would ever mistake me for Parys, let alone dare to touch me. I remembered how he told me that he found me abhorrent and would rather dump his hands in acid than touch me. That was a long time ago, but the truth of his words held to this day. So why was he touching me now?

I tried to get away from him but my body refused to obey me, leaving me a pathetic lump on the bed.

“I know you’re eager to marry me, but you shouldn’t provoke me. You know I have a hard time keeping my hands off of you,” he said and I wished I could dig a hole for myself and crawl inside it for the rest of my life.

However, instead of shying away from his touch—which I was physically unable to do—I found my body surrendering to it. My heart begun beating once again just as my brain began short-circuiting, cutting off my reality until his touch became my only connection to the real world.

“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met,” he said, as if he really was speaking to Parys. “I’m so glad you’re mine. And in one week, the whole world would know and then no one would be able to take you from me.”

I was pretty sure no one would even try to take her from him, but why in the world did he think I was Parys? Had he gone blind? Had he lost his senses like I’d lost mine? And why the hell was my body reacting to his touch?

A moan floated out of me when his other hand began sliding up my leg, the slit in the side of my dress causing my dress to fall away, baring me to him.

As much as I tried to keep my eyes open there was no point in doing so, because everything appeared blurry. If it weren’t for his voice, I would’ve thought he was somebody else.

“But as impatient I am, I’m willing to wait for a week to marry you. However, I’m not going to waste this opportunity to own you all over again,” he said.

I wished my body had the strength to push him away instead of surrendering to his touch. Perhaps then I would’ve been able to save myself. But something was terribly wrong tonight. That’s why when Troy lowered the zipper on the side of my dress and pushed my legs apart to settle in between them, I did nothing to fight him off. With my body working against me, the final synapses keeping me tethered to reality slithered away, and when he pressed his lips to mine, I could do nothing but give in to him.