Chapter 7

• His eyes didn’t leave me.
• Damien stood there like judgment incarnate, his stare cold and razor-sharp, dissecting me without ever lifting a hand. I could feel the weight of it on my skin, his silence louder than words.
• He was watching me too closely, as if trying to decide whether my surprise was genuine or an act.
• I swallowed hard, keeping my face calm, my posture relaxed anything but defensive. But inside, every nerve was firing, telling me that one wrong move could shift the room from ice to fire.
• Finally, after what felt like hours under interrogation by those eyes, he spoke.
• “Your request.”
• My brows furrowed. “I… sorry, what?”
• He didn’t blink. “My brother wants to thank you for saving Little Treasure,” he said flatly, his voice a calm threat wrapped in silk. “He asked you to name your price.”
• I opened my mouth, but Logan beat me to it. He leaned forward, wearing a grin that was way too gleeful for the tension hanging in the air. “Yeah, lucky you! You saved the crown prince of the underworld, sweetheart. Time to cash in.”
• I stared at them, stunned for a second. Name a price?
• How was I supposed to explain that I hadn’t done it for anything in return? That the boy had looked so lost, so fragile, that I couldn’t not help him? That his fevered little hand had clung to mine like I was the only person left in the world?
• I turned my gaze back to the cot. He was still sleeping, peaceful now. Safe.
• “He saved me too, you know,” I said softly. “If he hadn’t gone looking for help, I’d still be locked in that bar’s storage room. So, as far as I’m concerned… we’re even.”
• There was a beat of silence.
• I didn’t dare look at Damien again just yet. The truth was, the last thing I wanted was to be indebted to a family like his. Powerful men like him didn’t give without taking. And what they took? It was never small. If he believed I was trying to manipulate the situation to get something out of them I wouldn’t live long enough to regret it.
• So I tried to make it clean. Balanced. Even.
• But when I finally glanced up, the expression on Damien’s face made my blood chill.
• He didn’t look relieved. Or convinced. He looked… displeased.
• Deeply.
• My pulse stumbled. Did I say something wrong? Was I supposed to ask for something? Was refusing the reward some kind of insult?
• His gaze was darker now, unreadable. The silence between us grew sharp again.
• “Hey, hey,” Logan jumped in, waving a hand between us like he could physically cut through the tension. “Brother, maybe ease up on the whole ‘I’ll ruin your entire bloodline’ face? You’re just trying to say thank you, not plan an execution.”
• I forced a nervous smile. “Seriously, I didn’t do it for a reward. I’m just glad he’s okay.”
• Logan gave a soft laugh, but there was a glimmer of something more serious in his eyes. “You don’t know my brother yet, but here’s a secret: he doesn’t like debts. Not even emotional ones. It’s not about the money or favors. It’s about balance. Control.”
• He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “You refuse him now, he’ll just find another way to repay you and trust me, it’s better if you choose how.”
• I looked back at Damien. He still hadn’t moved. Still hadn’t blinked.
• There was something unsettling in how quiet he was. As if his entire world existed in stillness… until it didn’t.
• Suddenly, the room felt too small.
• And I realized I was no longer just a stranger who helped his son.
• I was someone he now owed.
• And that? That made me very dangerous in his world.
• Or worse…
• His.
• There are people in this world who’ll insist on repaying you, even when you beg them not to.
• Apparently, Damien was one of them.
• I blinked at him, my voice catching in disbelief. “It’s not that I’m trying to be polite… You really don’t have to repay me. I meant what I said. If you don’t believe me, you can check the ”
• “No need.”
• His voice cut through mine like a blade.
• Short. Cold. Impatient.
• I hesitated, caught off guard by the subtle change in his expression. He hadn’t moved, hadn’t raised his voice, but the pressure in the room tightened. Like he was running out of patience with me and that was a terrifying thought.
• Logan jumped in, trying to play peacemaker with that ever-casual grin. “There’s surveillance footage. We already reviewed it. Little Treasure found his way in on his own. And the bar manager confessed to locking you in.” He gave me a look that felt oddly reassuring. “So relax we know you didn’t stage anything. You helped him. That matters.”
• Back to square one.
• Apparently, I was still expected to ask for something. I looked at Damien again. His eyes bore into me like I was an equation he couldn’t quite solve, like I’d somehow offended him by not wanting a reward.
• Was this some twisted mafia code? Debts must be settled, no matter how?
• Fine.
• I swallowed and forced the words out. “Then… how about money?”
• Silence.
• For a beat too long, no one reacted. I felt my pulse tick up. That seemed like the safest answer, didn’t it? The rich liked clean transactions. I wasn’t stupid if I didn’t ask for money, it might look like I wanted something bigger… something more dangerous. And God forbid they thought I was aiming for a place in their world.
• But then I looked up and Damien’s expression darkened.
• Worse than before.
• A chill ran down my spine. What now?
• I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from groaning. Why did he have to be so damn unreadable? Just say something. Anything. A nod, a scowl, a gun pulled from your coat anything but this freezing silence.
• Logan rubbed his nose, wincing like he was trying to cushion the blow. “So… my brother thinks giving you money would be... insulting.”
• Insulting?
• I almost screamed.
• It’s okay, insult me! Just give me something and let me walk out of here alive and debt-free!
• But before I could open my mouth again, the air shifted.
• I felt it. Like a cold wind blowing just beneath my skin. Damien moved ever so slightly forward, and then his voice, deep and deadly calm, rolled through the silence.
• “Marry me.”
• I froze.
• What?
• My breath caught in my throat. I coughed loud, messy, and completely ungraceful. I nearly choked on my own spit. “Cough what the hell did you just say?”
• He didn’t flinch. Didn’t laugh. Just stared at me like he’d asked what time it was.
• Still gasping for breath, I whipped my head toward Logan. Surely this was some twisted joke? Some mafia version of a prank?
• But Logan looked just as lost as I felt. “Bro… I I don’t even know how to translate that.”
• Great. Now he was stunned.
• Desperately, I turned back to the source of this madness. “Wait are you seriously saying you want to repay me for saving your son by… by marrying me?”
• Damien tilted his head, considering. “You could put it that way.”
• I stared at him, trying to see if this was some warped test. But no, his face was calm. Dead serious.
• This man, the most powerful and feared figure in the city’s criminal underworld, just offered marriage like it was a business transaction. No emotion. No passion. Just a brutal sense of obligation and control.
• And God help me, a small, traitorous part of me wondered if this is how he repays a debt…
• What does it look like when he claims something for himself?