The Contract I Never Choose

Aria

He stabbed the dagger into the back of Ethan’s hand, the blade ripping through his skin.

Ethan groaned in pain.

“WAIT!” The word ripped out of me before I even understood I was the one screaming.

Damiano’s hand paused, the dagger still on Ethan’s skin, a single breath away from sliced through bone.

“Please…” my voice cracked, raw, desperate. “Stop. Please.”

Damiano’s eyes lifted to mine. Cold. Unmoved. Calculative.

“Your answer,” he said quietly. 

My chest tightened until I couldn’t breathe. Ethan trembled, biting back tears.

 Mom sobbed, Dad folded biting his fingers.

If I say no, Ethan bleeds. If I say yes… I’m trapped with Damiano Forever.

“I’ll do it.” I whispered, without thinking further. “I’ll marry you,” I forced out. “Just…just don’t hurt him.”

Damiano pulled the dagger and Ethan groaned in pain. He wiped Ethan’s blood from the blade with a cloth one of his men handed him, then slid it back into his jacket as if nothing had happened.

“Wise,” he murmured.

The men released Ethan, who collapsed to the floor, clutching his blood oozing hand to his chest.

Mom rushed to him. Dad, still shivering.

My legs shook so violently I had to grip the back of a chair to stay upright.

Damiano turned to me fully now. He stepped closer, and I forced myself not to flinch.

His hand lifted and he brushed his thumb along my chin. “ Will you sign it now?” he smirked.

I nodded, shaking my head, “ I will.”

“ Good.” he handed me the contract and a pen. 

Still shaking, I grabbed the pen, lowered it on the paper and slowly signed my fate. Then I hand the contract document over to Damiano.

He glanced at it, stood up and turned to his men. Then he stared at us for a while before heading to the door. His men followed him. The suv engines started outside,  they zoomed off and then the house was silent.

Too silent.

I kneeled there, frozen, cold from the inside out.

Mom collapsed to the ground first, sobbing in pain. Dad staggered toward me and dropped to his knees. “Aria… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I tried…”

“Tried?” Ethan shouted. “You let that monster walk in here and take her like she’s property!”

Mom grabbed Ethan, clinging to him through her tears. Dad kept whispering apologies, but I could barely hear them. Everything sounded far away, muffled, unreal. Like I was underwater. Drowning. Sinking.

My throat burned. My chest ached so deeply I wondered if it would ever stop.

I looked at my family, broken, terrified, helpless and I felt something inside me tear. I had saved them, but had lost myself.

I pressed a trembling hand over my mouth to stop the sob that fought its way up, mom crawled to me, clutching my hands. “Aria, forgive us, we didn’t want this…we didn’t”

Dad’s voice cracked. “I’ll fix it. I swear. I’ll fix it.”

“ Please bear it for a while, we will find a way to get the money to free you.” Mom added.

“ I'll find a way Aria… I promise” Ethan groaned,still gripping his bloody hand.

I sank to my knees beside them, the pen still clutched in my hand. And for the first time since Damiano walked into our home…I let myself cry.

Mom tried to hold my hand but I kicked hers off. Threw the pen away and raced upstairs to my room. Nathan came to mind first. Quickly I grabbed my phone and placed a call to Nathan. 

The phone rang for minutes before I heard a voice, “Aria? Where have you been? I’ve been calling…”

“Nathan…” My voice broke. “I need help. Please. My father… the mafia… they came. They’re forcing me to…”

He exhaled sharply. “Aria, listen… things are bad everywhere. My parents are in debt too. Everyone is. That new IMF system destroyed everything. Loans, interests, taxes, people can’t breathe.”

I pressed a hand to my forehead, dizzy.

“ How much?”

 I swallowed. My throat burned “…Two billion dollars.”

 There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.“Two billion?” Nathan exclaimed.

 “I know,” I rushed out, biting on my lower lip. “I know it sounds insane. I’m not asking for all of it, even half would buy us time. Please. I wouldn’t ask if there were any other way.”

 “I…I don’t have anything to give. I’m barely holding things together here. I just paid off my parent’s debt . I really can’t help you Aria…I would have if I could!” Nathan explained.

I bite on my lower lip as my knees weaken, “ Aren’t there any way out? Like getting a loan from anywhere?” I pressed.

“ It's too huge, no loan agency will give that amount of money, not even when your house or industries are placed as collateral.” 

“ So what else can I do?” 

“ I really don’t know Aria, just try to negotiate with the debtor, that’s what I did before a payment was made!!”

It wasn’t making sense, I definitely can’t negotiate with Damiano on this. The only way out is getting the money. I thanked Nathan and ended the call with shaking fingers.

“ Aria!” Mom called out from downstairs.

I sighed and rushed downstairs just as a loud banging rocked the door.

Ethan jumped. Mom gasped. Dad froze.

Again?

Dad stood up still frightened, mom urged him to open the door. Dad opened the door an inch, and policemen pushed past him.

“Good evening,” one of them said stiffly. “We received reports of a break in. Your neighbors heard shouting and glass breaking.”

Mom plastered on a broken smile. “No break in here, officer. Just… family issues.”

The officer pointed at the floor. At the shattered vase Damiano’s men had knocked over. At the broken glass. And then at Ethan’s hand. “ Why is he bleeding?”

Dad swallowed hard. “It was an accident.”

The officer’s eyes narrowed. “Sir, we’re going to have to…”

“No!” Mom burst out too quickly. “Everything is fine. Please. We’re safe. No danger. He just needs first aid and we have it.”

My skin prickled. They were lying to the police to protect the very people who threatened us. After all, telling the police will only worsen the situation. Damiano might make it hell for us.

The officers exchanged looks, a frustrated one and eventually left, though not happily.

The sound of their car driving away felt like the last bit of normal life disappearing with them.

I sank back onto the sofa, numb, staring at my hands. Red around my knuckles. My phone buzzed. A message from Ivy, my best friend.

Ivy: “Girl, are you okay?? Someone said your street had a break in!”

My throat tightened, I called her immediately.

“Ivy… I need help. Real help.” My voice trembled so hard I had to press a hand over my mouth. She went quiet instantly.

“It was our house Ivy… he didn’t break in. He walked in like he owned the place.”

“Who? What happened?" Ivy pressed.

 “Damiano Moretti happened.”

I heard her inhale sharply. “That mafia guy? The one with the business empire? What about him?”

“My dad owes him money. A lot. And he’s taking me as payment. Ivy, he’s making me his…”

I couldn’t even finish the sentence.

“Oh my God.” Her voice cracked.

 “Aria, no… no, okay, listen. Listen. My cousin..remember Lorenzo? He’s close to Damiano, really close. Like ‘inner circle’ close.”

My breath hitched. “Inner circle? As in… mafia inner circle?”

“Yeah.something like that. ” Ivy exhaled shakily. “He’s not dangerous like the others. He’s more like… the fixer. The one who negotiates, calms tempers, talks sense into people.”

“Ivy, do you think he can talk to Damiano?” I asked. “Maybe propose a deal? I can work. I can pay the debt myself. My family doesn’t need to offer me like ... .like some livestock.”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Damiano’s stubborn as hell when he wants something. And if he already made a claim on you… he won’t let go easily.”

My stomach twisted. “So what do I do?”

“I’ll call Lorenzo, right now. I’ll tell him everything. If anyone can get Damiano to consider another option, it’s him.”