The Devil's Seventh Wife 1

The view from the high-rise office should have been breathtaking. The sprawling city bathed in the golden glow of sunset.

Endless skyscrapers reaching for the heavens and a russet color smeared across the sky.

But all Ayra Russo could feel was the tightening grip of dread in her chest, threatening to suffocate her. The pristine glass windows felt like a cage, trapping her in a decision she didn't fully understand.

Despite the warm air spilling from the conditioning unit, the room was cold - far too cold.

Her father sat across the table, his hands trembling slightly as he pushed a crisp sheet of paper toward Ayra.

Ferdinand's voice wavered as he spoke. "It... is for the best, Ayra. You'll be taken care of. This... this is your chance at a better life."

Ayra felt tears sting at the corners of her eyes and clutched the hem of her coat tightly. She scanned her father's face for any shred of remorse - any sign that he regretted what he was doing - but his face was stoic and stern.

Ferdinand's eyes glinted with a mix of emotions but none that resembled guilt. Ayra has never known her father to be such an unfeeling man.

She fingered the pen, hesitant, her heart racing. She had trusted him all her life - her father had never led her astray. Yet something about this felt wrong.

Ayra didn't fully grasp the weight of what was happening. She did not know the why and when of how things came to be.

But the unease gnawing at Ayra's insides told her she was teetering on the edge of something irreversible. Something far bigger than her.

"I don't understand why I have to sign this," she murmured. Her voice was shaking with tears threatening to fall.

Her father's eyes darted away from hers, focusing on the papers again. "It is complicated, Ayra. But this is for the best."

She threw a glance along the length of the polished mahogany table to the man sitting silently at the furthest end. It was Lucian Cyrus, the infamous Director.

Lucian's presence was faint but intense. He hadn't spoken a word since Ayra arrived, but his cold gaze had been on her the entire time-unreadable and calculating- He scared Ayra.

Ayra gathered all the courage she could muster to address him. "Could you give me a reason, Sir? What's the root cause of this?"

Lucian's finger traced the rim of his teacup, gentle but consistent. He stared at Ayra with a quiet sort of intensity that made her heart quiver and her insides lurch.

Lucian seemed very much the broody type and Ayra doubted he would give her an answer.

"I told you, it's complicated, Ayra. I..." Her father butted in.

"He is in debt," Lucian interrupted. "One that runs into millions with an atrocious interest rate. Does that satisfy you?"

Ayra's gaze snapped to her father.

"Debt?" She whispered harshly. "How? When?"

Ayra's father cleared his throat with shame shown on his face. "The debt, Ayra. It's...complicated. This is the only way forward. You'll be safe with him."

She glanced back at Lucian who was now sizing up her father with a ponderous gaze.

Lucian's appearance was deceptively immaculate-perfectly tailored black suit, sharp jawline, dark hair slicked back with not a strand out of place.

Lucian looked like a businessman, not a man whose empire was built on blood and fear.

The coldness in Lucian's eyes told a different story. Ayra could not in good faith judge him as 'safe'.

Breathing deeply, Ayra gazed down at the contract in her hands. Half a minute later, she turned back to her father. Shock and disbelief ran through Ayra.

She desperately searched her father's face for some kind of explanation. "You're selling me off like a piece of property."

"Don't say it like that," her father snapped, a note of impatience creeping into his voice.

"You're not being sold. This is... this is for you too. And the family. Or what? Do you expect not to sacrifice some things for the family after enjoying so much from us?"

Ayra blinked. Her head swimming with the flood of words Ferdinand has been feeding her for weeks.

Ferdinand had painted the arranged marriage as the only solution-a way out of the financial pit he'd dragged them into.

Ferdinand had assured Ayra that she'd be secure, and comfortable. That it wasn't as bad as it seemed.