Chapter 9 The Price of Loyalty

Elena squeezed her eyes shut, like maybe if she blocked out the world, the panic in her chest would just... evaporate. No luck. Her breathing was all messed up-short, sharp, like her lungs were staging a protest.

Honestly, it felt like she was trying to outrun a train with cinder blocks strapped to her feet. Hopeless.

She stared at her phone, white-knuckled grip and all, as if it might cough up some miracle answer if she held it tight enough. The words from her dad's guy kept looping in her brain: "They said... a week is too long." Gee, thanks.

She sucked in a lungful of air, fighting to get her act together. Didn't really work, but hey, she tried.

"All right... how much time are they giving me?" Her voice sounded like someone else's.

"At the very least, they want half their pay in three days. The rest can wait till that date you mentioned yesterday." Even the guy sounded worried. Like his worry was a physical thing, crawling up her spine.

She didn't answer right away. What was there to say? Finally, barely above a whisper: "Okay. I'll try."

She hung up, slow and heavy, and drifted toward the subway because, well, what else was she supposed to do?

On the train-basically empty, just her and a couple of ghosts-she just sat there, numb. Her body was there, but her mind? Off somewhere, probably screaming into a void.

Doubt gnawed at her, relentless. Even when she made it to the ICU, her dad lying there all pale and wired up, nothing flickered in her eyes. Just this blank, heavy stare. Like if she let herself feel anything, she'd shatter right there on the linoleum.

"Dad... Why does it feel like I'm being ripped apart from the inside?"

All those wires and tubes-God, just looking at them made her want to scream. Like they were blaming her, every single one, for not fixing this.

She stood there, frozen for too long, until her legs started aching. Then she finally shuffled out to the hospital garden, clutching her laptop and the stack of paperwork like some kind of lifeline.

Her hands flew across the keyboard-muscle memory, really. Payroll files, bank accounts, numbers. She'd just use whatever she had left, pay out her dad's employees. What else could she do? Even if it left her broke and eating ramen for months, well, screw it. Her dad's people came first.

-

Meanwhile, while Elena's brain was melting over spreadsheets, the universe was cooking up something way bigger.

Over at the Caython mansion, Narima was about to get blindsided. Her husband, fresh off a plane and still smelling like airport coffee, walked in holding some mysterious file.

"Is she the one you picked?" Jonathan's voice had that no-nonsense rumble, and Narima spun around, caught off guard.

He was holding that folder-the one with Elena's info, everything from her resume to her third-grade school photo, probably. Of course he'd found it. Narima had practically left it on his desk in neon lights, dying to talk about her future daughter-in-law as soon as he got back.

She just grinned, all sly, and gave a little nod.

Jonathan sat down, patted the couch like, "Come here, I'm about to blow your mind."

"I think we've got an even better reason now," he said, voice kind of faraway.

Narima shot him a look. "Better reason? What, she's secretly a princess?"

He just waved her over, then pointed at a photo stuck in the back of the file. "Alberth Johnson. Old friend. Without him, I'd still be flipping burgers somewhere."

Narima's eyes went huge. "Wait, is this-? The college buddy? The one who bailed you out after you got fired?"

"Yeah, that's the guy. He gave up every penny he saved for his mom's surgery. Was supposed to be his startup fund, but nope, all went to help me."

She stared at the photo, her voice soft. "Elena's his daughter?"

Jonathan nodded, eyes shining a little. "Yeah. That's her."

"Alright then," Narima shot back, all boss energy, "even *more* reason to get this marriage sorted. That stubborn kid of ours? He's out of excuses now."

Jonathan just exhaled, long and heavy. Not what he'd meant-helping the girl was supposed to be, well, helping her, not screwing her over with an arranged marriage. But Narima's face? Full-on Christmas morning vibes. He just... couldn't kill her buzz.

She'd been on this "find Elvano a wife" quest for years. In her mind, his current girlfriend was a walking red flag. None of her carefully vetted options ever measured up-till now, suddenly, she'd found the holy grail of daughters-in-law. Jonathan honestly didn't have the guts to crush her dream.

