CHAPTER 3:BOUND WITHOUT CONSENT

~Daphne's Pov~

“You, my child, are to wed Adrian Smith.”

The words didn’t sound clearly to me at first.

It kept on replaying in my head like I've been struck with a stick on my head.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” I said, my voice rising despite myself. I searched his face desperately, waiting for the crack in his expression. The smirk. The sigh. The just kidding.

There was nothing.

“Watch your tone young lady ,” my father snapped.

The sound of his voice sharp, commanding hit me harder than the words themselves. He immediately seemed to regret it, dragging a hand down his face as if exhaustion lived in his bones.

“I’m sorry for snapping,” he said quietly.

That scared me more.

“Please,” I whispered, my chest tightening

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

He shook his head.

“I’m not.”

“I’m not even an adult yet!” My voice cracked, panic finally breaking through. “I can’t this isn’t legal. You can’t do this to me.”

“Child,” he said, standing now, his presence filling the room, “this has to happen.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I won’t. I will not marry him. You can’t do this to me. Please, Dad.”

The problem wasn’t marriage.

It was him.

Adrian Smith.

The name alone felt like a blade pressed to my throat.

He was ruthless. Cold. A man whispered about in hallways and spoken of in lowered voices. I’d heard stories men disappearing, bodies found broken, blood debts collected without mercy.

They said he killed people for less than defiance.

I couldn’t be sentenced to a life with someone like that. He was everything I’d trained to survive against. The one man I’d prayed I’d never cross paths with.

And now I was being handed to him.

“The engagement will be announced tomorrow,” my father said. “The wedding will follow a week later.”

“It’s not happening!” I shouted.

“Daphne, stop acting like a child and accept what is to happen,” he barked, slamming his palm against the desk as he stood fully.

The irony almost made me laugh.

He wanted me to stop acting like a child yet legally, I was one.

The door flew open.

“What’s wrong?” my mother asked, rushing in. Her eyes darted between us, worry etched into her face.

“Did you know about this?” I demanded, turning to her. “He’s marrying me off. You can’t accept this you can’t.”

She hesitated, and that hesitation shattered something inside me.

“Baby,” she said softly, moving closer, “your father wouldn’t choose a man who wouldn’t treat you right.”

She looked at him, silently asking him to confirm it.

He didn’t.

He stared at the floor.

“Dad?” I whispered.

He exhaled slowly. “Arguing with me over this matter will be useless. My mind has been made up.”

My heart dropped.

“Tomorrow night at the annual mafia ball,” he continued, his voice emotionless, “the engagement will be announced.”

I had never wanted to throw a knife at someone so badly in my life.

“Tonight at dinner,” he added, “it will be announced to the family.”

That was it.

I didn’t trust myself to speak.

I stormed out of the office, my hands trembling, vision blurring with fury and disbelief.

How dare he?

It was my life. Mine.

“Lili?”

I spun around.

“What?” I snapped.

Sara stood frozen in the hallway, her wide eyes filled with concern. She was only fourteen too young for this world, too innocent.

“What’s going on?” she asked carefully.

" Father is getting me married off,” I said flatly. “Isn’t that wonderful?”

Her mouth fell open.

I didn’t wait for her response.

I headed straight to the fighting ring .

The moment I stepped inside, I grabbed a knife from the rack. Without checking if anyone else was there, I threw it.

Bullseye.

Still not enough.

“Fuck!”

I turned just in time to see Rose ducking behind a pillar.

“Are you trying to kill me?” she yelled.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I thought I was alone.”

She studied my face for a moment. “Are you okay?”

I nodded and forced a tight smile.

She didn’t push. She never did.

That was why I loved her.

She squeezed my shoulder gently before leaving me alone with my rage.

I took it out on the punching bag, every hit fueled by betrayal, fear, and the growing sense that my life was no longer mine.

“Dinner’s in five minutes,” my mom said softly from the doorway.

She reached out, touching my shoulder. I flinched away instinctively.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered before leaving.

I screamed once the door shut raw, broken before retreating to my room.

The girl staring back at me in the mirror looked furious. Trapped. Terrified.

I stripped out of my sweat-soaked clothes and stepped into the shower, letting the water burn my skin as if it could wash the decision away.

It couldn’t.

“You’re late,” my father said when I entered the dining room.

I shrugged. “This attitude needs to stop.”

“Or what?” I snapped. “You’ll marry me off to a murderer? Oh wait you already are.”

“What?” someone gasped.

“What do you mean?” another voice followed.

Silence fell as my father and I locked eyes.

“Stand down,” he ordered.

“Why don’t you?” I shot back.

The room held its breath.

Finally, he sighed and sat down. “It’s useless arguing with you.”

“Well,” I said, forcing a smile as I turned to the table, “that was the big announcement.”

Rose frowned deeply.

“I’m being forced into a marriage with Adrian Smith,” I added. “Yippee.”

Gasps erupted.

“Father, surely you’re mistaken,” Darren said, standing halfway out of his chair.

My older brother. The heir. The one who understood what this meant.

“The engagement will be announced tomorrow night,” my father said calmly. “The wedding will follow a week later. Adrian is handling the arrangements.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“What the fuck!”

“Silence,” my father snapped.

The table went dead quiet.

“It’s happening,” he said firmly. “And that’s the end of it.”

We ate in silence.

I didn’t taste a thing.

Only one thought echoed in my head.

How the fuck am I going to get out of this?