Bound To The Devil's Vow

Chapter 1

I stood frozen outside the hospital, clutching the folder so tightly that my knuckles had turned white.

Inside it were overdue medical bills and the unbearable truth I was trying not to break under.

Leo, my only brother, had just a few weeks left before he could begin the life-saving treatment he desperately needed. He was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease when he was ten years old and had been on treatment ever since, but his condition had suddenly worsened, and now he urgently needed treatment as soon as possible.

The doctor’s words still echoed painfully in my head.

“We need payment by the end of this week, or we cannot continue the procedure.”

End of this week.

I swallowed hard, my chest tightening as I pictured Leo lying weak and fragile on that hospital bed. I couldn’t imagine a world without him. After losing our parents so young, we had clung to each other just to survive everything this wicked life threw at us.

For months, I had worked exhausting jobs, pushing myself beyond my limits just to keep up with the hospital bills. But no matter how hard I tried, it was never enough.

And now, time was running out.

“Why can’t it just be me?” I thought desperately. “I should be the one lying on that damn hospital bed.”

My shoulders shook as tears spilled down my cheeks, and I did not even notice the people staring, but I didn’t care who was watching. Their looks couldn’t pay my brother’s treatment bills or save my dying sixteen-year-old brother.

The sun beat down on my skin, harsh and unforgiving, but I barely felt it. It was nothing compared to the heaviness in my chest. Nothing in my life had ever been fair, so I had stopped expecting kindness from anything, even the weather.

I blinked back tears.

I had to stay strong.

Always strong for Leo.

We had no family left to turn to. The people who should have supported us abandoned us years ago. Our parents' relatives cut ties with us, convinced that our parents died because of us.

To them, we were a curse.

And somehow, that belief left me and my little brother completely alone in a world that already felt too cruel to survive.

I spotted a familiar nurse rushing toward me, her face carrying an urgency that immediately made my stomach drop.

"God, please... don't let it be bad news."

The silent prayer escaped before I could stop it.

I wasn't someone who prayed often. But watching Leo fight for his life had changed something in me. Every night, every morning, every spare second, I found myself begging for a miracle.

"Miss Brown, the doctor would like to see you in his office," the nurse said gently.

My heart sank.

There it was again. That look.

The look everyone in this hospital seemed to give me these days.

Pity.

It was in her voice, in her eyes, in the way her shoulders seemed to droop whenever she spoke to me. I hated that look. It made me feel helpless, as though everyone had already given up on my brother except me.

My heart began to pound against my ribs.

Without wasting another second, I rushed toward the doctor's office, my mind racing with a thousand terrifying possibilities. Every step felt heavier than the last.

“Please let Leo be okay.”

“Please don't take him from me too.”

The prayer repeated itself over and over in my head.

I quickened my pace, almost breaking into a run. The hallway blurred around me as fear consumed every rational thought in my head.

Then suddenly

Bang!

I collided with something... or rather, someone.

The impact was so strong that I nearly lost my balance.

"Ouch!" I groaned, clutching my forehead.

Before I could recover, a cold voice cut through the air.

"Watch where you're going or are you blind?"

I froze.

Slowly, I looked up.

Towering over me was a man with a hard expression and an obvious scowl on his face. His jaw was clenched, and irritation radiated from him.

For a brief second, I forgot about my own pain.

Judging by the dangerous glare he was sending my way, I had just ruined whatever mood he was already in.

And unfortunately for me, it didn't look like he was willing to let it slide.

“Er... I-I'm sorry," I stammered, my voice trembling as I struggled to meet his intimidating gaze.

My heart was already racing, and the collision had only made it worse.

"R-Really sorry," I repeated hurriedly, not even waiting for a response.

I lowered my head and quickly brushed past him, running down the hallway. The last thing I needed right now was an argument with a stranger.

My mind was far too occupied with thoughts of Leo and whatever the doctor wanted to tell me.

Every step toward the office made my anxiety grow stronger.

By the time I reached the door, I was slightly out of breath, my hands trembling as I reached for the handle.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, I pushed the door open and stepped inside, silently praying that whatever awaited me on the other side wouldn't shatter the little hope I had left.

Doctor Adams gestured for me to take a seat in the chair across from him.

