Semua Bab The Substitute Bride The Cartel King Refused To Let Go: Bab 1 - Bab 7

Roksana’s POVThe silk dress hit my chest like a lead weight, I held unto it instinctively. Trying to process what she meant till it finally hit. “Excuse me?” My brow shot up.Why would I marry him? He was meant to marry Allison, not me.“I said you’re marrying him. Get dressed,” Mom glared at me.“No. I refuse to marry someone old. I refuse to be a second chance. I won’t be marrying that old monster.”The words left my lips before my brain could even catch up—small at first, but backed by a sudden, violent surge of adrenaline.Dad took a step forward, his massive frame looming over me. “Watch your tone, Roksana. You would marry Santiago you—”“I said no!” I snapped, my voice cracking, stepping back until the edge of the mattress bit into the back of my knees.“And what made you think you’ve got an option here? I’m your mother. I know what’s best for you, now get dressed and go down those stairs,” Mom deadpanned.The trembling in my hands vanished, replaced by a burning, choking fury

Roksana's POVThe second their hands let go of my arms, my knees gave out completely.I tried to force myself to stay upright, but the brutal, white-hot pressure in my back made my legs useless. I crumpled, catching myself on a table with a sharp hiss of pain that tore straight from my throat.Blinking back the thick haze of tears, I forced my gaze up toward the man sitting on the far side of the room. He was scrolling effortlessly through a sleek tablet, completely detached from the wreckage of my life. Up close, he looked younger than he did in the grainy press photographs, a sharp jawline, dark hair falling neatly over his forehead, and an air of terrifying, absolute composure.I swallowed hard, sucking in a ragged, defiant breath. "I’m not marrying you!" I spat, my voice shaking from the sheer agony radiating through my spine.His hand paused. He lowered the tablet.His dark gaze drifted up, locking onto mine and pinning me in place. The weight of his eyes, calculating, dead, an

Roksana’s POV“Excuse me?”My ear perked up, a sharp spike of pure panic cutting through the haze of confusion at the words he had just spoken. I frantically searched his face, hunting for even a flicker of a mocking smile, a twitch of the lips, or a sign that this was some cruel game. Anything to prove he didn't actually mean it.Instead, I found nothing. His face was the complete opposite, chillingly stoic.“You want me to do it for you, or you do it yourself?” He raised a single brow, waiting.My face crumpled into a deep, desperate frown. He had walked all the way into this room demanding a strip, and now he was presenting this ultimatum? Wasn’t my body my own? Was he actually going to force himself on me?“Strip, woman,” he repeated.I licked my lower lip, swallowing hard over the heavy lump stuck in my dry throat, and slowly pushed myself up from the edge of the bed.“You can’t do this. Right? You can’t force me into this,” I muttered, my voice cracking thin and brittle.“You