CHAPTER 4.

Natasha’s POV.

After that call from my mother, I was a mess. Torn between rushing to the hospital to check on my father and going straight to the police station to face her. But I couldn’t even get to the hospital without her. I didn’t know where my father was. She was the only one who could tell me.

So, with a heavy heart and trembling hands, I turned back and made my way to the police station.

When I stepped inside, everything hit me all at once—the ringing phones, overlapping voices, and the buzzing lights overhead. I stood there for a few seconds, completely blank, not knowing where to go or who to ask.

I must have looked lost, an officer behind the desk called my attention and pointed down a hallway without even asking my name.

My legs moved on their own, as if betraying me each step heavier than the last. Every step felt wrong, like I was walking into something I couldn’t come back from.

There I found my mother, sitting behind a table all alone. Her hands were folded in her lap, trying to hold herself together.

When she lifted her eyes to me, there was no smile. Just tears.

I stepped closer, refusing to sit.

For a moment, I couldn’t speak. Then the words burst out.

“Talk,” I said, my voice low and steady. “No lies. No half-truths. Why are you here?”

She didn’t answer. Just looked at the floor, blinking slowly like each second was a punishment.

“Mom,” I called, my tone sharper this time.

A long breath escaped her, and she finally said something.

“We never meant for it to get this bad.”

I almost laughed. This bad? She didn’t seem to grasp the weight of it.

“What did you expect?” I asked. “You tried to marry either of your daughters off like a payment plan.”

Her face crumpled, but she didn’t meet my eyes.

“We took out a loan from him years ago,” she said.

“Who?” I blinked, confused.

“The man Carol was supposed to marry.”

I stepped back like I had been hit. “You’re kidding.”

She shook her head. “We needed money. For your tuition, the house, Dad’s debts, and medical treatments. You were so determined to go to medical school. We thought borrowing a little would help.”

Her voice trailed off. I felt the ground shift beneath me.

“You should have told me,” I said quietly. “Before you took the loan. I would have given up med school.”

“How could we deny your dream, Natasha? We planned to pay it back,” she said quickly. “We tried. But the family business failed, payments were missed and the interest grew. It all spiraled.”

I stared at her. “And he agreed to wipe the debt if he married one of your daughters.”

Her lips trembled. “Carol didn’t know at first. We told her it would be a good marriage—he’s rich and powerful. We thought she’d be happy. But she found out about the debt, which was the reason she was marrying him, and ran.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “And when she ran, you came to me after keeping it away from me all these years, even when the marriage was agreed upon.”

“You had Josh then—that was why we never got you involved,” she said, her voice cracking.

“Your own life. We didn’t want to drag you into this. That’s why we offered Carol. But then Carol turned against us at the very end. I bet she felt like she was being sold off. The groom found out and threatened to get us jailed for life for fraud and damages. Your Dad collapsed, I got arrested, and now we have nothing.”

I didn’t know whether to scream or cry. I swallowed hard and just asked.

“How much?”

She hesitated.

“How much do we owe him?” I repeated, louder.

“A million,” she whispered.

I closed my eyes. For a second, I thought I might faint.

“A million dollars… for my education?”

“No. We tried to turn it into something more. We added it to the family business. We thought we could get ahead. It just failed.”

The walls closed in. I felt like I should just disappear but since this mess started because of me, it was on me to fix it.

“I’ll talk to him,” I said.

“I’ll ask for time in any way I can. One year should be enough for me to find a way to pay it all. I will get you out of this place as soon as I can.”

Her eyes welled up and she nodded, like she had given up. She didn’t even try to stop me.

I left with his address scribbled on a scrap of paper, my heart pounding. Each step toward his house felt heavier than the last.

When I finally reached the address, I was standing before a grand estate. It looked cold and utterly unwelcoming but I still made my way inside.

I met a butler by the front door who silently led me through marble halls to a heavy door.

He ushered me inside when he knocked and opened the door, leaving me to find my way inside.

When I got in, the room turned out to be a study and I found a handsome-looking, calm man sitting behind a desk, his full attention on the papers in front of him and I guessed he was the man Carol was supposed to marry.

He looked up calmly when I stepped closer, like he had been expecting me, his face expressionless but his eyes held an intensity that felt like it could burn through my soul.

I didn’t smile at him, exchange pleasantries, or sit. I went straight to the point.

“I’m here to negotiate.”

His mouth twitched with a hint of amusement that unsettled me. His full attention was on me now but I went on.

“I came regarding my parents' loan. I will pay—”

My phone buzzed, cutting me off. I glanced down to see a message from the hospital that had sent me a letter of appointment that morning.

“We regret to inform you that your job offer has been rescinded…”

My hand went limp, the phone slipping. I went silent, unable to process the message.

“You were saying?” he spoke for the first time, his eyes boring into me like they could read me.

I looked up, desperation rising. I knew I needed to beg now that my only hope to repay the debt was gone.

“Please give me a year. I’ll pay the loan. I just need to find a—”

“No. There is no time,” he cut me off before I could finish.

“The only choice you have right now,” he said, voice calm but firm, “is to marry me—since you didn’t come with the money to clear your family’s debts.”

I swallowed hard, my throat dry.

“It’s simple. Marry me for one year. That’s the deal. Want your mother out of jail? Want your father in a proper home instead of a cell? This is how.”

My heart sank.

“You can’t be serious,” I whispered.

“I am.” He met my eyes, unflinching. “I’m not begging. I’m offering you a favor. You’re not who I wanted—just what’s left. I need a wife to save my empire, and you’re the only option.”

He paused, then added quietly, “So make a wise decision—for your family’s sake.”

I stood there, feeling totally helpless. I had nothing left. No love or future. Just a family drowning and me going down with them.