Ex-wife Is A Cop, Ex-husband, Her Criminal

Claire's POV I stood at the top of the winding glass staircase, my hands clutching the iron railing, knuckles white as snow. I heard the laughter echoing from the living room below—a sound I had grown to detest. It was the voice of my stepmother, Delilah, mocking and dominating over the entire space, as always. Lilah, her daughter, chimed in with her perfect, overly sweet giggle that masked the venom behind her words. These two have taken control over my dad’s house, raising their voices over chat, making decisions without consulting anyone and doing whatever they like. My dad wouldn’t oppose, neither could I. They counted me as nothing. Merely thinking about this, my stomach twisted. "They’re at it again," I whispered to herself. The lavish mansion, once a warm home when my mother was alive, had become a golden cage filled with resentment. Since my mother’s sudden death, nothing had been the same. My father, Gerald Arcole, wasted no time marrying Delilah—the woman I always suspected of being his mistress even before my mom’s death. They said it was an auto crash but my instinct which has been disturbing me ever since tells me it was a plan. They planned it this way and used a truck driver so Delilah can come in. Delilah brought in her daughter from another man, having been a single mother. Lilah is younger than me by two years but always flaunting her beauty and intelligence like a prized possession, she became the crown jewel of the Arcole family. I had lost everything—my mother, my education, and my father’s love. The moment she stepped foot on the Arcole mansion, all resources were summoned to train her. One day, my dad walked into my room to share the greatest shock of my life. “I’m sorry Claire but there wouldn’t be resources to train two of you girls, since you are in your final year in high school, you can always pay to write the exams but Lilah, she’s just in her second year.” It was the way he said it without emotions or remorse, I dropped my face, burying it on my palms. That was the end of education for me. Tears strolled from my eyes, my heart beat terribly and I prayed it was a dream but I opened my eyes to see him watching me now with disgust. “Sorry,” he threw the world indifferently on me. “Now Lilah is your younger sister, we have to train her. As for you, you should be thinking of how to bring money to the family.” “Dad?” I sprang up, yelling at him with fury but he’d already turned, walking out. He wasn’t going to deal with my reaction. He had no time for me. My time was over and it was obvious. Ever since that day, I’ve lived like a stranger here, not being recognized as part of the family, barely existing. It’s been years now and Lilah is a graduate of Business Management while I haven’t been able to continue my education. My feet barely made a sound as I descended the stairs, heading toward the source of the laughter. When I entered the room, the voices stopped. "Oh, look who decided to come out of hiding," Delilah sneered, her eyes scanning me like she was a bug on a windshield. Lilah smirked from her seat on the velvet sofa, twirling a strand of her auburn hair. "What’s with the dramatic entrance? Planning to steal someone else’s moment again?" I ignored them and turned to my father. He sat in his usual leather chair, brow furrowed, whiskey in hand. The lines on his face had deepened over the past few months. Stress seemed to age him, but within me, I felt it was something else. “I asked Lilah to come and call you, why haven't you come ever since?” My dad growled in a cold, low voice. I c****d my head, eyes furrowed. “When was that?” Then the aura in the room switched into silence. I turned to Lilah. “She never called me.” “I called you,” she snapped immediately. “—But you said you have nothing to do with dad, that he hates you and you hate him too.” My jaw dropped, turning to dad. Has it gone to this? My dad’s mood changed, he sprang about to storm towards me but I dodged to the side. “Why are you lying, Likah?” I asked, almost in tears. Her mom came up pretending to stop my dad. “Don’t take it too seriously, you know we have something more important to discuss about her. Just sit.” She guided my dad to the couch but my mind rallied on something important. What was it going to be? Gerald nodded, motioning for her to sit too and then I. I obeyed with a frown, keeping a wary eye on Delilah and Lilah. They couldn’t ever be trusted. "You know our company, Arcoles, is falling," he began, reducing his tone. I steadied my eyes on him, wondering where he was heading to. Of course I knew this before now. I've heard the hushed