CHAPTER 3

The room was thick with tension as Damian leaned back in his chair, his gaze never leaving Lilia. The terms of their agreement hung in the air like a storm cloud. One year. Just one year, and everything would be resolved. Her family’s debt would be gone, and she would be free. But the weight of that one year felt heavier than anything she had ever faced before.

Lilia’s fists clenched at her sides. The anger building inside her was suffocating, but she fought to keep her voice steady. “You think you can just walk into my life and decide everything for me, don’t you?” she spat, the frustration clear in her words. “You don’t have the right to control me.”

Damian didn’t flinch. His expression remained cool, almost amused. “I’m not controlling you, Lilia. I’m offering you a solution. A way out of this mess.”

Lilia shook her head, the words coming out in a sharp hiss. “I don’t need your solutions,” she snapped, her chest tightening. “I don’t need you to save me. I’m not some charity case you can fix with a marriage contract.”

Damian tilted his head slightly, a glint of challenge in his eyes. “You’re right. You’re not a charity case. But your family’s debt is very real, and I’m the only one who can make it go away. You’re the one who gets to decide what happens next.”

Lilia’s breath hitched. Her mind raced. She didn’t want this. She didn’t want to marry a man she barely knew, especially not one who seemed to think he could control her life. But her family’s future hung in the balance. She had no choice but to think clearly.

“I’m not agreeing to this, Damian,” she said, the words heavy with finality. “I don’t want to marry you. I won’t let you control me.”

Damian leaned forward, his voice dropping lower, his words deliberate. “It’s not a matter of whether you want it or not, Lilia. It’s about what’s best for your family. What’s best for you. You don’t have another choice. You know that.”

Lilia shook her head, a sense of helplessness washing over her. “I can’t marry you. I won’t.”

His lips curled into a smirk, the kind that said he already knew the outcome. “You’ll change your mind. You’ll see that this is the only way forward.”

Lilia stepped back, her heart pounding in her chest. She could feel the walls closing in around her, the suffocating weight of his words pressing down on her. Her family’s debt was real, but was this really the answer? Marriage to Damian Crawford? She didn’t want to be a pawn in his game, but she was backed into a corner. There was nowhere to run.

“I have a boyfriend, Damian,” she said, her voice breaking the tense silence. She hadn’t meant to say it, but it was the only thing that made sense in the moment. She had to fight back somehow.

Damian’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second before he let out a short laugh, low and mocking. “A boyfriend? You think that matters now?”

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a thick stack of photographs. Without a word, he tossed them onto the table in front of her.

Lilia froze. Her heart raced as she stared at the photos, unable to process what she was seeing. The first photo showed Mark, her boyfriend, laughing with another woman at a restaurant. The next was of them holding hands, his arm wrapped around her waist. Each new photo made her stomach churn more than the last.

“No… this can’t be true. You’re lying,” she whispered, her voice shaky as she picked up the photos, her hands trembling. The images blurred before her eyes.

Damian’s voice cut through her denial, low and steady. “I don’t lie, Lilia. Your boyfriend’s been lying to you, though. These are real. And they’re just the beginning.”

Her stomach twisted, her hands shaking uncontrollably. “I don’t believe you,” she whispered, shaking her head furiously. “These are just… doctored pictures. You made these up.”

Damian’s laugh was cold, harsh. “You can believe whatever you want. But the truth is staring you in the face. You’re wasting your time with him, Lilia. And you know it.”

Lilia’s anger flared, but it was smothered by the overwhelming sense of betrayal and humiliation. Her fingers dug into the edges of the photographs, but they were nothing but a reminder of the truth she didn’t want to face. “You think you can just show me these pictures and ruin my life? You think you can make me marry you like this?”

Damian’s gaze darkened, the amusement fading into something far more serious. “I’m not here to ruin your life, Lilia. I’m here to give you a choice. Marry me, settle the debt, and after a year, you’re free to go. Or refuse, and watch your family’s world crumble.”

Lilia’s breath caught in her throat. The reality of her situation was suffocating. She didn’t want to play his game. But there was no way out. No escape. She was trapped.

Damian’s voice softened, but there was no kindness in it. “You think you’re not bound to me? Think again, Lilia. Whether you want this or not, we’re going to make it work. I’ll make sure of it.”

Lilia’s heart hammered in her chest, her body trembling with fury. She didn’t want to be controlled by him. “I won’t marry you. I won’t be controlled by you.”

Without warning, she slapped him across the face. The sharp sound of the slap rang through the room, a sharp contrast to the oppressive silence that followed.

Damian stood still, his head turning slightly from the force of the slap. He didn’t speak, just wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. His expression shifted, but it wasn’t one of anger—it was cold, calculating. He smirked.

“You’ll regret that,” he said, his voice icy, the threat clear.

“I’ll never marry you. Never,” Lilia retorted, her chest heaving with anger.

Damian’s eyes gleamed with something dark, unreadable. “You think you have a choice, Lilia? You do. But let’s see if you still feel that way when you see what happens next.”

Lilia’s chest tightened. “What do you mean?”

Damian stood up slowly, his calm demeanor almost more terrifying than any outburst of anger. “I’ll let you see the truth, Lilia. You won’t run from it. Not anymore.”

He turned toward the door, motioning for her to follow.

“Come with me. I’ll show you everything.”

Lilia hesitated, torn between fear and fury. She didn’t know what Damian had planned, but she knew this wasn’t over. She had a feeling it was only just beginning.

As they stepped out of the door, Lilia couldn’t shake the feeling that she was walking straight into a nightmare.