Semua Bab Married to the Devil: Bab 11 - Bab 20

Natasha’s POV “What exactly is your problem, Natasha?” my father asked, anger creeping into his voice. I let out a hollow laugh. “Are you seriously asking me that right now?”He said nothing. “Okay,” I continued. “Where should I begin? Should I talk about the fact that you’ve been lying to me the whole time? Or the fact that you put our lives in danger?”“You’ll have to be a tad more specific,” he said as he rubbed his temple. “Are you intentionally trying to be ignorant?” I asked. “What else could you possibly lie about? For a moment, you had me thinking Tristan approached you with a deal you couldn’t resist. Turns out you were the one who approached him. What were your words again? ‘Someone offered a solution.’ ‘Men like Tristan just don’t do things for no reason.’”I paused as a tightness formed in my chest.“The worst part was you tried to blame it on me,” I continued, my voice breaking. “You said I was a notorious rebel and implied I did something wrong.”I didn’t stop. “As i

Natasha’s POV The restaurant was quieter than I expected, or maybe I just couldn’t hear past the noise in my head. Ananya’s face lit up the moment she spotted me. She slipped between the tables and leaned down to hug me. “Hey, love. What’s up?” she squealed, squeezing me like she hadn’t seen me in years. “I’m okay,” I said. My voice sounded distant, even to me. Ananya pulled away first, searching my face. “You don’t sound okay. What’s wrong? Talk to me.”I looked out the window. “I don’t know where to start.”“Just say something, will you?” she pressed, her voice soft as she sat across from me. I finally faced her. “Well, the marriage with Tristan is happening. There’s nothing I can do.” My throat was tight. “It’s for my family.” “Natasha—”“No, Ananya, before you say anything, I know how that sounds,” I cut in. “But sadly, this is just how things are. My father already decided my fate, and I agreed to it.”Ananya took my hands into hers and gave them a light squeeze. “I’m so

Natasha’s POV. My father was slumped on the couch. His shirt was stained with blood. A fresh bruise darkened the side of his face, blood trailing down his temple.Victoria paced the room. “What happened?” The words left my mouth before I could stop them. My father straightened, like he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “Natasha—”“You happened!” Victoria shot at me. My steps slowed. “What do you mean?”Victoria laughed. A dark, twisted sound. “Like you don’t know. I’m sure Dad has told you everything. If you had just thought about anyone but yourself for once.”“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. “As a matter of fact, I don’t have it in me to argue with you.”I faced my father. “What happened? And we need to get you cleaned up.”Without waiting for a response, I went to the hallway, grabbed the first-aid box, slammed the cabinet door and headed back to the living room.Victoria had stopped pacing.I sat next to our father and soaked a cotton pad with anti

Natasha’s POV Ananya, despite not saying anything about her own dress, debated with Patricia over what would look best on me. “Natasha.” Adelina called. “Come, child.”I walked over and sat beside her. She took my hands into hers.“Tristan told me everything,” she said. ”I understand the situation is complicated, and you didn’t choose any of it. I don’t expect you to pretend it’s easy. Nothing is. I just want you to feel safe.” How was she so nice?“I hear you, Adelina.”“Tash!” Ananya called out. “Look at this dress! Come try it on.”I stood and took the dress from her before disappearing behind the curtain. I slipped into the dress and struggled with the zipper for a moment. When it finally zipped up, I stepped out. Patricia saw me first. “This is beautiful, Natasha.” Everyone’s eyes turned to me. Ananya gave a thoughtful look. “I don’t know about that, Tricia. It looks—”“Bland,” Tristan said flatly. “Exactly!” Ananya agreed. The saleswoman held out a few more dresses. “He

Tristan’s POVThe basement looked the same as it always did. Cold. Dark. I stood just beyond the reach of the dim light, staring at a slumped Julio on the chair behind the bars.“In three days,” I said quietly, glancing at my wristwatch. “I mean… two days from now, I’ll be getting married. You didn’t tell me what it’s like. Guess I’ll finally find out myself.”He didn’t respond. He rarely did anymore, just breathed through his broken nose and stared at the floor like it held answers I’d never given. Then slowly, he lifted his head. His left eye was still swollen from last week. “That’s—” a sharp cough tore through him. “That’s good, Tristan.”I laughed bitterly. “Good? Seeing you rot down here feels a lot better than good. And you’ll be here for a very long time. That I promise you.”“I’m begging you, Tristan,” he said, his voice strained. “Just let me go. Yeah I messed up badly—”“Really? I should let you go?”Then I sat. “Okay. What exactly did you do? You haven’t really told me.