Chapter 3

I mulled over Troy’s words long after he left our house, mainly because they left me terrified to my bones. I kept telling myself that he didn’t mean what he said. That he would never substitute me for my sister in marriage, but my heart refused to agree with me.

Parys’ departure had left our parents in a panic. When my Father realized what had happened—mainly through me because I was the one who told him—his face drained of color and he immediately alerted whatever guards he could get his hands on.

Considering we owed the Knight family our lives, it was obvious that we weren’t rich. That meant we didn’t have access to the resources that Troy and his family had. But my Dad knew someone in the police and he called him up and told him to find Parys. And then he turned his attention to me.

“Make sure to keep calling her. And if you know something, Londyn, you better tell me right now,” he said, his nostrils flaring with barely concealed fury. “This matter is not to be taken lightly. You know exactly what’s at stake.”

“Nathan, there is no need to panic,” my Mother said, coming to stand beside him and placing a comforting hand on his arm. “I’m sure she will come back. She probably played a little prank on Troy. They must’ve had a lovers’ spat or something.”

If only she’d read the text message and saw the video of Troy and I, she wouldn’t be saying all this. But as it was I couldn’t bear to tell them the truth because I knew they would kill me. They could pretend to love us both equally all they wanted, but I knew they favored Parys over me. I liked to tell myself that it was because Parys was going to marry Troy and rid them of their debt, but perhaps I was delusional.

“She better come back. There is no other option for her. I won’t let her humiliate me like this,” my Dad said, making me wonder if he really loved her. “Troy is not going to let this go.”

I left my parents’ room and went back to my own to try and contact Parys once again. Since Troy left I’d been trying to call her but her number had been disconnected. I really wish she was playing a prank but I knew she wasn’t. She’d seen the video and she was pissed. She had jumped to the worst conclusion and didn’t even give us a chance to explain.

But who recorded you in the first place?

That was the million dollar question. We didn’t have cameras in our bedrooms, so how the hell did one end up in my room? Who put it there and why? The staff couldn’t have access to such technology, so how did a camera get here? Troy was able to locate the camera on the pyramid which was sitting on the TV console in my room and took it away with him. He said he was going to try and figure out who was responsible for it, but I wasn’t sure if he would succeed.

He has more resources than you. He will figure it out.

I would rather he used his resources to find Parys and marry her because there was no way I was walking down the aisle and marrying him. He was an idiot to think I would. We maybe twins but our personalities were a polar opposite. I would never marry a man I didn’t love and no one could make me. And Troy didn’t even like me, so why the hell did he want to marry me?

The house was thick with tension. Everyone was on edge and I was sick of pretending that I wasn’t freaking out on the inside. Troy’s words kept ringing in my head, making me want to scream and tear the city down in search of Parys. And that’s exactly what I decided to do. I grabbed my bag after slipping on my jacket and left my room. I made my way out of the house and decided to check with Parys’ friends. Hopefully they would know something about where she was.

However, as I walked the streets I felt the hair on the back of my neck rising as alarm bells begun ringing in my mind. I stopped and looked around, trying to figure out who the hell was watching me in broad daylight but there was no one.

“That’s weird,” I muttered to myself and resumed walking. But with every step the alarm bells rang louder until I stopped once again to look around. That’s when I noticed a black car idling on the side of the street. It was a car I’d never seen before but I recognized the Knight family crest on the license plate and strode over to it. I knocked on the tinted window and waited for the driver to acknowledge my existence. “What’s this? Why are you following me?”

“Master Knight ordered me to keep an eye on you,” the man replied. He was in his early thirties with chocolate brown eyes and a smooth face. He was wearing a cap but I could see tufts of dark hair poking out from the side.

“Troy? Why the hell would he do that?” I asked and then my brain provided the answer to me. He wanted to make sure I didn’t run away like my sister. “You…uh…you need to leave. I’m fine. Trust me, everything will be okay.” I had no idea if I was talking to myself or to the man in the car. I just knew I needed him to leave. This wasn’t okay. I didn’t want Troy’s goons following me around.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Miss. I’m under strict orders,” he said, not the least bit apologetic. “If you wish to go anywhere I’ll be more than happy to take you.”

There was no way I was getting in the car with Troy’s minion and have him report him of my whereabouts. I needed to lose him, but how?

“No, I just want you to go home and stop following me. And tell your boss to respect other people’s privacy,” I snapped and walked away. I doubt the man would listen but he would tell Troy what I said and maybe he would be embarrassed about having me followed.

