CHAPTER 1 — The Bargained Daughter

~ ISLA ~

I always wondered what it would feel like to be given away.

Not in the way people romanticize it—where a father walks his daughter down the aisle, misty-eyed and proud—but in the real, merciless way.

To be handed off, not as someone to be cherished, but as something useful to bargain with.

Now I finally knew what that felt like.

My name is Isla Bennett, and this is where my story begins…

***

“You’ll marry into the Montgomery family,” my father, Bernard, said.

His voice was firm and decisive, without a hint of remorse.

I froze in place. “What?”

He finally lifted his gaze, cold and unyielding. “The company is unstable. This contract marriage will save Bennett Industries. Once you agree, our debts are cleared. The Montgomery Group will keep the company afloat. All you have to do is play your part.”

My chest tightened painfully. How could they just simply give me away?

I understood that I might hold little importance to them compared to Liana, but this… this was too cruel!

“Are you… selling your own daughter?” I kept my voice steady, though inside, I was shattering.

This family had never truly felt like home. Ever since I was born, they had always treated me like an outsider. To them, Liana was the only daughter that existed and mattered.

But now, they remembered me only when the company was on the brink of collapse. They didn’t even ask how I felt.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” he snapped. “This family has given you everything. Now, you’ll repay that debt.”

So it was me who had debt to pay them? I am their daughter, for heaven’s sake!

I turned to my mother, who sat quietly in the corner, her hands twisted together and her lips pressed thin.

“And you agree with this?” I asked, my voice breaking.

Her eyes flickered away. That silence cut deeper than any sharp scalpel I’d ever used in surgery.

How could they do this?!

“I’m not doing it.” My voice shook, but the words came out firm.

Why should I be the one to carry the burden? I am not their only daughter. Besides, Liana is far more suitable to marry into the Montgomerys—it had always been her dream.

My father leaned forward, his stare slicing through me. “You will. Because if you don’t, I will send your beloved grandmother far away, and you will never see her again!”

And my last bit of strong will broke just like that. I didn’t expect my father to be this selfish just to execute his plan.

He knew Grandma was my weakness—and now he was using her as leverage.

I turned to my mother again, still unable to believe what I had just heard. That was her mother being threatened. Yet she remained silent through it all.

Tears burned in my eyes, but I swallowed them down.

I had just started my career months ago. If I resisted now, Grandma would be the one to suffer. I didn’t yet have the power to take her away from my father’s grip.

Even if I said no, he would find a way—and perhaps wouldn’t even mind dragging me to the Montgomery household.

Today, they only proved to me where I stood in this family. I was just a mere property to be given away easily, not their daughter.

And I will never forget this day.

****

The Montgomery estate in Upper East Side, Manhattan, rose like something out of a different era—grand, cold, unshakable.

My mother and I arrived in silence, the kind that had always defined us.

The car doors opened to a housekeeper who bowed stiffly, then led us through glittering halls until we reached the third floor, into another cozy and elegant sitting room.

“Please make yourselves comfortable. The old lady will be here shortly.”

The housekeeper left us there.

I sat still, barely touching the edge of the velvet seat, while she sat across from me—like a stranger. The silence between us was deafening, until she finally broke it.

“You’ll live comfortably,” she murmured. “The Montgomerys are generous.”

So this is the only comfort she could offer me…

What a joke.

I didn’t speak again or try to start another conversation. I was far too disappointed with my family.

Moments later, faint footsteps echoed. Then, an elderly woman came into view—her hair a striking silver, yet she still looked regal and elegant as ever. Despite her age, she remained beautiful, almost as if time had chosen to age her backward.

Margot Montgomery—the powerful matriarch, and the real force behind the family.

Her presence was like walking into a frozen room.

She wore a deep navy suit and pearls, her silver hair perfectly pinned. Her gaze, even sharper than the diamonds on her wrist, settled on me like she was inspecting merchandise.

We stood immediately and bowed respectfully.

“You must be Isla,” she said, her voice smooth yet cold. “Sit.”

We obeyed instantly.

Without wasting unnecessary words, the documents were brought in and placed on the low table before me.

The old lady’s sharp gaze never left my face.

“You understand your role?” she asked.

I forced my voice steady. “Yes, Madam.”

Her lips twitched, displeased. “From now on, you will address me as ‘Grandmother.’ Respect is not optional in this house.”

I lowered my eyes. “Yes… Grandmother.”

Satisfied, she leaned back. “Alistair’s condition changes nothing. Whether he wakes or not, this agreement will proceed. His physician believes he may wake soon, but nothing is guaranteed. If there’s no progress, we’ll proceed with IVF. Your only duty is to provide an heir.”

Wait, what? Alistair? The ruthless and formidable Alistair Montgomery?

My head spun. I gripped the armrest of the couch hard, steadying myself.

I… was marrying Alistair? What kind of twisted fate was this? He’s… Liana’s ex-lover!

The old lady’s words froze my body like ice.

“Sign.”

The pen was placed before me.

I hesitated for a moment. I knew once I signed my name on that piece of paper, there would be no turning back.

The contract’s words blurred along with the powerful name of the man I was going to be tied to. But when my Grandma’s gentle face flashed in my mind, I forced myself to pick up the pen and sign every page of the agreement.

Each stroke of my signature felt like a shackle snapping shut.

When it was done, Lady Margot’s expression remained rigid.

“You’ll move into Alistair’s room immediately. Housekeeper Xia will brief you on the rules. From today onward, you belong to Montgomerys.”

Her tone made it clear—this wasn’t an honor. It was a command.

And I was nothing more than the price my family had paid to survive.