To save her sister, she married the Devil.

POV: Aria Chen"Move those hips, sweetheart! That's what we're paying for!"The voice cut through the pounding bass, and I forced my body to sway to the rhythm, ignoring the knot of disgust tightening in my stomach. The strobe lights made everything feel disjointed, flashes of leering faces, raised beer bottles, hands waving dollar bills like I was some kind of carnival prize.I wasn't a stripper. Not technically. The Velvet Room called us "entertainment dancers." We kept our clothes on, mostly. Sequined tops, short skirts, heels that made my feet scream after the first hour. It was supposed to be classier than the places down on Fifth Street.It wasn't. But it paid two hundred dollars a night, and that was exactly enough to cover Lila's medications for the week. So I smiled like my life depended on it, because in a way, it did and I danced."Come on, baby! Get closer!"Mr. Hendricks. Regular customer, always sat front and center, always too drunk by ten o'clock. His meaty hand reache

The East District looked worse at night. Streetlights flickered, casting shadows that moved like living things. Broken glass crunched under my feet as I climbed off the bus, and somewhere nearby, a dog barked endlessly at nothing.Home sweet home.Mr. Kowalski was waiting in the lobby. Of course he was. He stood by the mailboxes with his arms crossed, his considerable belly straining against a stained undershirt. Mrs. Peterson from 2B lurked behind him, her face eager for drama. The Martinez family pretended not to watch from their doorway, but I could feel their eyes."Miss Chen." Kowalski's voice boomed through the cramped space. "We need to talk."I was so tired. Tired of fighting, tired of pretending, tired of holding myself together with duct tape and desperation."Mr. Kowalski, can this wait until..""Rent was due three days ago." He said it loud enough for everyone to hear. Shame was part of the game. "You're late. Again.""I know. I'm sorry. I had to take my sister to the hosp

"How do I know?" He set the tablet aside. "Because I've been watching you for three years. Every move. Every struggle. Every desperate choice.""Why?" The question came out as a whisper."We'll get to that." He leaned back, his gray eyes never leaving my face. "First, let me tell you what I want.""What do you want?""Direct. I like that." The corner of his mouth twitched, not quite a smile. "I want you to marry me."The words didn't make sense. I stared at him, waiting for the punchline. "What?""Marriage. You've heard of it.""You're insane." I reached for the door handle. "I don't even know you."His hand shot out, gripping my wrist. Not hard enough to hurt, but firm enough to stop me. "You know enough. I'm rich. You're desperate. It's a perfect arrangement.""Let go of me."He released my wrist, but his eyes held me in place. "We're going to my penthouse. You'll hear my offer. Then you'll make a choice. But Aria.." He leaned closer. "Once we arrive, you don't leave until we have a

The following morning I had a quick shower me got dressed and was quite ready to go about my daily activitiesI walked down through the stairs hoping to get something nice to eat. It’s breakfast ready yet? I think I’m starving I asked the maid. While I tried to adjust to adjust the chairs.She walked towards me with a beaming smile.These are the menu I’d like you to pick from and we’ll get it prepared.I scanned through the menu it didn’t have a lot of options I could pick from"I think I’ll just go with sandwiches and coffee".Alright I handed over the menu to her."But why this? Asides the menu here dont you prepare anything else"No Aria these are the menu already made from Damian and we’re not supposed to make anything else unless he modifies it.Im really sorry about this."That’s okay I get.This is so annoying,the fact I get to eat only what was specified.I kept thinking of what to tell Damian and then i came across the CCTV cameras which Damian installed which was at ever

Aria’s POVI had breakfast right on time, the usuals on the menu.Damian had come just after I was almost done eating.He sat right next to me watching me eat the little that I had to finish up.What’s that you holding?.Some documents containing vital informations.These documents your to sign them, you can go through them if you want to.He handed over the papers to me.It read the CONTRACT MARRIAGE TERMS.I sighed."Are you being serious right now?.It doesn’t look like Im joking right.The punch lines of the marriage were written boldly. "Why now? I mean dont you think this is too quick.Nini don’t think it is."It hasn’t been up to a month i stayed here and now a Marriage contract Damian?Really."Why the rush?.It’s not a rush Aria. "It’s for your own good. Better now than never.Go ahead and read the terms before you start questioning, you haven’t gone through the pages yet."You’re so unpredicatable.Every line I read sounded like a death sentence. My hands were shaky. I t