conversations about our automobile spare part company, saw the unpaid bills, the late-night phone calls. Still, my heart pounded. "We owe the Walson family three million dollars. The interest is choking us. We’ve defaulted on three payments. They can legally take over the company within weeks." My mouth went dry. The Walsons. Everyone knew their name. Eric Walson, ruthless billionaire, the man behind Ferrell MC—the exclusive, powerful bikers club that also happened to be a financial empire. His bank, Walson Bank, funded half of Las Vegas. "So what happens now?" I asked. Delilah leaned forward, her lips curving into a grin. "Eric Walson made us an offer." "What kind of offer?" I asked slowly, my mind filled with suspense. "A marriage alliance," Gerald said bluntly. "To settle the debt, we’ve agreed to a marriage between one of my daughters and Eric’s son, Alessandro for free. They want to take one of you for free." My eyes widened. “What’s that? A free marriage?” I was totally puzzled. What does he mean? “You went to school, you should know what a free marriage means. No bride price would be paid to us, we are giving you over to them as a commodity, a thing of pleasure, a girl to be used.” I stared at him, then my stepmom, the shock evolving into disbelief. He even mentioned me. I needed to confirm. “Me?” “Yes, you’re of age and no longer in school. You’re available to be taken. Like I said, you ought to hustle money for this family, if this marriage is executed, we don’t have to worry about paying the debts and it might bring our family good fortunes in the future.” “Like you know, this is a billionaire family.” He added. My mouth clamped shut, I went speechless. “For free? Am I that valueless to you guys and besides I’m not ready for this. I dream to continue my education, enter college and become an engineer after college.” “I don’t want to get married!” I protested firmly. “Okay, if you aren’t, then give us three million dollars to pay for our debt, then you can be free. No other option.” This is serious. “It's Alessandro Walson. The elusive, dangerously handsome heir to the Walson empire.” Delilah added. “We can’t refute the only option they gave us when we don’t have the money to pay and no type of work you can do can fetch you such an amount.” “But why is it my responsibility?” I cried. It was to deaf ears. "You’re the oldest. It’s tradition." Alessandro Walson. I had seen photos, read the news—he’s among the male billionaires in the world considered as world’s eligible bachelors but I couldn’t understand why he would love to marry into a low family like ours compared to the wealth he lived in. "You’re marrying him," Dad declared, cutting me off my thoughts. The world slowed around me. Lilah stood abruptly, her eyes flaring. There was disapproval in her eyes, I wondered what this meant. "What? You can’t be serious dad! I’ve complained to you about this before and promised to change to me, meaning you still took your stance. Alessandro is too excellent to give to a girl like Claire. “Alessandro Walson? Are you really doing this dad?" She complained almost to the verge of tears. I turned my face away to hide the amusement of Lilah fighting over who I didn’t really want to be with. I would gladly give Alessandro to her. The next moment, I watched as dad called her. When she went, he put his mouth near her ear, whispering something that got her buzzing into a laughter, then returned to her seat. My frown deepened. Gerald looked at me, unimpressed. "It’s done. We’re going to his family estate tomorrow. His family wants to meet us and her for the first time." I stood up, storming out of the room in anger. Later on, I wanted some alone time and got to stroll to the garden but the sight of my dad with my stepmom talking in low tones got me stopped. I hid behind the corner, trying to listen if I could hear what they were saying. Living in such an unloving house, I was forced to pay heed to every action and conversation to save my life. “Like you promised Lilah and I, I hope it will become reality. Lilah is a college graduate! She speaks three languages, has studied business. She’s more refined, more suitable for someone like Alessandro. Claire hasn't even gone to college, tell me how she's going to be of use to a businessman like Alessandro in the long run.” “She should only prepare a way for my daughter.” Upon saying this, they began walking away and I could no longer hear them. I sighed bitterly. I was sick and tired of living with them now, I had no expectations from them again. Maybe it could be a good thing to leave them forever. Suddenly, nothing mattered to me other than this.