A Bride For The Debt
1157 Words
Aria's POV
I didn't sleep that night.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw those red letters. FIVE DAYS. The words burned into my mind like a brand.
When the sun finally rose, I was exhausted but wired with nervous energy. I had four days left. Four days to come up with half a billion dollars.
I started with the banks.
I sat across from a loan officer, a middle-aged woman with tired eyes and a polite smile. I explained I needed a personal loan for a family emergency. I didn't mention the mafia or the death threats.
The woman typed on her computer, asking questions about my income, my credit score, my assets. With each answer, her smile became tighter.
Finally, she looked at me with pity.
"I'm sorry, Miss Monroe. With your current income and credit history, the maximum loan we can approve is fifteen thousand dollars."
Fifteen thousand. It was nothing.
I tried three more banks that morning. The answers were all the same. Too much debt. Not enough income. No one would give me more than twenty thousand.
By noon, I was desperate enough to try my boss.
Mrs. Chen looked up from her desk, surprised to see me.
"Aria? I wasn't expecting you today. You look terrible."
I probably did. I hadn't showered or changed clothes. My eyes were red from crying.
I closed the door behind me.
"Mrs. Chen, I need to talk to you about something important."
She gestured for me to sit.
"I need money," I said, the words tumbling out.
"A lot of money. It's a family emergency. I was wondering if I could get an advance on my salary. Or a loan from the gallery. I'll work extra hours. I'll do anything."
Mrs. Chen's face fell. She looked genuinely sorry.
"Oh, Aria. I wish I could help. But the gallery is barely breaking even right now. We're behind on rent ourselves."
My heart sank.
"Please, Mrs. Chen. Even just a few thousand would help."
She shook her head slowly.
"I don't have it. I'm sorry. If things were different, I would help you in a heartbeat."
I left the gallery feeling hollow.
I spent the rest of the day trying everything. I called distant relatives I hadn't spoken to in years. Most didn't answer. The ones who did made excuses.
I went to pawn shops with the few pieces of jewelry I owned. My mother's wedding ring. A necklace my grandmother left me. The owner offered me eight hundred dollars for all of it.
Eight hundred dollars.
I took it because I had no choice.
By evening, I'd scraped together maybe ten thousand dollars total. The pawn shop, my entire savings, and selling my laptop to a secondhand store.
Ten thousand out of five hundred million.
I sat in a coffee shop, staring at the cash in my hands, wanting to scream. This was pointless. I could sell everything I owned and still not come close.
My father had doomed us both.
I thought about running. Taking the ten thousand dollars and disappearing. Starting over where the Caruso family could never find me.
But I couldn't leave my father. Despite everything, he was still my dad. He was all the family I had left.
I went back to my apartment as the sun set. I sat on my ruined bed, staring at the red letters on the wall.
Four days left.
I was going to die in four days.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
Something made me answer.
"Hello?"
"Aria Monroe?" The voice was deep, calm, controlled. A man's voice, smooth and professional.
"Who is this?" I asked warily.
"My name is Dominic Vercetti," he said.
"I believe I have a solution to your problem."
My heart started racing.
"What problem? Who are you? How did you get my number?"
"I know about your father's debt to the Caruso family," he said calmly.
"I know you have four days to come up with half a billion dollars. And I know you've spent today trying to find the money with no success."
Ice flooded my veins.
"How do you know that?"
"That's not important," he said.
"What's important is that I'm offering you a way out."
"A way out?" My mind was spinning. Who was this man?
"I can make your problem disappear," he said.
"The debt, the deadline, the threats. All of it. I can ensure the Caruso family never comes near you or your father again."
It sounded too good to be true.
"What's the catch?" I asked.
"What do you want?"
There was a pause. Then he spoke, and his words made my blood run cold.
"I want you to marry me."
I almost dropped the phone.
"What?"
"A marriage contract," he said, like it was perfectly reasonable.
"One year. You live as my wife, follow my rules, and in return, I clear your father's debt and keep you both alive."
I laughed. The sound came out harsh and hysterical.
"This is insane. You're insane. I don't even know who you are."
"You don't have to decide right now," he interrupted smoothly.
"But this offer has an expiration date. I need an answer by tomorrow evening."
"Tomorrow?" I stood up, pacing.
"You're asking me to marry a complete stranger and giving me less than twenty-four hours to decide?"
"You have four days to live," he said bluntly.
"I'm giving you a way to survive. Consider it carefully."
"This is crazy," I said.
"I'll send you an address. Meet me there tomorrow at six PM if you want to discuss the terms. If you don't show up, I'll assume your answer is no."
"Wait—"
He'd already hung up.
I stared at my phone, hands shaking.
A text message came through. An address in Manhattan. An expensive part of the city.
I sat back down, my mind reeling.
This had to be a scam. A trap. Some kind of sick joke.
But what if it wasn't?
What if this Dominic Vercetti really could save me and my father?
The rational part of my brain screamed not to trust him. You didn't marry strangers.
But the desperate part whispered something different.
What choice did I have?
I had four days to live.
And now someone was offering me a way out.
The price was steep. My freedom. A year of my life. Marriage to a man I'd never met.
But the alternative was death.
I looked at the red letters on my wall. FIVE DAYS.
Now it was four.
Tomorrow it would be three.
My phone buzzed again.
"The choice is yours, Aria. But choose quickly. Time is running out."
I stared at the message for a long time.
Then I saved the address.
Tomorrow at six PM, I would meet Dominic Vercetti And I would find out exactly what he wanted from me.
Because right now, he was the only hope I had left.
- Writer
