Chapter 2

REMY It was too late. “Remy!” My father’s angry voice boomed around the room the moment I stepped in. I clutched my bag tightly, my heels clicking against the polished marble floor as my heart raced. “I’m so sorry, Dad, I don’t know what happened, I just—” My mother’s hand whipped across my face before I could finish, a sharp sting explode across my cheek as a choked sound left my lips. I turned to look at her in shock, my vision blurring for a second. “What—” I didn’t get the word out before she shoved a tablet hard against my chest. I blinked, trying to steady myself as I saw Mara walking toward us slowly, her hands folded across her chest, a faint frown on her lips like she was disappointed in me. My stomach twisted as I looked down at the screen, and my fingers almost loosened around it. I blinked again, like if I did it enough, the #3 trending topic on gistters would disappear. It didn’t. It was me. On my hands and knees. Naked with a man behind me. My breath hitched as my chest tightened painfully, my hands starting to shake so badly I had to grip the tablet harder to keep it from slipping. Even though parts were blurred, there was no mistaking what was happening in the video. “Wha… what is this?” I asked, my voice shaky as I dragged my eyes away from the screen to look at them, at the disappointment, the anger, the disgust written so clearly across their faces. “You tell us, Remy. You were supposed to rest, not… do that,” Mara snapped, but her voice sounded muffled, like I was underwater and everything else was far away. I looked back at the screen, my gaze slowly shifting to the man behind me, and the moment I recognized him, my heart dropped so violently it felt like it stopped altogether. Kai Blackwood. The most dangerous mafia lord in the state. My stomach twisted as fear clawed up my throat. I couldn’t remember. I couldn’t remember any of it. Not how I got there, not what was happening, nothing at all. I looked back at my family, shaking my head, my breathing shaky. “This isn’t real… it can’t be,” I choked out, even though the evidence was right there in my hands. “The Voss family—” I started, trying to think, but my father cut in before I could finish. “Since you didn’t show up, Mara had to step in and take your place,” he said shaking his head. I turned to Mara, searching her face, but she only looked back at me without emotion. “And now that you’ve slept with their rival, they called this morning. They’re thinking of pulling out of the engagement,” he continued, his voice hardening. “Where are we supposed to find the money for your mother’s surgery now?” My chest tightened painfully at that so hard it made it difficult to breathe. Fuck. Without the Voss family, we were finished. I turned to my mother, my lips trembling, my eyes burning with tears. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to—” But they were already turning away from me, my father pulling her into his arms like he already knew there was no fixing this, there no way out. “Find a way to fix this scandal, Remy,” he said without looking back. “Or we’re done.” And just like that, they left me standing there, alone in the middle of the living room and the only sound I could hear was my moans still playing like a broken record. —— It had been three days, and the scandal hadn’t died down. If anything, it had gotten worse. People had turned it into a joke—a meme. something to pass around and laugh at. And even at home, all I got was the looks of disappointment. I still couldn’t remember that night. Not how it started, not how it ended, not how I even ended up with Kai Blackwood of all people. And maybe that was the worst part, the not knowing part, the way my mind came up empty every time I tried to to think about it. My phone buzzed on the bed beside me, snapping me out of my thoughts. ‘Come on, Rem. You can’t keep hiding in your house.’ ‘Charity event tonight. You’re coming.’ — Harley I stared at the message for a long moment, my thoughts spinning. Then I dropped the phone on the bed. Fuck it. I picked it up again and typed back a single word. ‘Coming.’ ——— The event was already buzzing when I arrived. I stepped out of the car, handing my keys to the valet, smiled and as and gripped my purse harder than necessary. The mansion loomed ahead, filled with the kind of people who thrived on reputation and scandal, and right now, I was both. Scandal or not, I had to show up, and I had to pretend everything was fine. So with that, I took a slow breath and stepped inside. Music filled the air, mixing with laughter and quiet conversations, but the moment I walked in, it felt like everything shifted. Heads turned towards me, eyes followed and then the whispers started, and even if no one said anything loud enough for me to hear, I could feel it. I tightened my grip on my purse and forced a smile onto my lips. “Remy!” Harley’s voice cut through the noise as she made her way toward me, her brown gown flowing elegantly as she reached for my hand. “You made it,” she said brightly, squeezing my fingers. “Maybe I shouldn’t have,” I murmured under my breath, my smile not quite reaching my eyes. “Everyone’s looking at me.” “Shush, no one is looking at you,” she said but i couldn’t help as I glanced around. They were. “The event’s about to start, come on, take a seat,” she added, already guiding me toward the chairs. I sat near the back, trying to make myself as small as possible, as invisible as possible, while Harley moved up to the stage and began speaking about the charity. I barely heard a word. My mind was too loud, my chest too tight, the stares and whispers of everyone made it hard that I couldn’t breathe. I needed air. I stood quietly and slipped out before anyone could stop me, moving quickly down the hallway, my heels echoing softly against the floor until I stopped abruptly. Mara. “Why are you here?” she snapped immediately, grabbing my arm and dragging me into a corner, her nails digging into my skin as her eyes flicked around like she didn’t want to be seen with me. I tried to pull away, but her grip tightened. “The host invited me,” I hissed. She leaned closer, her lips curling slightly. “Leave,” she snapped. “I’m here to meet Alexander Voss and fix what you caused.” Her grip finally loosened as she