Then, outta nowhere, she lit up like a kid who'd just spotted Santa. "That's him!" she blurted, practically vibrating as a car crunched into the driveway.

She hustled to the door, eyes sparkling, just as Elvano hopped out of his car.

"Hey, honey! How was your day?" Narima chirped, latching onto his arm like it was the most natural thing ever.

Elvano stared. Uh... what? Since when was his mom this... huggy? She hadn't acted this way in years. Not since-he did the math-yeah, about three years back, right after he'd introduced Natasha.

"What's going on with you, Mom?" Elvano's voice was all side-eye and suspicion. Yesterday she was ready to murder him. Now? Betty Crocker.

Narima cuffed him on the back, grinning. "Don't be a little punk! Think your mom's lost it?"

"Elvano!" Jonathan's voice floated in from the living room, all serious dad vibes.

Elvano glanced over, muttering under his breath, "Great. The tamer returns." Narima, of course, heard him loud and clear, but she just let it slide.

"Sit down. We need to talk," his dad said, already in business mode.

Something felt off. Suspiciously off. Elvano braced himself and sat.

"So, what's up?"

Jonathan just cut to the chase. "Look, your mom and I are arranging a marriage for you. With her pick."

"Dad, are you kidding me?!"

Elvano shot halfway up from the couch, but Narima's grip on his arm was ironclad. He clenched his jaw, biting back everything he wanted to say.

First Mom, now Dad's joined the circus. Why was it so hard for them to get it? He only wanted Natasha. Just Natasha.

"You're not getting out of this one, Elvano," Jonathan said, voice hard as nails. "We gave you a chance to end things with her. You didn't. So here we are."

"But why, though?" Elvano shot back, voice a bit too loud. "Seriously, what's your deal with Natasha? What did she ever do to you, huh?"

Jonathan sighed-God, he'd had this conversation way too many times. "We've been over this, Elvano. She's not who you think she is."

"Oh, come on! That's total crap. Then prove it! You keep saying she's so awful-show me something!" Elvano's eyes were on fire, practically daring them to try.

Thing is, Jonathan and Narima actually did have receipts. Loads, even. But nah, no way they were dumping all that on their kid right now. Not when he was still so hung up on Natasha. Not after what happened back in middle school-him spiraling into that dark pit after losing his best friend. Yeah, nobody wanted a repeat of that mess.

So, no, they weren't hiding stuff because they were scared. They were just... waiting. For the right moment. For someone to catch him when he hit the ground.

"You don't have to take our word for it," Jonathan muttered. "But you're not backing out of this marriage."

Elvano scoffed. "And why the hell not? I barely know her! And pretty sure she'd rather not be stuck with some 'damaged goods' like me!"

Narima cut in, locking eyes with him-her stare sharp, but her smile? Weirdly subtle. Not that usual fake-happy one. Something else.

"You know her, Elvano. Better than you think," she said.

He blinked. Okay, wait, what? For a split second, his brain jumped to Elena. No way... right?

Jonathan slid a folder across the table, like he was handing over some top-secret file.

Elvano grabbed it, flipped it open-and boom. His eyes went huge.

"Elena?" His voice barely made it out.

"Yep. Isn't she one of your employees?" Narima's eyebrow did that thing-smug as hell. Like she'd just won the lottery.

Oh, so that's it. She'd come here to mess with his family? Wow. That's cold.

Elvano's jaw clenched so tight it hurt.

"You're going to treat her right," Jonathan said, not budging an inch. "Because she's your fiancée now."

Elvano glared at his dad, slamming the folder shut without even reading the rest. His face-stone cold.

He'd do almost anything for these people. Seriously. But this? This was just too much.

Why did they always get to pick who he ended up with?

Jonathan's voice cut through the silence, ice-cold. "You say no to this? Pack your bags. You're out. You're not my son anymore. I'll wipe your name from this family-forever."

To be continued...