The Marriage Debt: Chapter 1

Present

The first time I met the guy I was never supposed to marry, I didn’t know what kind of a monster he truly was. What kind of devious plans he’d set in motion to make me completely and utterly his.

And now he’ll make me pay the price for running away from him.

I swallow as I stare into the eyes of Luca De Vos.

Heir to one of the most powerful mafia families in the Netherlands … and my worst nightmare come alive.

A long time ago, our family considered his family friends. But our history is tainted by a bloody debt. One he’s now trying to make my sister pay for … by forcing her to marry him.

“Take me instead,” I say, every word reverberating in my ears like I’ve been sentenced to death.

It’s his filthiest dream come true that I’m here right now in this church, pleading with him to make me his wife instead of her. I hate him. But I love my sister more.

As our gazes connect, the darkness behind those hooded eyes of his has only become more menacing since the last time I saw him three years ago. When I ran like hell to get away from him.

His dark, flowy hair still highlights his square jawline, and the slick suit he’s wearing barely fits his now muscular shoulders. There’s still a small feather earring in his ear, and he’s now added thick skull rings on his fingers. But what draws my attention the most is the vicious, full-lipped smile on his face, growing deeper, and deeper, and deeper.

Until it almost stops my heart.

That same smile once made me run.

After three years, I can still hear his voice in my head when he yelled, “Jill! I will find you! You hear me? I’ll fucking search the end of the world if I have to!”

It turns out, he didn’t have to search far for me.

All he had to do was hit me where it hurts the most.

But I won’t let my sister take the fall for me.

“Take. Me,” I reiterate.

I don’t move from my spot, staring him down to show I mean what I say.

I’m not backing down. Not this time.

His devilish smile brings chills to my spine.

Jasmine’s eyes tear up, and she says, “Jill? Don’t do this, please.”

As Luca takes a step in my direction, she blocks his path with her arms held wide. “No. We were going to marry,” Jasmine says. “Jill, go away.”

He shoves her away into the bridesmaids. His eyes are focused solely on me like a gun finally finding its target.

I gulp down the nerves and face him with my head held high.

He’s much taller than I remember him being.

Or maybe he’s finally grown into the man he was meant to be.

Cruel.

Depraved.

And every bit as dangerous as he ever was, if not more.

“What is the meaning of this?” Lex De Vos suddenly jumps up from his seat and marches over to me before Luca can reach me, and he grabs my arm. “After all this time, now you come back?” His strong grip hurts. “You ran from us like a goddamn coward.”

He’s right. I did.

I ran from Lex De Vos and his son because of what they were planning to do to me. For how they were going to make our family pay for what I did to theirs.

Luca’s mother is right behind him, throwing me glares over his shoulder. “We should kill her right now for her insolence.”

My eyes widen.

“Absolutely not!” Someone stands up in the crowd, but I recognize the voice before I see his face, and it makes all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

My own damn father, who I haven’t seen in three years, is looking me dead in the eyes as he says, “Jill has nothing to do with this. Luca was going to marry Jasmine. That was the deal we made.”

Both my father and mother hurry to the aisle, and the two men and women have a standoff right in front of me.

“Hugo, your daughter is responsible for my son’s death,” Lex crows. “She must be punished for her crimes.”

More audible gasps emanate from the guests.

He’s right. Luca’s brother is dead because of me.

It’s why I was supposed to marry Luca.

Why I ran.

I didn’t mean to kill him. But I can’t keep running away from my own mistakes.

Lex looks incensed and reaches for his gun. “An eye for an eye. I’ll do it outside.”

He attempts to drag me out but stops at the sound of a clicking gun.

Fear settles in my stomach, sweat drops gleaming on my forehead.

“Let. Her. Go.”

It’s not my father’s voice that scatters goose bumps all across my body. It’s Luca’s.

Lex’s face is brutal when he turns to look at his son, who has shoved his way through my parents to intervene.

“Please,” I mutter. “Don’t do this.”

“Luca,” Lex says through gritted teeth. “Now is not the time for feelings.”

“Now is the only time,” Luca responds. “And I’ve made my choice.”

The whole place grows quiet for a second, the air thick with tension.

“You choose this whore who killed your brother over that girl up there?” Lex spits.

I’m offended, but if I rebuke him now, I might not live long.

And from the way Luca holds that gun steadily pointed at both of us, I’m not even sure he wouldn’t shoot.

“Hand her over,” he growls, his eyes glinting with a kind of rage I’ve not seen before in any guy, let alone him.

Lex’s fingers dig into my skin before he hauls me to Luca and shoves me forward. “Fine. Have it your way. Wife this bitch up. But don’t expect me to fix your mess.”

Lex grumbles and marches out a door on the side of the church, leaving me in a haze. I’m quickly pulled out of it by my father’s firm hands clutching my shoulders from behind.

“Jill,” he says, pronouncing my name like he finds it disgusting. “You were foolish enough to come here after you ran like a coward… now do what you came here to do and restore our family’s fucking reputation.”

My lip quivers as I turn to face Luca, who puts his gun away and holds out his hand.

I exchange looks with him and then with Jasmine, who stands in the back near the altar, shaking her head vehemently. It only solidifies my belief that I’ve made the right choice.

I killed Liam … and now I must be the one to pay the price.

I approach Luca, and when our hands touch, electricity shoots up and down my arm.

