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I can just see my dreams and goals start to circle the drain. All those long nights studying, the exams, working on extra credit just to make sure I stayed at the top of my class. Those years spent killing myself to get into a top program.
Poof! Gone in an instant.
Because some asshole declared it to be? What is this, the 1800s?
If you had asked me last month, the thought that anyone, anyone, would make me give up school and my college dreams, or even worse, sabotage them, would have seemed outlandish.
And yet here I am.
This whole thing is archaic and absurd, and a part of me thinks that it still might be a joke, until I walk downstairs to an empty house, where everything is empty besides the armed guards. Plural.
I’ve never seen so many guns in my life. How many heavily armed men does it take to protect a nineteen-year-old girl?
My mother is at work, Albert is nowhere to be found and they’ve left me alone with a small army.
They didn’t even bother to tell me which school they enrolled me in or how to log in. I almost cried when I called Millerton’s registrar and they confirmed that I was already withdrawn.
This sucks.
I wander around the house, occasionally checking my phone to see if Julia or any of the girls miss me.
No notifications.
Enzo and Nico, on the other hand, have both texted me throughout the morning, giving strict instructions to stay put and stay safe.
According to them, Albert gave me to them to watch over and they are taking that very, very seriously.
I almost choked the other morning when Albert told me to think of them as protective big brothers.
Ha. If Albert only knew just how his boys have protected me so far…
I banish the dangerous, but satisfying, thought of telling Albert and my mom exactly how well I know Nico and Enzo. It might feel good for one petty moment, but I’d be the one who would pay for it. I know it.
My phone pings and I look down.
Enzo: If you need to leave, take a guard. They are there for your protection, princess. We’ll see you tonight. xx
My protection?
I don’t need protection. I need to go to class and get my fucking law degree so I can throw men like this in prison!
I want to throw my phone against the wall. I feel trapped. Suffocated.
One thing they’ve made crystal clear is that escape is not an option for me. I’m their plaything and their pawn… until they offload me one way or another. Everything that’s happened this last week is fucked, and so is the new trajectory of my life.
If Albert and his insufferable sons get their way, I can kiss law school goodbye. The only degree he wants for me is my M.R.S. degree.
Ew. The thought sours in my stomach.
Great.
I sigh, slumping against the kitchen counter, deciding to ignore the men armed with assault rifles that make their rounds of the house.
So much for staying discreet.
Everything about this place is over the top. I should have spotted the signs right away, the second Nico said this father gave him a nightclub as a birthday present.
How did I not put together the pieces sooner?
