Two days after Christmas, I stood on a deserted sidewalk and lifted my head to the top of the skyscraper across the street.
I swallowed as my gaze caught his penthouse. I couldn't do it. Marry him? It was impossible, except I had to do it."I'm not scared," I muttered to myself and tightened my grip on my tattered backpack.I had to marry the devil himself to save my sister. That was my last option. I had assumed it would never come to that. I always believed that the police would help me out and rescue my sister. Instead, they mocked me each time I shared my story."Let me get this straight." the first policeman I met said. "Your older sister wagered herself in a poker game and lost to her ex-boyfriend?"I had cried and begged for help, but none was coming. One of the police officers had even threatened to arrest me for illegal gambling.Now, I was shivering in the cold in front of a massive penthouse. No one was coming to save Illyra. It was just me and my backup plan.I had to take responsibility for everything. After all, I was responsible for getting Illyra into trouble in the first place. If I hadn't stupidly accepted my boss's invitation to a poker game, she wouldn't have tried to save me.Clever Illyra, five years older than me, had been a poker game expert and a con artist in her childhood. But after we abandoned our dangerous life and she began to work as an honest waitress, her skills became rusty. How else could I explain that instead of winning, she had lost everything to her hated ex-boyfriend with the turn of a single card?Andrei Andreevich separated us immediately after he won. He forcefully sent me back to the mainland on his private jet, and I had spent my last dime to fly back, desperate to get Illyra away from him.For the past forty-eight hours, I had managed to keep everything together after meeting dead ends because I had one final fallback plan.But now, I had to actually fall back on the plan, and it felt like falling on a sword.I looked up at the skyscraper again and studied the penthouse. I had caused my sister to lose her freedom, so now, I had to save her by selling myself in marriage to Andrei Andreevich's worst enemy.His younger brother. Viktor Andreevich."The enemy of my enemy is my friend," I muttered, trying to convince myself that I wasn't doing the most dangerous thing ever.I would marry the devil himself.I sighed and forced my feet off the sidewalk to the skyscraper. There was no backing up now, and I knew it."Excuse me, how can I help you?" the doorman asked inside the lobby, eyeing my dirty clothes.I licked my lips. "I am here to see one of your residents. I mean, marry one of your residents."He didn't bother to hide his disbelief. "You? Marry someone who lives here?"I nodded. "Yes. Viktor Andreevich."His eyes widened immediately. "The prince? Oh, you must be delusional. Get out of here before I call the police."I was beginning to get desperate. "Please, just call him. Tell him that Lyra has changed her mind. My answer is yes now.""Call him? I would never do that." He narrowed his eyes at me. "If you think you can come in here and..."I searched through my backpack.He continued. "Capo Famiglia's presence here is a secret. He is on vacation, and I expect....""See." I flung the card desperately to him. "He gave me this card three days ago when he proposed to me.""Proposed to you?" He snorted. "Like the prince would ever..." His eyes caught the gold embroidery on the card, and he froze. Then he snatched it from my hand and read the writing on it."For when you change your mind," the card read. He glanced at me and sighed. "But you're not his type." He said faintly."I know," I whispered, although my heart twisted in my chest. Twenty pounds overweight, unfashionable, and clumsy, I was painfully aware that I was no man's type. Fortunately, Viktor agreed to marry me for reasons that had nothing to do with love or either lust. "Please, just call him. Will you?"He studied me for some seconds before turning away to dial the phone on his desk. He spoke in a low voice, and after some minutes, he turned to me with a bewildered expression."His bodyguard said you are to go right up." He said, pointing his finger to the elevator. "Thirty-seventh floor.""Thank you." I murmured before walking away. I could feel him staring at me as my cheap flip-flops echoed against the marble floor. I walked into the elevator, and on the thirty-seventh floor, the door opened with a ding. Carefully, I crept out into a magnificent hallway."Welcome, Miss Bennet." Two grim-looking bodyguards were waiting for me in the hallway. With one swift movement, one seized my bag, and the other searched me thoroughly."What are you searching for?" I asked, chuckling. "Do you think I would bring a gun or a knife to a wedding proposal?"They did not answer me or return my smile. "She's clear." One of them said and handed me