I took a turn around the block and continued walking. I kept looking over my shoulder to see if the car was following me and was surprised to see it wasn’t.

“Wow. I can’t believe the man actually listened to me,” I said before continuing on my way. Emma was one of Parys’ closest friends and she was also the one who lived closest to us, so I decided to go to her first and hoped that Parys was there.

Troy’s face kept flashing in my mind and though I despised him with all my heart, I couldn’t help but worry about him. No matter what happened between us I knew he genuinely loved my sister. He wouldn’t be acting like this otherwise. I hoped he was okay. I wish Parys would give us a chance to explain but I needed to find her first.

No sooner had I taken another turn that a sleek, blue car came screeching to a stop in front of me. My heart shot up my throat as I jumped backwards to escape from the lethal weapon in front of me.

I thought about giving the driver a piece of my mind when the door opened and Troy stepped out of the car and strode over to me. He looked particularly handsome in a navy blue suit which brought out the blue of his eyes. My heart skipped a beat and I hated that he affected me. I was sure it was my hatred for him. There was no way my heart could feel any other way towards him.

“What is the matter with you? Who the hell even gave you a driver’s license? You could’ve killed me!” I snapped as he came to a stop a couple of feet from me, glad to finally hold on to my anger.

“Why would I kill my bride to be?” He asked, folding his arms in front of his chest.

I sputtered and tried to regain my sanity. “Excuse me?! I am not going to marry you. Get that through your head. Parys will come back and you will marry her like you’re supposed to. That’s it.”

“If she doesn’t then you’ll be my wife and that’s final,” he stated.

“That will never happen.” I had no idea I eliminated the distance between us, but all of a sudden I realized that our lips were a breath away.

“It will if you want your parents to have a future.”

The threat jarred my senses and I looked for a way to escape. I couldn’t believe he just threatened to kill my parents if I didn’t do as he wanted.

“Why? You don’t even like me? Why the hell do you even want to marry someone you hate?” I asked him.

“It’s simple. I won’t allow anyone to humiliate me like this, especially the people who owe us their fucking lives.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “I will find Parys and I’ll deal with her in my own way, but until that happens you need to start planning your wedding because I expect a bride walking down the aisle next Saturday.”

“You can’t be serious! I’m not going to marry you, do you understand that? I will never marry someone I don’t like,” I snarled, not caring that he could very well kill me with just a bullet. I knew he was used to getting what he wanted but it was time somebody put him in his place and make him realize the hard truths of life that you didn’t always get what you wanted.

He cocked his head to the side as he studied me with a darkness that made me shudder. “Defying me is never the smart choice, Londyn. And in this case, defying me is not even an option.”

“I’m sorry to burst your bubble, Troy, but you don’t always get what you want. I don’t know why last night happened…”

“I thought we agreed not to discuss last night ever again.”

“Fine. But I want you to understand that just because Parys ran away doesn't mean that I’m going to take her place to protect your precious reputation. It will never happen. So get that through your head and stop having your men follow me around,” I told him.

“Parys signed her death warrant by running from me. And like I said, I’ll deal with her as I see fit. And as for you, you will marry me if I don’t find Parys by next week,” he stated.

“That will never happen,” I shot back. I didn’t care that the whole world trembled whenever he showed up, I wasn’t going to budge. This was my life and I got to decide who I wanted to share it with.

“It will happen. I will make it happen,” he stated in a matter of fact tone which made me want to slap him across his handsome face.

“Oh really?” I scoffed and folded my arms in front of my chest. “And how are you going to do that?”

Troy gazed at me with a cryptic look in his eyes. “You really don’t want to know.”

“I actually do.”

His eyebrow rose before he nodded. “Alright. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Before my brain could register what was happening and send the signal to my body to run away, Troy locked his arm around me before lifting me up and tossing me over his shoulder. I shrieked when the world turned upside down and tried to kick and punch him into letting me down.

“What the hell?! Put me down!”

He ignored me and sauntered over to his car. I heard the sound of a door open He maneuvered my body and tossed me in the passenger seat of the car before slamming the door shut. I sat up and hurled a rainbow of expletives which he ignored as he rounded the car and got inside the driver’s seat. I tried opening the door but it was locked and nothing I did got it to open.

“Now sit back and let me teach you exactly what happens if or when someone dares to defy me,” Troy said and floored the gas, taking me to God knows where.