With trembling legs, I lowered myself onto it, my hands tightly clasped together on my lap. The expression on his face alone was enough to shatter whatever hope I had been desperately holding on to.

My stomach twisted painfully.

No.

Please, no.

"Leo's condition has worsened," he said gravely.

"We need to operate within the next three days."

The words hit me like a truck.

For a moment, I couldn't breathe.

I just stared at him, hoping I had heard wrong.

But he continued.

"Miss Brown, I'd appreciate it if the payment could be made by tomorrow at the latest so we can begin preparations for the surgery. Without the funds, unfortunately, we won't be able to proceed."

My world seemed to stop.

Tomorrow?

How was I supposed to come up with that kind of money by tomorrow?

The folder in my hands slipped slightly as my fingers began to shake.

Tears blurred my vision, spilling freely down my cheeks.

I couldn't even bring myself to wipe them away.

All I could think about was Leo.

He is trusting me to protect him.

And I was failing him.

"Where am I supposed to get that kind of money by tomorrow?" I whispered brokenly.

My voice cracked under the weight of my despair.

A sob escaped my lips as I buried my face in my trembling hands.

"I'm so useless right now."

The words came out barely above a whisper.

No matter how many jobs I worked.

No matter how hard I pushed myself.

It was never enough.

I sluggishly rose from my seat and made my way toward the door, each step feeling heavier than the last.

The weight of the doctor's words pressed down on my shoulders, threatening to crush me completely.

Just as I reached for the doorknob, I paused and turned back to face him.

Tears still streamed down my face, but I quickly wiped them away with the back of my hand.

"I'll find the money," I said, my voice trembling with desperation. "I don't know how, but I will. Please... please save my brother."

Without waiting for a response, I turned and walked out of the office.

The moment the door closed behind me, the reality of my situation came crashing down all over again.

My mind raced frantically.

Who can I ask for help?

I searched desperately for an answer, but every possibility ended the same way.

There was nobody.

I walked absentmindedly toward Leo's ward, my feet moving on their own while my mind remained trapped in the doctor's office.

"I'll save you, Leo. I promise."

I kept repeating the words to myself like a prayer.

The moment I stepped into the room and saw him lying there, so pale and fragile, something inside me broke.

I couldn't do it.

I stepped out of the room. There was a sitting space down the hallway. I went to sit there.

The tears I had been holding back all day finally won.

A sob escaped my lips, then another, until I was crying uncontrollably. For the first time in years, I allowed myself to completely fall apart.

I didn't even realize someone was sitting beside me.

"Can you stop making a scene?"

The irritated voice cut through my cries.

"You're not the only person with problems, you know."

Something in me snapped.

"What do you know?" I shouted without even looking at him.

"I have the biggest problem in the world, if you must know!"

My voice came out hoarse from crying. "My only family is sick, and I can't do anything about it."

Fresh tears streamed down my face.

"My brother might die..." I whispered brokenly.

"And I can't save him."

There was silence for a moment.

Then the stranger spoke.

"What if I pay his hospital bills?"

My entire body froze.

For a second, I thought I had imagined it.

Slowly, I turned toward him, my eyes wide with disbelief.

"W-what did you just say?"

"I don't repeat myself," he replied lazily.

Only then did I truly look at him.

He looked familiar.

Then it clicked.

He was the man I had bumped into earlier.

"Mr. Stranger..." I muttered before I could stop myself.

He raised an eyebrow.

Tears continued rolling down my cheeks.

"Thank you," I whispered. "Thank you so much, sir."

But confusion quickly replaced my gratitude.

People didn't just hand over that kind of money.

Not to strangers.

Not without wanting something in return.

"But... why?" I asked cautiously. "Why would you help me?".

A small smirk appeared on his face.

"Well," he said casually, "it's not without a condition."

My heart skipped a beat.

A condition?.

My mind immediately went into overdrive.

What kind of condition could possibly be attached to something this big?

Then another voice answered inside my head.

Do you really have the luxury of caring?

Your brother is dying.

I swallowed hard.

"May I ask what the condition is, sir?.

The stranger leaned back in his chair and fixed his gaze on me.

For a moment, the entire room seemed to grow smaller.

There was something intimidating about him.

Something powerful.

The kind of presence that made people obey without question.

His eyes locked onto mine.

Then he spoke.

"You will marry me."