“Seven years,” she says. “Give or take.”
My eyes widen. “You’re only twenty-six.”
“Yeah,” she agrees. “I was young.”
I hesitate, then ask softly, “Did you…know him before?”
“Before?”
“Before he was...” I trail off trying to find the right words.
“The devil?” She raises her eyebrows and smiles.
“Well, yes.”
Mara sighs and folds her arms, gaze drifting toward the window like the answer might be written out there somewhere. “I grew up in the south side. Different family. Different rules.”
I know what that means. I don’t interrupt.
“My father owed money,” she continues. “A lot of it. To people who don’t forgive debt easily. When he died, the debt didn’t.”
My stomach tightens.
“They decided the easiest way to settle it was to marry me off,” she says, tone light, almost casual. “One of their men. Older. Mean. Already had a reputation of leaving his women blue and purple.” She hugs herself.
I swallow. “You didn’t have a choice.”
“Nope.”
She shrugs, like it’s ancient history. Like it didn’t nearly ruin her life.
“And Lucian?” I ask quietly.
Her mouth curves into something softer. “He was young, then. New. Angry. Terrifying in that very controlled way of his.”
I can picture it too easily.
“Riley and I…we were dating at the time,” She pauses, then laughs under her breath. “We were stupid. Careless. We thought we were hiding it.”
“Riley as in Lucian’s brother?” I ask, just to make sure I understand.
“His baby brother,” she confirms. “We went to the same private school And Lucian knew. He always knows when something is happening under his nose.”
I brace myself for the rest of the story. Violence. Punishment. Something ugly.
Instead, Mara says, “He bought my contract.”
I blink. “Your…what?”
“The marriage agreement,” she explains. “He paid my father’s debt. Paid extra, actually. Enough that they couldn’t argue. Told them I belonged to his household now.”
My heart thuds. “Just like that?”
“Just like that,” she says. “No conditions. No threats. Just a signature and a wire transfer. Riley was about ready to kill for me. Lucian couldn’t handle his brother being in that kind of shit. He never wanted this life for him.”
“That’s…” I trail off, searching for the right word. It feels too small. “That’s huge.”
“It was,” she agrees. “I thought there’d be strings. I waited for them. They never came.”
