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 then I remembered—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 heart heavy and hands trembling, I turned back around and made my way to the police station. I don’t even remember the ride there. I must have crossed streets without looking and bumped into people without apologizing. It was like my body was moving, but my mind had stayed behind somewhere, trying to catch up.

When I walked into the police station, everything felt too loud and too bright. Phones rang. Voices blurred together. Lights buzzed overhead.

I stood there for a few seconds, completely blank, not knowing where to go, not knowing who to ask.

I must’ve looked lost because an officer behind the desk pointed down a hallway without even asking my name. My legs felt like they didn’t belong to me as I walked. Every step felt wrong. Like I was walking into something I couldn’t come back from.

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

Her blouse was wrinkled, her hair falling out of the bun she usually pinned so tightly. She didn’t look like my mother. Just a woman already defeated by life.

When she lifted her head and saw me, she didn’t smile. She didn’t even try. She just stared at me, her eyes filled with tears. I walked towards her, refusing to sit. For a second, I thought maybe I wouldn’t be able to speak. But then the words ripped out of me before I could stop them.

“Talk,” I said. My voice didn’t shake. It was low and flat. “Tell me everything. I don’t want lies. I don’t want half-truths. I want to know what’s really going on, why are you being held in the police station?”

She didn’t answer at first. She looked down at the floor, blinking slowly like every second was some kind of punishment.

“Mom,” I said, sharper this time.

She let out a long, tired breath, and when she finally spoke, her voice didn’t sound like hers.

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

I almost laughed. This bad? It was like she didn’t even understand the weight of what was happening.

“What exactly did you think was going to happen?” I asked. “You tried to marry me off like I was some... bargaining chip. Like I'm on a payment plan.”

Her face crumpled a little, but she didn’t look at me. Just kept staring at her hands. “We took out a loan,” she said finally. “A long time ago. From him.”

I blinked, confused. “Who?”

“The man Carol was supposed to marry.”

I took a step back like her words were something solid hitting me straight in the chest. “You’re kidding,” I said.

She shook her head slowly. “We needed money,” she whispered.

“For your tuition. For the house. Your father’s debts. His treatments. We didn’t have another option. You were so determined to go to medical school, and we didn’t want to stop you. You were already carrying so much pressure. We thought... if we could just borrow a little..."

Her voice trailed off. I felt like I wasn’t even standing anymore. Like the floor had dropped out beneath me.

“You should have told me,” I said. “You should have told me before you took out the loan and I would have given up medical school.”

“How could we deny you your dream, Natasha? We planned to pay it back,” she said quickly.

“We really tried. But the interest kept climbing when we continuously failed to meet up payment days and... then our business failed, and everything we thought we could fix just got worse.”

I stared at her. I didn’t even know this woman anymore. “And he agreed to wipe the debt if he married one of your daughters.”

Her lips trembled. She nodded. “Carol didn’t know at first,” she said. “We told her it would be a good marriage. He’s rich and powerful. We thought... she would be happy eventually. But she found out about the debt. About the arrangement. And she ran.”

I let out a harsh breath, running a hand through my hair. “And when she ran,” I said bitterly, “that's when you turned to me.”

“You had Josh then,” she said, her voice cracking.

“You had your own life. We didn't want to drag you into this. That’s why we offered her. But then... everything fell apart. Your father collapsed. I got arrested. And we have nothing, Natasha. Nothing left."

I didn’t know whether to scream or cry. Instead, I just asked, “How much?” She hesitated.

“How much do you owe him?” I said again, louder.

“A million,” she whispered. I closed my eyes. For a second, I honestly thought I might pass out.

“A million dollars just for my education?”

“No. We tried to make it into something more. We thought we could build a business. We thought we could get ahead. It just... didn’t work.”

I stood there, feeling the walls close in. There was no money, no job, and no backup plan. And somehow, this was all supposed to be mine to fix.

Since the mess started because of me. I swallowed hard. “I’ll talk to him,” I said.

“I’ll ask for time. One year. I’ll find a way to pay it off.” Her eyes filled with tears, but she nodded. She didn’t try to stop me.

I left the police station with his address scribbled on a scrap of paper, my heart hammering against my ribs. Every step toward his house felt heavier than the last. Like walking straight into a storm without an umbrella.

When I finally stood in front of his mansion, I felt smaller than I ever had in my life. The building was cold and impressive and utterly unwelcoming.

I didn’t even have to say my name—the butler knew who I was. He led me through high-ceilinged hallways until we stopped in front of a heavy door.

I stepped inside, and there he was. The man I was supposed to marry. Or rather, the man Carol was supposed to marry.

The man holding my family’s freedom in his hands. He calmly looked up at me like he had been expecting this exact moment.

Like he had all the time in the world, and I was just another appointment on his schedule.

I didn’t sit or smile. I just stood there and said,

“I’m here to negotiate.”

His mouth twitched slightly. Amused.

“I just need a year,” I said.

“I have a job, I just need to work a year to_”

My phone buzzed in my hand before I could finish, I stared down at the message and what I read made my heart stop immediately.

“We regret to inform you that your job offer has been rescinded…” My hand went limp, the phone slipping slightly in my grip.

I didn’t even have to say anything. Like he knew what had just happened, he chuckled.

“Seems like your alternative just fell through or something.” I looked up at him, desperate now.

“Please, I want to pay the loan. I’ll find something else. Just give me a few weeks—”

“No,” he said. “There’s no time.”

“Then what do you want from me?” His eyes met mine, cool and steady.

“You already know what I want,” he said.

“Marry me for one year. That’s the deal. Do you want your mother out of jail? Your father wakes up in a home and not a cell? This is how.”

My heart dropped. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am. Let’s be clear—I’m not begging. I’m offering you a favor. Because you’re not who I wanted. You’re just what’s left. I need a wife urgently. My empire is at risk. And you? You’re the only option left.”

I stood there, the ground slipping away under my feet. I had nothing left. No love and future. Just a family drowning—and me going down with them.