Chapter Two

Staring down at me with cold, ruthless eyes was Jillian Colbert. I felt my heart skip a beat as intense fear slowly threatened my being.

Jillian did a once over and if possible, his eyes got even colder.

“I'm supposed to marry this?” he asked, his voice cold as ice.

“The woman you refer to as ‘this’ is standing right in front of you and you will be respectful,” the older man said sternly. 

Jillian’s glare intensified as he looked at me with pure hatred and disgust.

He let go of my arm and briskly walked off.

I released a breath I didn't know I had been holding. My whole body shook slightly as I recovered from the shock and fear that had had a hold on me not that long ago. 

“Don't worry, he’ll come around” the older man comforted.

“How do you know?” I whispered, fear still evident in my voice.

“Because he has no choice. I am his father after all”, the older man chuckled. 

This made me freeze one more time. 

‘His father?’ I thought to myself. I turned around to have a good look at the man in front of me. 

He wore black trousers with a black button-up shirt and a gray blazer accompanied by black shoes. His wrist was adorned with a gold watch and his fingers with multiple rings. He has slightly brown hair with gray hairs scattered across his scalp. His eyes were similar to Jillian’s, the same shade of blue but much softer. This is Joseph Colbert, the most feared mafia boss in Texas. He is a ruthless businessman and an even more ruthless killer. 

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat. Only then did I notice that I had been staring at him for quite a while and he was beginning to get uncomfortable.

“Oh! I'm so sorry” I apologized.

“It's fine,” he chuckled.

I stood awkwardly, looking at the floor and refusing to meet his eyes.

Knowing that this was a cold-blooded killer made me rethink our entire interaction and only hope that I had, in no way, offended him. 

“Follow me, I'll give you a tour around the house,” he said suddenly and started walking away. I immediately followed, not wanting to upset another Colbert. 

He showed me various rooms and corridors before finally leading me to the dining area.

“Sit, food will arrive shortly,” he said while sitting. I readily obliged.

“Do allow me to apologize for my son's manners. I will speak to him once we're done with lunch”, he said studying my expression.

“It's not a problem at all. I understand his disappointment” I reassured him but he raised an eyebrow in return.

“So you find marrying my son a disappointment?” he asked, his tone unreadable.

“No, no! That's not what I meant!” I tried to explain.

“Then what did you mean?” his voice remained indifferent. 

“I-I just meant that I understood how disappointed he must have been to marry someone he has never met. Especially someone as uninteresting and pitiful as I am” I explained, slightly fumbling over my words. He stared at me for a second.

“What makes you think you’re pitiful?” He asked.

Both surprised and confused by the question, I took a couple of seconds to think.

“Well, I’m not the most beautiful girl to exist, nor am I the most intelligent. I’m also worthless enough to be thrown away by my father as if he never loved me. I have no mother and the closest thing I have to a sibling is my gay best friend”, I rambled. He looked both surprised and amused.

“The part about being thrown away by your father, is that what you were told, or is that what you believe?” he asked.

“It's what happened,” I replied quietly.

“That wasn't what I asked you. Answer the question I asked” he said, his voice stern.

“It's what I believe”, I replied immediately.

“It's quite a shame that you see it that way. But I do hope that you keep in mind I will never permit anything worthless to set foot into my home” he said. I couldn't tell if those were words of comfort or if there was a warning hidden in that message.

Before I could ponder on it for too long, the food was brought out by the maids and placed on the table in front of us. There was a variety of food available for me to easily choose from.

“Eat”, he said. “You have a long road ahead of you and it's only going to get harder from here”.

“Yes sir”, I said, digging in. 

To say the food was divine would be an understatement. Everything was prepared to perfection and I had no difficulty emptying my plate. Crying and fear make you hungry.

After we were done, the maids cleared the table and I was instructed to head to my room for the time being. My room was shown to me during the tour of the house so it wasn't hard locating it. 

Before I could enter my room, I heard the door directly opposite mine open. Coming out of the room was Jillian.

He glared at me coldly.

“I can see you're making yourself at home,” he said, eyes not leaving mine. I gulped.

“I…” I trailed off, not knowing how to respond.

“You what?” he asked, his voice chilling.

“I-I was instructed to settle down in my room for the time being” I stammered out. He kept his glare.

“Your room? You already claim it as yours? In another person's house?” His voice got even colder with each question.

“N-No! I was told that it was mine” I said, my voice slightly shaking as I averted my eyes to the ground.

“By who?” He asked, stepping closer to me. His tall frame and muscular build completely towered over me.

“Y-Your father,” my voice reduced to a whisper. My head is still down.

“Now listen here, you leech. I don't know how your life was before now but it's only going to get worse. This is my house and you will do as I say, no questions asked.” he said, authoritatively. I nodded in fear.

He gripped my chin with his hand and raised my head, his glare piercing into my soul. 

“You will do well to use your words when I speak to you” he whispered, his voice filled with venom. 

“Y-Yes sir” I whispered, my voice filled with fear.

He smirked.

“Good girl. Now, get into your room” he said, releasing his grip on my face. 

“Yes sir,” I said, my legs moving as quickly as they could.

Before I could close the door, he stopped it with his hand. I froze, wondering what else he wanted to tell me.

“Move” he commanded. I quickly took a step away from the door and he opened it fully. He took a few steps into the room and closed the door behind him. 

“Good. Now, strip.”