BOUND BY OBSESSION

CHAPTER 1: THE OFFER My father is dying. Not like, actually dying. But something in him is already dead. I can see it. His hands shake when he holds his coffee cup. His eyes don't focus on anything anymore. He looks like he aged ten years in one week. "Maya," he says. "I need to tell you something." We're in his apartment. The same place he's lived in for twenty years. It smells bad. Like old cooking oil and sadness. I'm tired. I worked all day. I don't want to hear this. "Make it fast," I say. "I have to go meet someone." It's not true. I don't have to meet anyone. But I want him to know I have a life. A life that's not about his problems. "I borrowed money," he says. "A long time ago. For the restaurant." Of course he did. "How much?" I ask. "A lot." "Dad. How much?" He tells me. The number is so big I can't even understand it. It's just... too much money. "You got this from a bank?" I ask. But I already know the answer. "No," he says quiet. "Not a bank." The quiet after that is bad. Really bad. "Who?" I ask. He doesn't say. But I know anyway. Everyone in this city knows Dominic Russo. He runs the bad stuff. The illegal stuff. The things people don't talk about. People whisper his name like it's a curse. "Dad," I say. My voice is small now. "Tell me you didn't do this." "I had no choice," he says. "The bank said no. He was the only one who would give me the money." "And now? What does he want now?" "His money back. With more money on top. I can't do it, Maya. I tried everything. I can't pay him." I walk to the window. I look at the city. All those people living their lives. They don't know. They don't know some of us are already trapped. "What does he want?" I ask. My father doesn't answer. That's when I know it's bad. Worse than money bad. Then someone knocks on the door. Not a normal knock. This knock makes your body scream. DANGER. DANGER. My father's face goes white. A man in a suit comes in. Like he owns this place. He's tall. Big. He looks like he uses his fists to fix things. His face shows nothing. "Mr. Ben," he says. His voice is nice but there's something under it. Something sharp and dangerous. "My boss has been patient. But he needs you to pay him now." "I know," my father says. "I know. I just need more time." "We don't give time anymore," the man says. He puts a folder on the table. "But Mr. Russo has an idea." I don't move. I'm watching my father fall apart. "Your daughter," the man says. He looks at me. "She marries him. One year. Then your debt is gone." Nothing. Just silence. Then I laugh. I actually laugh. Because it's crazy. It's insane. It has to be a joke. "No," I say. "That's not happening. No." The man looks at me like I'm something interesting he found on the street. "If you say no, bad things happen," he says. Very calm. "Very bad things. Mr. Russo is fair. He's giving you a way out. Most people don't get this." "I'm not marrying someone I don't know," I say I'm not about to put my life, my job, career on hold because of you dad marrying someone I don't even know. "Then your father dies," he says. Like he's saying the weather is nice. My father makes a sound. Like something inside him is breaking. "Those are the choices," the man says. "Marry him for one year. Or your father is dead. That's it. Nothing else." He leaves the folder on the table and walks out. I stare at the folder. It feels like it might blow up. "I'm sorry," my father says. He's crying now. Really crying. "I'm so sorry, Maya. I didn't know what else to do. I called everyone. I asked everyone. There's no other way." I picked up the folder. I touch it like it's dirty. The contract is easy to understand. I marry Dominic Russo. It lasts one year. Then we get divorced. For one year, I'm his wife. "When?" I ask. "Tomorrow," my father says. "He wants to meet you first. Then tomorrow you get married." My legs stop working. I sat down. One year. My whole life for one year. Just to keep my father alive.