All Chapters of Owned by the debt : Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The air at the edge of the vineyard always smelled like bruised grapes and dry earth, but today, it just smelled like dust.Marisol Duarte pressed the black lace of her handkerchief against her palm, her knuckles white. She didn't want to cry. If she started crying now, in front of all these people in their expensive black suits and perfectly tailored dresses, she felt like she might never stop. So instead, she stood perfectly still, letting the heat of the afternoon bake into her skin."I am so incredibly sorry for your loss, Mars," a woman whispered, pressing a manicured hand over Marisol’s knuckles.Marisol forced her lips into a tight, practiced line. "Thank you," she murmured. Her voice sounded hollow, like a sound bouncing around inside an empty hallway. She didn't even look up to see who was speaking. It didn't matter. They were all saying the same words, wearing the same sad expressions that didn't quite reach their eyes. They had all come to bury her father, Mr Duarte, but Ma

The heavy front door felt miles away as Marisol walked down the hallway. Her heart was beating hard against her chest, but she forced her shoulders to stay straight. She opened the door, and the cool morning air rushed inside.Adrian Ramirez stood on the porch. Close up, he was even taller than he looked from the window. His dark hair was brushed back perfectly, and his grey suit looked brand new. He did not look like a man who had just driven down a dusty vineyard road. He looked like he owned the world."I'm Adrian," he said. His voice was deep and smooth, like a warm drink on a cold day. He did not sound angry or mean. He just sounded calm.He held out his right hand toward her. His skin was tan, and he wore a very expensive silver watch. He was offering a handshake.Marisol looked down at his hand, then looked straight back up into his dark eyes. She did not move. She kept her hands clamped tightly behind her back. She would not touch him. She would not act like they were friends.

Marisol stared at Adrian for a long second, and then she laughed.It was a sharp, loud laugh that echoed off the cold stone walls of his study. She waited for him to smile, or to tell her it was just a mean trick to punish her for coming to his house. But Adrian did not smile. He did not blink. His dark eyes stayed perfectly still, fixed on her face.He had never looked more serious in his entire life.The laugh died in Marisol’s throat. A cold chill ran down her spine. "You are completely crazy," she whispered, shaking her head. "You think I would marry you? We hate each other.""I am not crazy. I am practical," Adrian said. He walked back to his desk and leaned against the edge, looking down at his expensive shoes. "Let me explain the terms plainly so you understand. It is a legal marriage. A public merger of our land and our names. Nothing more."He looked up, his face expressionless. "I do not expect a real relationship from you, Marisol. You will live under my roof, you will stan

The morning light hit the high glass windows of the Ramirez estate, throwing long, sharp shadows across the polished wooden floor of Adrian's private study.Marisol sat straight in the heavy leather armchair across from his desk. The room was deathly quiet, save for the faint ticking of a clock somewhere on the wall and the soft rustle of paper as Adrian laid out the final contract.He moved with a terrifying kind of precision. Every movement was calculated, calm, and entirely without emotion. He didn't look like a man preparing to take a wife. He looked like a man signing a routine business deal to acquire a piece of machinery."The agreement is simple," Adrian said, his deep voice slicing through the heavy silence. He didn't look up as he smoothed the paper flat against the dark oak desk. "No love. No expectation of affection. There will be no romantic pretense between us when we are behind closed doors. This is an arrangement that benefits us both. I get the settled reputation my f

Beatriz’s fingers had left no physical mark on Marisol’s wrist, but the old woman’s words felt burned into her skin.For three straight days, those sharp, raspy whispers echoed in the quiet corners of Marisol’s mind. Do not mistake his calm for harmlessness. Marisol had tried to get the matriarch to say more before leaving the estate that afternoon, but Beatriz had simply turned her back, her wooden walking stick tapping rhythmically against the stone floor as she vanished into the shadowy depths of the house.Meanwhile, the valley seemed to tilt on its axis.Word of the sudden arrangement leaked out, spreading like wildfire through the dry vineyards. Among the Duartes and the few extended family members Marisol talked to, the news was met with complete, jaw dropping confusion. No one could understand why Alejandro’s eldest daughter the fiercely independent girl who had sworn never to bow to anyone was suddenly handing herself over to their sworn enemy. Camila kept her mouth shut as p