THE KNIGHTS DEBT

JADE ​I like my life predictable. ​Wake up at 5:00 AM. Study until the sun actually decides to show up. Go to class. Work a four-hour shift in the university lab scrubbing beakers and organizing petri dishes. Go to the library. Repeat. It’s a boring, exhausting cycle, but it’s the only way a girl like me survives in a city that eats people with empty pockets for breakfast. ​My microbiology degree was my golden ticket. One more semester, and I’d be out. I’d have a real job, a real salary, and a life that didn't involve counting quarters for the laundromat or wondering if the power would stay on through the weekend. ​But the moment I turned the key in my apartment lock on Tuesday evening, "predictable" died a violent death. ​The smell hit me first. Expensive cologne, sandalwood and something cold, like rain hitting slate. My apartment usually smells like cheap lemon floor cleaner and whatever the neighbors are frying downstairs, so this was an immediate red flag. It was the scent of a world I wasn't invited to. ​Then, I saw the shoes. ​A pair of leather loafers, polished to a mirror shine, were resting casually on my thrifted coffee table. My mother was huddled in the corner chair, her face ashen, looking like she’d aged ten years since I left for my morning lecture. Her eyes were red, her eyeliner smudged into dark, messy hollows. ​"Jade," she whispered, her voice trembling so hard it barely carried across the room. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean... I thought I could win it back. I thought the luck was changing." ​I didn't look at her. I couldn't. If I looked at her, I’d lose the little bit of composure I had left. Instead, my eyes locked on the man sitting on my sagging sofa like he’d bought the entire building just to sit there. ​Xavier Knight. ​Even if you lived under a rock, you knew the name. He was the crown prince of the city, billionaire heir, notorious heartbreaker, and the future CEO of Knight Enterprises. He was the kind of handsome that felt like a personal insult to everyone else. He had a sharp, lethal jawline, dark hair that looked artfully disheveled, and grey eyes that looked like they’d seen everything and liked absolutely none of it. ​"You're late," he said. His voice was a low, smooth drawl that made the hair on my arms stand up. He didn't get up. He didn't even move his feet off my table. ​"Who the hell are you, and why are you in my home?" I asked. I kept my voice flat, even though my heart was trying to kick its way out of my ribs. ​Xavier tilted his head, studying me with a terrifyingly clinical focus. "Your mother has a very expensive habit, Jade. Unfortunately, she decided to fund her latest losing streak using one of my company’s secondary accounts. Embezzlement is such an ugly word, isn't it? Especially for someone who works in the payroll department and should know how easy it is to track a digital footprint." ​I felt the blood drain from my face. I looked at my mom. She wouldn't meet my eyes. She just sobbed into her hands, the sound raw and desperate. She’d always been a gambler, a 'just one more hand' kind of person, but I never thought she’d be stupid enough to steal from the Knights. Nobody steals from the Knights. They own the police, the courts, and half the skyline. ​"How much?" I asked, turning back to him. My voice felt brittle, like it might snap if I spoke too loud. ​"Two hundred thousand," Xavier said casually, as if he were discussing the price of a sandwich. "Give or take a few grand for the interest I'm losing while sitting in this... charming basement. The air is a bit damp down here, don't you think?" ​The room tilted. Two hundred thousand dollars? I didn't even have two hundred dollars in my savings. I was a scholarship kid. I wore sweaters with loose threads and ate ramen for three meals a day. ​"She’ll pay it back," I said, though the words felt like ash in my mouth. "We'll figure it out. Just don't call the police. My mom... she won't survive prison. She has heart issues. She’s not built for that." ​Xavier finally stood up. He was tall, way taller than he looked on the news. He moved with a predatory grace, stepping into my personal space until I was forced to tilt my head back just to look him in the eye. He smelled like power and bad intentions. ​"The police are already an option," he said, leaning down so his lips were inches from my ear. I could feel the heat radiating off him. "In fact, a detective is waiting for my call. But I have a different idea. One that doesn't involve your mother spending the next decade in a jumpsuit." ​I stepped back, putting a few inches of cold air between us. "What do you want? I don't have money. I don't have anything you could possibly need." ​He looked around my tiny, cramped apartment with a look of pure disdain, his gaze lingering on the stacks of textbooks and my microscope in the corner. "My father is a traditionalist. He thinks I'm a