“No, Jill, don’t do it!” Jasmine yells from the back, but one of the bridesmaids quickly holds a hand in front of Jasmine’s mouth.

Luca tilts his head, a vicious smile spreading across his face again. “Finally, after all these years, you’ll become my wife.”

A chill runs up and down my spine at the thought, but I ignore it for the sake of my sister, who is screaming into the hand of the girl behind her. The girl suddenly squeals and tears her hand away while droplets of blood fall to the floor. Jasmine bit her and now runs straight at me, clutching me as she falls into my arms.

“Please, don’t do this. Jill,” she murmurs, “why did you come back?”

“Because I can’t let him do this to you. I have to fix this.”

“Enough,” Luca spits, tearing us apart with a single hand, ripping her out of my arms. “Go to the dressing room. Give her your dress,” he commands Jasmine, and then he turns his attention toward me. “The guests are waiting for a proper wedding, so be ready.”

He shoves her toward the side entrance on the opposite side of the door his father just disappeared through. And I stumble behind her, pushed by De Vos guards that ignore anything other than De Vos orders.

When the door is shut behind us, Jasmine and I stare at each other for a few seconds before we collapse into each other’s arms.

“Oh, Jill, I’ve been so worried about you.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you. Easton told me not to talk to anyone when he took me in.”

“Easton?” She pushes me back to look at me. “Easton Van Buren? You mean that guy who owns those restaurants our parents like to visit?”

I nod. He’s a family friend. Or … was. “He kept me hidden for three years.”

The look on her face darkens. “Luca told Mom and Dad you ran after he tried to force you to get on a plane to marry him.”

I pull her in for another hug, and she hiccups against my clothes. “I’m sorry for putting you through all this,” I say, and I wipe the tears off her face. “It’s my fault you’re in this hellish deal to begin with. I’m going to fix this. I promise.”

She looks up at me. “But Luca is dangerous,” she spills, still clutching my shoulders like she’s hanging on tight. “All he ever talked about was finding you. He’ll try to destroy you.”

I know what he’s going to do to me.

What he’s desired to do to my body for so long.

All the wicked little games he wants to play finally become a reality.

But what other choice do I have?

I close my eyes as our foreheads collide. “You’re my sister. The only one I have in this twisted world. I can’t let him ruin that too.”

She sniffs and sucks in a breath. “You’re sure about this?”

I nod. “I want you to live your life. Be happy. Don’t lose yourself in the family business. Take care of yourself. Okay?”

She nods a few times. “I promise.”

A sudden knock on the door pulls us out of the calm.

“Hurry up!” It’s one of the De Vos guards. “Or we’ll come in there and help you ourselves.”

“Fuck.” Jasmine quickly turns around and points at her back. “Unzip me. Quick.”

I do what she asks, and she peels off the mermaid dress while I take off my shoes.

“Two minutes!” someone outside the door barks.

We swiftly exchange my beige skirt and black top for her mermaid dress. It fits me snugly, though my breasts almost spill out of the tiny cup when she helps me zip up. After putting on her pumps, I lift my head and notice myself in the mirror for the very first time since I stepped into this room.

The woman standing in front of me in the pretty princess dress with all the sparkles in the world, whose face is beaming with determination, is me. But her eyes are filled with tears.

I blink them away as Jasmine steps behind me to apply the final lacy heart-belt around my belly, sealing me in.

“There …” she murmurs, and we both look in the mirror. “You look gorgeous.”

I swallow down the bitter pill that today will be my wedding day.

Of all the ways I imagined my own wedding, this wasn’t what I expected.

“This dress looks so much better on you than it does on me,” Jasmine adds.

Only because I was the one who was meant to marry a De Vos.

The one who was supposed to carry on the legacy and rule the empire.

Together with the only boy who deserved it all.

Liam.

But all of it turned to dust the moment he died, and from the ashes, a monster was born.

Luca.

The guard bursts into the room.

“Enough. Let’s go,” he barks, whisking me away from Jasmine.

He shoves me toward the big hall where people are still waiting in their seats for the wedding they were promised. Tears well up in my eyes, but I swallow them back down, forcing myself to stay strong.

With my head held high, I step toward the big hall and into the light coming from the mosaic windows in the top corners of the church. The music starts as I approach the benches, where people anxiously await my long, tedious walk to the altar. The dark look in Luca’s eyes twists my heart into knots.

Still, I bravely step forward, past my parents, who sit idly by as their lost daughter finally returns to take the crown. But this is not a crown of power that I’m about to accept. It’s a crown of obedience … a crown he will use to ruin me in every way he can possibly imagine.

With every step of the way, that wickedly twisted grin grows on his face.

It’s as if he wants me to know, without using any words, that he’ll enjoy making my life a living hell.

I walk up the steps. My face is a blank slate—cold, stonehearted, and empty of any kind of emotion. I refuse to give Luca any as I stand beside him and wait for the ceremony to begin.

When he grabs my hand, a hot flash flutters through my body, but I ignore it and stay put even though I want nothing more than to jerk my hand away from his.

My eyes can’t help but take in his fancy, fitted black suit and those shiny shoes that complement the outfit. For a moment, I almost forget he isn’t a gentleman but a criminal intent on stealing the only thing I ever valued.

My freedom.

And now, after years of trying to make me his, of trying to make me pay for my crime, he wins.