Chapter 4: The debt

“Nadia’s POV

I walk down the street that leads to the Bennetts’ mansion as the event of earlier today replays in my head. That man is really a devil.

They call him the prince of hell, but they are wrong. He is the devil himself. The way his icy blue eyes stares at me, I could feel the hairs on my body sticking out.

I worked extra shifts today because my coworker called in sick. It is already past nine, and the street is eerily quiet.

I get to the gate of the mansion and it is locked. Fishing my phone out of my coat pocket, I call Max, the gatekeeper, he answers on the second ring.

“Max, hi. I’m really sorry for bothering you, but can you open the gate for me, please.”

“I’ll be right out, Naddie.” He responds.

The gates opens a few minutes later, I step inside the compound and smile at him.

“You are quite late tonight.” He says, a worried look on his face.

“Yes, I worked extra shifts, hence the lateness.” I give him a weak smile.

“It’s not safe for a girl like you to walk alone at night, please be careful.”

“Thank you, Max.” I say to him and head into the building. The house is quiet, it seems like everyone had gone to sleep.

I climb up the stairs and head to my room. I open the door and click it shut, turning on the lights, my heart skip a bit.

Alex is in my room, lying on my bed. A wide grin on his face.

“Wha… what are you doing here?” I mumble, my heart pounding against my ribs.

“Oh, come on, cuz. I’m just here to have some fun.” He smiles widely.

“Alex, get out.” I say, my voice trembling.

“Hey, you know we never got to do the main thing, how about we try it now. Hmm?” he smirks, getting up from the bed and taking slow steps towards me.

“Don’t come closer, I’m warning you.” I murmur, taking slow steps toward the door.

“And if I do? Come on, Nadia. You cannot pretend that you don’t have any idea how gorgeous you are. Those curves of yours are driving me insane. I want to know how it feels when I’m buried deep inside you.”

I immediately break into a run, my hand reach for the door knob. But he is too fast. He lunges forward and grabs me, trying to forcefully kiss me.

“Let go! let me go!” I scream. He keeps forcing himself on me, grabbing the collar of my top and ripping it down. The fabric tears from the neck, revealing my chest. A shrieking cry breaks from my throat as I fight him.

“Come on Nadia, let me fuck you, I promise I’ll be gentle.” he whispers. His disgusting breath fanning my face.

I lift my knee and kick him hard on his groin. He releases me instantly, groaning in pain.

“Ahhhh! fuck!” I immediately reach into my bag and bring out the pepper spray, unleashing it directly on his face.

“Arghhh! what the fuck! Stupid bitch!” He screams.

Gathering all the strength I had left, I throw the door open and shove him out into the hallway, slamming it shut and clicking the lock.

I lean back against the hard wood before crashing down to the hard floor, my chest heaving.

I could still hear him cursing in the hallway. That was a narrow escape, that bastard.

I look at my torn shirt, this is one of the best clothes I have. I take it off and drop it in the waste bin then rush into the bathroom as a wave of nausea hit my nerves, I throw up in the toilet, gasping for air before flushing it and heading to the shower.

My body still trembles as I peel off the rest of my clothes and turn on the shower, scrubbing my skin in a desperation to wipe his filthy touch off me.

I sat on my bed, scrolling through my phone as my eyes fixes on my university admission letter. I’ve been offered admission but I did not tell them.

I intend to leave once I’ve saved up enough to rent a small apartment. I have already saved up enough to pay for my tuition fees.

My shift starts at ten tomorrow. I drop my phone on the table and lie on my bed, my eyes drifting to the door at intervals as my eyes flutter slowly until I shut them, falling asleep.

* * * * *

A loud bang inside the mansion snap me awake. I open my eyes to see that it is already morning. I glance at the wall clock, half past eight.

I straighten up and open the door, walking down the stairs, I hear voices, unfamiliar voices.

I increase my pace until I step out to the sitting room, what I saw made my heart thump hard.

“Wha… what is going on? Who are you?” I gasp. The family of four are on their knees, guns pointed to their heads.

My hand flew to my chest, my finger tips digging into my collar bone as air turn to ice in my lungs.

These people, whoever they are, danger is written all over their faces. The man who stands in front with his back to me seems familiar, but I couldn’t recall where I’ve met him.

“You are finally here.” He says. That voice — no, it cannot be.

Slowly he turns around to face me, my breath catches in my throat as I stumble backward, almost falling.

Lorenzo Romano!

What the hell is he doing here?

I swallow hard, trying to get myself together. He holds a cigar in his left hand, slowly blowing a thick cloud of smoke into the tense air, a gun resting on his waist.

“Come here,” he orders, gesturing at me with his finger. I blink hard, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat.

“Wh… what do you want?” I mutter.

“One thing I dislike is repeating myself, do not make me repeat myself. Come here.” He repeats again.

I take slow, shaky steps toward him, my entire body is shuddering, my hands trembling. I was just a few feet away from him when he lungs forward and covers the space between us, grabs my wrist and pulls me closer to him.

I gasp and try to release my wrist, but his grip keeps tightening as his eyes bore holes into my body.

“What do you want?” I murmur, my voice trembling with fear.

A wicked grin plasters on his face. “I came to collect a debt, and you have been given to me as repayment,” he says, shoving me roughly.

I lose my footing and hit the hard floor. My mouth falls open in a quiet gasp, my mind numb with shock.