my backpack. "You may go in, please."I swallowed, looking at the massive door before me. "He's a nice guy, right? Can he be trusted? Do you think he is cool? Funny? Anything?" The bodyguards stared back at me, their faces impassive."His highness is expecting you. Please go on." One of them repeated without blinking."Okay, you robot," I whispered to myself, slightly irritated.I didn't need reassurance that Viktor was a good guy. I'd just listen to my intuition. To my heart.Which meant I was indeed in trouble. There was a reason my dying father left me a large parcel of Alaskan land in an unbreakable trust. He had also made sure that I could not receive it until I was twenty-five, which was four years from now, or I got married. Even when I was a child, my father knew that I was too naive and stupid to be trusted. He knew I needed all the help I could get to survive the cruel world.Sometimes, Illyra tried to make me feel better about it. Like how she would say, having a big heart was excellent and lovely. However, I knew she was trying to make me feel better about myself. I could only imagine what she was going through as a prisoner to that Billionaire tycoon and evil mafia lord, Andrei Andreevich."For Illyra," I whispered before opening the penthouse door. I walked in, and my jaw dropped in awe.The lavish foyer was empty, and I had never seen such a beautiful place. My footsteps echoed as I walked on the marble floor, and I felt dizzy as I studied the high chandelier above my head. My lips parted when I saw the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Crossing the foyer to the great room, I looked at the magnificent sculptures and twinkling lights."So..........you changed your mind."A low masculine voice came from behind me. I froze at the spot, unable to move.Viktor was right behind me.I braced myself before turning around. My heart was pounding in my chest, and my palms were perspiring. "You can do this," I whispered as I turned to him. Deep blue electric eyes cut straight to mine, and I felt my heart stop beating. Prince Viktor Andreevich's incredible looks still hit me like a fierce blow. He was even more impossibly handsome than I could remember. He was tall, around six foot three, with broad shoulders and a hard-muscled body. His face was perfectly chiseled, and his lips were alluring. His expensive suit, which spread across his chest, spoke of money while the ruthlessness in his eyes and ticking jaw screamed power. Despite my best efforts, I was still briefly thunderstruck. Usually, I had no problems talking to people. In fact, I had a problem with over sharing with people. But Viktor left me tongue-tied. No man this handsome and hot had ever paid me attention. Better, he was a prince and Mafia lord. Staring at his face, I almost forgot to breathe. "The la
No. He couldn't do that to me. How could he say no to me? "Please, you don't mean that," I said, moving closer to him."A few days ago, you rejected me." He shrugged. "No one says no to my proposals."Real fear rushed through my heart. I had spent my last money to come to him. Without him, I would lose my sister. She would be entangled in the reckless life of Andrei Andreevich. She would be his possession forever. A slave. Tears gathered in my eyes, and without thinking, I flew toward him and grabbed him by his arms. "Please, you said you would do anything for me to get the land back. That you made a dying promise to your mother." Although I was pleading for him to accept me, I couldn't help but wonder how much weightlifting he did. He looked at me, and I slowly let go of his arms. I had forgotten for a second that he was a mafia lord. He looked down at me like he cared, and I wished he did. But he was no lover boy. Viktor was a survivor, and that made him dangerous. He was not a
Viktor I didn't start the feud with my brother ten years ago. As a child, I idolized Andrei. I was proud of him, my loving family, and my home. Our great-grandfather was one of the last great princes of Russia before he died fighting for the white army in Siberia. But he sent his wife and son to safety in Alaskan exile. Since then, my generation has lived in self-sufficient poverty on an Alaskan homestead far from civilization. To me, it had been an enchanted winter kingdom, and I loved it. But Andrei despised the isolation and the wildlife. He hated the lack of electricity and indoor plumbing. As I played, running around with sticks and toys, he buried his nose into business books. He wanted to be rich and leave the homestead. "Someday, I'll have a better life." He told me one day. "I'll buy clothes instead of making them. I will buy a private jet and travel around the world. I would eat at fine restaurants and leave this life behind." I listened to him breathlessly. "Really, An