smoothed down her dress, like nothing had happened. “Leave, Remy. Imagine what he’ll do if he sees the girl who slept with his enemy.” She turned to walk away, then paused, glancing back at me. “I’m going to fix this,” she said coldly. “I’ll get us out of debt.” Then, like a final blow— “And try not to sleep with anyone this time.” She walked away, leaving me standing there, my hands clenched into fists. I stood there for a moment longer than I should have, staring at the space she had left behind like if I stared hard enough I could undo everything that had happened in the last three days. My fingers dug into my palms as I finally forced myself to move. Fuck. I needed air. I moved around without thinking, until I spot a tray with a champagne bottle gliming next to one of the private corridors. I didn’t hesitate as my hand closed around it and I continued walking untill I found the balcony. I opened the bottle with more force than necessary and the cork popped loudly. I didn’t waste a moment as I brought it straight to my lips. The alcohol burned, but it was nothing compared to pain inside my chest. And then everything came down rushing. A cry broke out of my lips, my lips trembling as I stared into the night. I pressed my hand over my mouth to muffle it but it did nothing to help but make me cry harder. The bottle almost slipped in my hand. And then— “You’re doing a really poor job of pretending you’re alone.” I quickly turned around, taking a step back as I glared at the figure standing in the shadow like goddamn creep. My grip tightened on the bottle instantly and I turned back to the night. “Whoever you are,” I said quickly, wiping my face with my free hand, and trying to keep the perfect image, “leave. I don’t know what you think you’re doing here, but I’m not in the mood.” There was a pause, Then his voice sounded again. “You’ve been in a mood since the moment your name hit the internet.” My breath hitched slightly and I could feel irritation beginning to flare through me. “Are you one of those people?” I snapped. “One of those sick bastards who think it’s funny to follow me around and comment on my life like I’m some f*****g entertainment?” He chuckled lowky, then stepped into the light and everything inside of me stopped. It was the man from the video. Kai Blackwood. The bottle slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor and my throat went dry instantly. “You,” I whispered and Kai looked at me like he had been waiting for that exact reaction. “No,” he said. “Not me.” A paused then he stepped closer, close enough that I could feel the heat of him even without even touching him. “You,” he corrected. “And me.” My pulse spiked at his words. “What are you talking about?” “You must have wanted my attention when you posted that video of us,” he said, taking a step forward and I frowned at his words. “I didn’—“ He didn’t let me finish my words. Didn’t let me explain as he crowded me untill my back hit the wall, his gray eyes pinning me in place. “And now you’ve got it. You’re going to marry me.” I let out a short, disbelieving laugh that broke halfway through. “Are you insane?” Kai’s expression didn’t change, if anything he leaned closer. “I’m going to be the only reason your family still has a future,” he said simply. “Your debt will disappears. Your mother gets her heart surgery. Your name stops being dragged through the mud.” My chest tightened at his words. “And what do you get?” A pause. Then, he said— “You.” My breath caught in my throat at his words. “No,” I said immediately, trying to step away from him but his large frame was blocking my only part “No, absolutely not.” I tried to push away from him when he pressed me to the wall. “I’m not giving you a choice, sweetheart. You don’t get to say no.” He growled, and my heart slammed hard against my chest as fear shot through me. I looked at him with fear, then before I could blink, he grabbed my hand and yanked my fingers apart. I tried to pull my hand back but his grip was tight. He turned my hand slightly, like he was inspecting something and then slid a ring onto my finger. My breath hitched as I looked down at the cold metal. My breath stuttered. “Stop—” “There.” He said with a grin, his hand coming to my jaw, thumb brushing my lower lips. “Now, you’re mine.” I jerked hard and yanked my hand from his, jerking my head to the side. I took a sharp breath as I glared at him. “You can’t just decide this.” “I already did.” He said, then pushed away from me and straightened his suit and without a word, he walked away from me. I lived down at the ring, my heart racing as I yanked the gigantic thing and fisted them in my palm. Every part of me wanted to throw it into the night but I took a sharp breath and threw it into my bag instead. I straightened my dress, puffed out a breath and left the balcony. I hadn’t even taken two steps when a hand clamped over my mouth. My eyes widened, my nails clawed at the hand as I was yanked so bad my heels scrapped the floor. I was dragged into a room and thrown into a bed. I landed hard, my hair whipping against my face, and when I turned, expecting Kai Blackwood I froze. Alexander Voss was sitting like he had been expecting me with men flanking the whole room. And beside him was Mara. Tied to a chair. My stomach dropped instantly. “What the hell is this?” I choked out, my hands shaking as I gripped the sheets under me. Alexander leaned back slightly. “This,” he said, “is you running out of options,” I frowned at him and swallowed hard. “T-that video, everything, it was all a mistake,” I chocked out, glancing to Mara’s teary face. “Shhh,” he said and leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees. “I saw him with you.” He said and my heart dropped. “I heard what he said.” I shook my head. “I didn’t accept. I promise.” I said, glancing at Mara to see the gun pressed even harder to her head. Alexander grinned. “You will. You will be the Blackwoods wife, and you will be my perfect sister in law that reports everything back to me. Or else…” He looked at Mara and made a hand gesture of a gun going off and grinned at me. The world tilted and everything went dead silent. Alexander’s smile widened. “So say it. Say—“ “—I do.” Kai said. The priest turned to him. “You may now kiss the bride.”