liability. Too many parties, too many bad press clippings. He told the board that if I don't show up to the Knight Anniversary Gala next month with a 'respectable' woman on my arm, a fiancée, he’s handing the CEO chair to my cousin Lucas." ​I frowned, the gears in my head turning. "And what does that have to do with me? Go hire an actress. This is a city full of people who would kill for that job." ​Xavier smirked. It wasn't a nice expression; it was sharp and cold. "An actress has a paper trail. A socialite has baggage. I’ve spent the last week looking for a ghost. Someone smart, someone clean, someone who isn't interested in my world. You, Jade Emery, have a 4.0 GPA, zero social media presence, and a face that looks like it belongs on a 'Student of the Year' poster. You're the perfect fix for my reputation." ​"You want a fake fiancée," I said, the reality of the trap closing in on me. ​"I want a thirty-day social shield," he corrected. "You move into my guest suite. You attend three dinners, two charity events, and the Gala. You convince the world, and my father, that I’ve settled down with a brilliant, wholesome girl. In exchange, the two hundred thousand disappears. The debt is wiped. Your mother stays a free woman." ​"No," I said instantly. ​Xavier didn't look surprised. He didn't even look annoyed. He just reached into his tailored jacket and pulled out a sleek, black smartphone. "Then I’ll call the precinct. I believe they’re already pulling the warrants." ​"Jade, please!" my mother wailed, throwing herself at my feet. She grabbed the hem of my jeans, her fingers digging in. "I can't go to jail. I'll die in there, Jade. Please!" ​I looked down at her, the woman who had spent my entire childhood choosing a deck of cards over me, and yet, I couldn't let her go down. She was all I had left. I looked back at Xavier. He looked bored. He actually looked like he was hoping I’d say no just so he could finish the call and get on with his night. To him, this wasn't a tragedy. It was a business transaction. ​I hated him. I hated the way his suit cost more than my tuition. I hated the way he looked at my life like it was something stuck to the bottom of his shoe. ​"One month?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. ​"Thirty days," he confirmed. "Starting tonight." ​"I have exams. I have a lab job." ​"Your exams will be taken care of. As for the job, consider yourself promoted. You're now the future Mrs. Xavier Knight. The pay is the life of your mother, and the benefits include me not burning your world to the ground." ​I looked at the phone in his hand, then at the ring he was already pulling out of his pocket, a diamond so large it looked like a piece of ice. It felt heavy as he pressed it into my palm. ​"I need it in writing," I said, my voice hardening. "A contract. If I do this, the debt is wiped. No 'administrative fees,' no hidden clauses. You get your CEO chair, and I get my life back." ​Xavier’s eyes flared with something that almost looked like respect. It was gone a second later, replaced by that same icy boredom. ​"Deal," he said. He gestured toward the door. "Pack a bag, Jade. A car is waiting. We don't have all night, and I have a dinner reservation you're already going to be late for." ​I didn't move. I looked at his feet, which were finally off my table. "I'm not going anywhere until you wait in the hallway. I need to pack, and I don't want you watching me do it." ​He paused, one brow arching in amusement. "I've seen inside your apartment, Jade. I doubt your closet holds any secrets that would scandalize me." ​"The hallway, Xavier. Or I'll take my chances with the detective." ​He didn't look threatened. He actually laughed, a low, genuine sound that made my skin crawl for an entirely different reason. "I think we're going to get along just fine, Jade. You have teeth. I like that." ​I watched him walk out, his heavy footsteps echoing in the corridor. I turned to my mother, who was still shaking on the floor. I didn't say a word to her. I couldn't. I just went into my room, grabbed my old duffel bag, and threw in enough clothes to survive a month. ​I looked at my microscope one last time, wondering if I’d ever feel like that girl again, the one who thought hard work was enough to get ahead. ​When I stepped out of the apartment, Xavier was leaning against the peeling wallpaper of the hallway, looking like a god trapped in a slum. He led me down to the street, where a black SUV was idling, its tinted windows reflecting the grime of my neighborhood. ​A man in a suit opened the door for me. I hesitated, the humid city air sticking to my skin. ​"Last chance to run, Jade," Xavier said from behind me. ​I didn't look back. I stepped into the leather-scented cool of the car. "Just drive the car, Xavier." ​I knew, as the door clicked shut with a sound of total finality, that I was entering a cage with a shark. And I wasn't entirely sure I’d come out in one piece.