BOUND BY OBSESSION

chapter 2

CHAPTER 2: THE MEETING

The elevator ride up is taking forever.

Like, actually forever. I'm standing here and I keep checking my phone even though there's probably no signal up here. Everything in this building is fancy. Glass and silver and clean. Too clean. Nobody actually lives like this. My hands are sweating. I wipe them on my jeans and immediately feel stupid about it because what if he's watching me on a camera right now? What if he's already judging me for being nervous?

The elevator doors open.

Top floor. Of course it's the top floor.

There's a woman at a desk. She doesn't say anything. Doesn't smile or whatever. She just looks at me and points. I walk toward the door. My heart is like... going crazy. I can feel it in my throat. My mouth is so dry.

I push the door open.

His office is cold. Like, really cold. Everything costs money. The kind of money I'll never see. Never. Not in my whole life. The windows are huge. I can see the whole city down there. Tiny people. Tiny lives. And we're up here. Above everything.

Dark marble on the walls. Grey and black. Empty feeling. The furniture is black too. Hard looking. There's art that looks like someone just threw paint at a wall and was like, this is art. Maybe it is. I don't know.

Dominic Russo is sitting at this massive desk.

He's reading something. A file or a paper, I don't know. He doesn't look up when I come in. Just keep reading. It just makes me stand here. Makes me wait. Like my time doesn't matter. Like his reading is more important than mine.

I'm counting the seconds. I'm that nervous. That stupid.

Thirty seconds. Maybe more.

Finally he looks at me.

And that's when I get it. I understand why people are scared of him.

His eyes are grey. Like, not normal grey. Not like clouds or whatever. This is different. This is like a storm. A bad storm. The kind that destroys things. Cold. So cold. And they're looking at me like he can see everything. Like he's reading my whole life like a book. Like he's reading my thoughts and judging me for them. Which is crazy because I'm literally just thinking, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.

He's dark-skinned. Really tall. Huge actually. Even sitting down he's just... he's big. Like he was built to hurt people. Built for violence. His suit probably costs more than my car. The whole thing is perfect. Not one wrinkle.

His hands are big. Really big. And there's scars. Old scars. He's hurt people. Or tried to hurt him. Something.

When he moves, it's smooth. Like every movement means something. He doesn't waste anything. Not even like a small movement or a gesture.

"Maya," he says.

It's not a question. He already knows who I am. He probably knows everything. Where I live. What I do. How much money I have. He's probably been watching me for like... I don't know how long. That's insane. That's actually insane.

"That's me," I say.

I'm trying to sound brave. I'm trying to sound like I have options. But I don't. I'm here because my father owes him money. Blood money. The kind that kills people.

He looks back at his desk. There's a folder. Thick. That's me. That's my whole life sitting right there in a folder.

How long has he been watching me?

"Your father made a stupid choice," he says. Not looking at me. Looking at the folder. "Now we both have to deal with it."

"I'm not marrying you," I say.

The words came out of my mouth before I could think about it. Which is probably stupid but , I'm panicking and when I panic I say things.

His eyes come back to me.

Something changes in his face. Just for a second. Just a tiny thing. Like maybe I surprised him. Like maybe nobody ever says no to him.

"You don't have a choice," he says. His voice is calm. Too calm. It's worse than yelling. "Either you marry me or your father dies. Those are your options."

"That's not a choice," I say. "That's blackmail. That's literally blackmail."

"Yes," he says. Like it's nothing. Like he doesn't even care that I know what he's doing. "It is blackmail."

I want to hit him. I want to leave. I want to do like, a thousand different things. But none of it will work. None of it will save my dad.

"One year," I say. "That's it? Just one year?"

"One year," he says. "Then you're done. You can leave."

"And if I leave before that?"

"Then your father dies," he says. "Probably you too. Maybe your best friend. Just so you know I'm serious about this."

The way he says it. Like the weather. Like it's normal.

My blood actually goes cold. I'm not even exaggerating. I feel it.

"I'm not going to pretend to be happy about this," I tell him. "I'm not going to play house or like, act like this is normal or whatever. I can't do that."

He stands up.

And suddenly he's right there. In front of me. Not sitting anymore. Just standing. Looking down at me. He's so tall. So big. I feel like a kid next to him.

"I don't want you to pretend," he says. His voice is low. Every word is controlled. "I don't care if you like me. I don't care if you hate me. I don't care what you feel about any of this."

"Then what do you want?" I ask.

"I want you to survive," he says. "That's all. Just survive."

"What does that even mean? How do I do that?"

He walks around me. Not super close but close enough that I can feel him. His cologne is expensive and sharp and it makes my head feel weird.

He goes to the door. Opens it.

"Tomorrow morning," he says. "Nine o'clock. Judge's office. You come alone. We get married."

"And if I don't show up?" I ask.

He turns back. Looks at me.

And his eyes aren't completely cold anymore. There's something else there. Something that looks like emotion. But not like, nice emotion. The opposite.

"Then I will find you," he says. Each word is slow. Heavy. "I will find you wherever you are. And I will take you to that judge myself. And everyone you love will suffer for making me do it."

He's not yelling. He's just explaining. Just telling me how things work. How the world works now.

I nod because I understand. I totally understand.

I walk out. Walk to the elevator. The doors close.

And I'm alone.

And I know something deep down. Something in my bones.

My whole life just changed. There's no going back. No fixing this. No other option.

Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, I will become someone's wife.

I became Dominic Russo's wife.

And I can't do anything about it.