Chapter 2 The Price of Mercy

Aria stared at Julian Blackwood as if he had spoken another language.

"Marry you?" she repeated slowly, each word tasting unreal. "You walk into my house on the worst day of my life and say something like that, and you expect me to take you seriously?"

Julian didn't react.

That was what frightened her most.

Most men, when challenged, showed irritation. Anger. At least something. Julian simply watched her, his expression carved from stone, as though her shock and outrage were already accounted for.

"I don't expect you to like it," he said. "I expect you to understand it."

She laughed again, but this time the sound cracked. "You're using my father to blackmail me."

"I'm offering you leverage," he corrected calmly. "Something you no longer have."

Her hands curled into fists at her sides. "You think I don't know who you are? You destroy people for sport. You buy judges. You silence companies. And now you want a wife like she's part of a business deal?"

Julian's gaze sharpened, just a fraction. "Careful."

"Why?" she shot back. "You'll arrest me too?"

For the first time, something flickered in his eyes. Not anger.

Pain.

It was gone before she could be sure.

"This has nothing to do with sport," he said quietly. "Your father made choices. I'm simply making sure he pays for them."

"My father is innocent."

Julian straightened, towering over her now. "My mother is dead."

The words fell between them like shattered glass.

Aria's breath caught. "I'm... I'm sorry."

He studied her face, as if searching for something. Guilt. Fear. Recognition.

Whatever he was looking for, he didn't find it.

"She killed herself," Julian continued, voice even. Too even. "After your father's company destroyed her reputation, her work, and her life."

"That's not true," Aria said immediately. "My father never"

"You don't know what your father did," Julian cut in. "You only know the version he let you see."

Her chest tightened. Doubt tried to worm its way in, but she crushed it.

"No," she said firmly. "I know my father."

Julian's lips curved slightly. Not a smile. Something colder. "So did I."

Silence stretched.

Upstairs, her mother's crying grew louder, sharper. The sound sliced into Aria's heart.

She swallowed. "If this is about revenge, then why marriage?"

Julian's eyes returned to her, dark and unreadable. "Because prison isn't enough."

Her stomach dropped.

"I want you," he continued, each word deliberate, "to live with the consequences of what your family took from mine."

Aria's voice trembled despite her effort. "You want to punish me for something I didn't do."

"Yes."

The honesty of it stole her breath.

"I won't," she whispered. "I won't marry you."

Julian didn't argue.

He simply reached into his jacket again and placed another document on the table.

"Your father's bail hearing is in two days," he said. "The judge is undecided. The evidence is... flexible."

Her eyes flew to the papers.

"If you agree," Julian went on, "I'll ensure the charges are reduced. A shorter sentence. Medical care. Protection."

Her throat burned. "And if I don't?"

He met her gaze steadily. "Maximum sentencing. Solitary confinement."

The room felt too small. Too tight.

"You're cruel," she said, her voice barely audible.

Julian leaned closer, his presence overwhelming. "No," he said softly. "I'm fair."

Tears blurred her vision, and she hated herself for them.

"You're asking me to sell my life," she whispered.

"I'm asking you to trade it," he replied. "For his."

Her knees felt weak. She gripped the edge of the table to steady herself.

This wasn't a choice.

It was an execution with paperwork.

Julian straightened and glanced at his watch. "You have forty-eight hours."

He turned toward the door.

"Wait," Aria said, the word tearing out of her.

He paused but didn't turn around.

"If I agree," she asked hoarsely, "what kind of marriage is this?"

Julian looked back at her then, his eyes dark, empty of warmth.

"A legal one," he said. "Nothing more."

And with that, he walked out, leaving behind silence, contracts and a decision that would destroy her.

Aria sank into the chair, her body shaking as the truth settled in.

She could fight.

She could refuse.

And her father would rot in prison.

Or she could marry a man who hated her

and lose herself instead.