Page 81 of Heartless Devil

“Wouldn’t that be nice?” she mutters.

“What do you mean? What’s stopping you?” I ask.

I immediately notice the change in her demeanor. It seems like I’m not the only one of us that’s been harboring some secrets.

“Nothing,” she lies, getting up from the table to take her glass to the sink.

I follow her, caging her in, my arms on either side of her.

“Speak up,” I say, leaning down and whispering in her ear.

I don’t miss the way her body reacts to me.

“It’s nothing,” she says.

“So tell me. I spilled my secrets to you,” I say as she turns around to face me.

We’re close enough that I could press my lips against hers, and I want to, but I also want to know what she’s hiding.

“I won’t be traveling the world after high school. I won’t be buying a house or going to college…” she says, tears in her eyes.

“What do you mean?” I ask, confused.

“I’ll be getting married,” she says quietly. I’m almost sure I didn't hear her right.

“Excuse me?” I ask.

“I’m getting married. I’ve been promised to someone. I have a contract to uphold,” she says, not meeting my eyes.

I grip her chin with my fingers. “Did you just say you have a contract to uphold?” I ask, not believing my own ears.

“Yeah. I have to get married to someone that will benefit my family,” she says.

“There’s no fucking way that’s happening,” I yell, gripping her arms. “You can’t be serious.”

“There’s nothing I can do. There’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing anyone can do. They told me at the beginning of my freshman year. I’ve known it’s coming,” she says, hanging her head in defeat.

“Princess, you can’t marry some guy when you’re already mine,” I tell her.

“Don’t you get it? I’ll never be yours,” she says.

Something in the way she looks, the way her voice sounds, the change in her demeanor cracks the armor around my heart.

“I won’t let this happen,” I tell her.

“As if you could do anything to stop them,” she says, laughing slightly.

“This isn’t normal. People don’t do arranged marriages anymore,” I say, dropping my grip on her and pushing my hand through my hair.

“I know it’s not normal, but my parents don’t care about that. They care about getting ahead.”

“We’ll figure something out,” I promise her.

I’m desperate, grasping at straws. The thought of her being married to someone else, being with someone else is enough to drive me mad. I don’t give a fuck about my ten grand anymore. The only thing I’m worried about now is getting her out of this situation.

Chapter Nineteen

CHARLOTTE