The debt you owe

Lorcan shoved me hard into my small room at the house to the point that I fell on the ground. He was angry, and it was taking all his restraint to keep it together.

“I should have killed you when I had the chance,” he said. “Or sold you to the brothel so you can at least be useful. You are nothing but a fucking disgrace to this family.”

I didn’t understand what I had done this time. He was the one who called me into his father’s office to lie to a stranger, telling him that I was his youngest sister. Technically, I was.

My mother conceived me when she worked at one of Cathal's brothels. I was his illegitimate daughter. When my mother threatened to expose him for what he had done, he brought her to his mansion and punished her.

Unfortunately for Cathal, she was eight months pregnant and on the verge of giving birth. It was too late to abort me.

I was raised in the Kavanagh household as a maid, a reminder that I would never be treated the same way his legitimate children were treated. No one else in the household knew I was Cathal’s daughter except for his children.

And they never failed to remind me that I was the daughter of a whore and they would make me a whore. They made sure to keep me as a servant for Cathal’s ‘real’ children, Daniela and Uma, to remind me that I was nothing.

Uma was the nicer one, and she would defend me at times. But she died, and Daniela got worse.

She would make me work like a donkey and deprive me of sleep. Then she would punish me for doing something wrong because I was too tired to do it right. Still, I preferred her to Lorcan.

He was the worst.

Lorcan always beat me when he had a bad day. It had decreased when they discussed that I was old enough to be sold at the brothel. They would sell me for a lot more if I didn’t have any scars.

They also kept me a virgin because I was worth more that way.

Lorcan was about to hit me when Cathal stepped in and stopped him.

“Don’t. We need her for now.” He stated as he grabbed my chin and pulled me up.

There was no soul in his steel blue eyes. I had inherited those from him and my red hair from my mother.

“You’re going to marry Cillian Harrington, the English mafia king, as Uma, so that we can unite the Irish mafia and the English mafia. Behave, or I will kill you.” He stated. “They call the man The Devil because he’s dangerous. I will burn you alive if he finds out who you are.”

I shook my head, and tears gathered in my eyes. Cillian looked like a murderer. Those cold brown eyes of his only gave me chills. They were emptier than Cathal’s, if that was possible.

 If he was in the mafia, he was just as bad, if not worse than Cathal and his family. I wouldn’t survive a day at his house.

Besides, there was no way he would believe that I was Cathal’s daughter. I wasn’t as refined, well-travelled, and well-educated as Uma had been before she passed away.

“Please…don’t sell me…please…”

As much as the Kavanagh household was bad, it was better the devil you knew than the angel you didn’t.

“You will do as I say or I will kill your mother. I have been kind enough to let her live. She has chronic kidney disease, and I have allowed her to be treated for it.” Cathal said. “You wouldn’t want me to kill her, would you? I will make her a whore again in her state. She won’t survive a week.”

He was saying that like he was doing me a favor. He let my mother’s disease get to stage four before he took her to the hospital for treatment, since she couldn’t afford it.

He was the one who cheated on his wife with my mother, and he acted like she was a sinner. Despite how much I feared and hated him, I had to obey. I loved my mother, and she was the only family I had.

I wouldn’t allow her to die at the hands of a monster.

“This is only temporary until Daniela comes back. Once she does, she will be the one wed to Cillian, and you’ll step back. We’ll have to tell him that you’re dead when we retrieve you from London. This will clear the debt you have with our family.”

Which debt? My only sin was being born of an affair, but I was to serve the Kavanagh family until my last breath.

As for Daniela, she ran away with a model three months ago. She was living her best life, and Cathal couldn’t find her. I didn’t understand why they didn’t just wait for her to get back to marry her off to the English mafia king.

But I wasn’t in a position to ask questions. If I did, I would be punished.

Cathal didn’t wait for me to agree. He dragged me to Daniela’s room, where all her things had been packed. Her clothes were smaller than mine. While she was petite, I had curves and a slightly bigger chest.

It must have been why her sequin dress had refused to come off earlier. How was I to fit into those clothes until Daniela came back?

“Behave. Don’t you dare tell Cillian anything about your identity. From now on, you are Uma Kavanagh, the youngest heir to the Irish mafia. You’re twenty-three, not twenty-one. Understood?”

I nodded my head, afraid that if I spoke, I would say the wrong thing. It was a pattern in the Kavanagh household. They would hit me when I spoke in the wrong ‘tone’ or said the wrong thing. I had to learn to keep my mouth shut at all times.

“Cillian is waiting for you outside for you to go and stay with him for the time being. Don’t do anything to make him mad. He’s the King of London, and he is known for skinning those who wrong him alive. Stay on his good side.”

I nodded, despite the urge to run and jump off the balcony to escape the mess, and went downstairs with Cathal holding my arm. It was the most affectionate he had ever been to me.

Cillian was waiting with five other men in suits behind him. I knew he was tall, but standing up, he towered over me. My head only reached his chest.

“Here she is,” Cathal said as he let me go and pushed me towards the devil.

I lost my footing and fell at Cillian’s feet. He stared at me as I fell to the ground and did nothing to help me up. He didn’t look like he wanted the marriage any more than I did.

“Follow me,” he said to me, turned around, and left.

I got up quickly and ran to catch up to him. A dozen cars were waiting outside, probably his entourage. A bodyguard opened the door for me and ushered me into a different car than the one Cillian was riding in.

We were taken to the airport, where we boarded a private jet. I had never been in one before, and I was scared of flying. But somehow, the thought of being married to a man people called the devil when I was an imposter was scarier.

I couldn’t help but feel like my death had already been decided, and it was coming soon.