I had long despised Illyra Bennet, the con artist that caused a rift between me and Andrei years ago. The girl who made my brother weak and vulnerable. All this time, I had kept track of her, waiting for her to go back to her old ways, but she didn't. It came as a shock to me when I realized that she might have changed after all these years. I knew her failed engagement with Andrei had everything to do with it. I had sent several private investigators to watch when she would start gambling again, but she didn't. She had also blatantly refused to let Lyra marry me to get the land, and she could go to hell for that. When I realized none of my plans were working, I decided to try another way. Lyra herself. Until we had met at the restaurant a few days ago, all I knew about her were from a private investigator with a grainy photograph. Illyra had always made a great effort to keep her away from me. They moved to different cities once they suspected they were being watched. It was a s
But Lyra was quite different. I could hardly believe they were sisters. In her, I saw innocence and her heart was warm. "But.." "I will be happy to get you a cake," I said fervently. "And a designer wedding gown and a ten-carat diamond ring." Reaching for her hand, I kissed it, then looked into her eyes. "Just tell me what you want, and it's yours."I felt her hands tremble in my own before she yanked it away. "Just bring my sister home. Safely from your brother. The more time she spends with him, the more her life is in danger. We have never been apart for years and it's driving me crazy." "You have my word. I will bring her back to you soon." I rose to my feet. "I must call my lawyer to discuss some important things. In the meantime, you should rest." I gestured to the bookshelves of first-edition books. "Read if you like. I have great books that may interest you. Your breakfast will be here at any moment. Excuse me.""Thank you for saving my sister," she whispered. She took a de
Illyra's POV“Illyra, wake up! Wake up, please!”A hand roughly shook me awake. Startled, I sat up with a gasp, blinking in the darkness. Were we under attack?My younger sister, Lyra, was sitting on the edge of the bed. Tears sparkled on her pale cheeks in the moonlight, and I immediately knew something wrong had happened. “What’s happened? Talk to me, Lyra. What happened?” I dropped my bare feet to the tile floor, ready to run, ready to fight anyone who had made my baby sister cry. “What’s wrong? Did anyone hurt you?”Lyra took a deep breath and exhaled. “I really messed up this time.” She wiped her eyes. “But before you freak out, I want you to know it will be fine. I know how to fix it.”Rather than be comforted by this statement, I felt deepening fear. There was nothing scarier than the words she said to me. My twenty-one-year-old sister, five years younger than me, had a knack for getting into trouble. Everything she did somehow always got her into a mess. And she was wearin
For a second, I couldn’t understand the words that Lyra said. Or maybe I didn't want to understand them.The lingering tears of relief burned my eyes like acid as I stared at my sister. How on earth could she do something so stupid? A hundred thousand dollars. How would we pay back a hundred thousand dollars? We were running from men already because of our debts, and the least she could do was lay low. Instead, she decided what we owed was not enough and had to add to the number. Turning away, I started to pace, compulsively twisting a long tendril of blond hair into a tight ringlet around my finger as I struggled to make sense of all my worst fears coming true. I had feared something like this would happen at the resort. I had dreaded the day we would be stuck in a terrible situation and flee our job. I tried to control my shaking hands, but I couldn't. I tried desperately to think of a way out, and my mind was blank. There was only one way out in situations like this. “But I to
“No! It’s my fault, Illyra, and I can fix it. Listen. On Christmas Eve, I met a man who told me how...”But I didn’t wait to hear whatever cockamamy sob story someone might have fed my softhearted sister this time. No one was coming to save her, and I had to do it. I grabbed my black leather motorcycle jacket and headed for the door.“Illyra, wait! Don't do it! You don't have to do this for me. I could get you into trouble.” She cried but I ignored her. I didn’t look back. I walked out of our tiny apartment and went down the open-air hallway to the moss-covered, crumbling concrete steps of the aging building where all the Hale Ka’nani Resort’s staff lived."It’s just like riding a bike. It will be easier than you think." I told myself fiercely as I raced down the steps. It was just as easy as dozing off after a long workday. Even after ten years away from the game, I could win at poker. I could. I didn't have a choice, or my sister would be indebted. And I knew just the way Aldric w