Page 7 of Once A Villain

She glares at me as if she’d set me on fire if she could. “Fuck you. I’m not marrying you.”

“You don’t have a choice,” Conrad snaps, trying to regain control but he’s lost—lost the moment I stepped into this room.

“No!” Rory’s scream shatters the room. “I won’t do it. I’ll run away.”

“Makes no difference to me. I’ll hunt you down and drag you back. There’s nowhere you can hide where I won’t find you. You’re mine now.” The weight of my words slam into her like a sledgehammer, making her flinch. I can practically see the walls closing in around her, trapping her in a cage she never saw coming.

The room falls into an enjoyable, suffocating silence. Conrad’s pinned, powerless, and we both know it. Rory’s chest heaves as she struggles to steady her frantic breathing. Her wide, panicked eyes dart between me and her father, searching for some kind of escape. There isn’t one.

I watch her fall apart with a detached smirk.

She’s going to be fun to break.

“As much as I’d love to stay and watch this family drama unfold,” I say, my tone dripping with amusement, “I’m a busy man. One week. Make the arrangements, or I’ll do it for you. And trust me, you won’t like my methods.”

I take one last look at her, committing her face to memory.

“See you soon, princess.”

“You can’t do this! You can’t fucking do this!” Rory’s scream echoes down the hallway as I walk away.

I laugh, knowing I’ve already won the battle. I’m going to enjoy every second of destroying Rory Valentine, just as much as I’ll relish watching her father suffer.

My voice is hoarse, my throat raw from screaming. Tears streak down my face, leaving my eyes swollen and red. I can’t believe this is happening. I sit in a corner chair in Dad’s office as he argues on the phone with Commander Zane.

The door bursts open, and Spencer rushes in. Relief washes over me as I leap up and throw my arms around him. He holds me tight as my sobs shake us both.

“Jesus, Dad. What the fuck is going on?!” he shouts.

Dad slams his phone onto the desk and lets out a heavy sigh.

Spencer is my half-brother, a product of Dad’s first marriage. At thirty, he’s strong and the most loyal and protective big brother anyone could ask for. Raised to be a Sovereign Commander like our father, he has a soft side only for me and has always been my go-to when I’m in trouble.

I texted him immediately but didn’t know what to tell him. I’m not even sure what the hell is happening.

Dad paces the room, running a hand through his hair repeatedly. His face is etched with worry, as if he’s aged a decade since this morning.

“Why the fuck is Rory being forced to marry him?!”

Dad exhales heavily. “He redeemed a Bond.”

“You issued a Death Bond to Axel Hawthorne? Have you lost your goddamn mind?!” Spencer’s words are a mix of disbelief and fury. Until two hours ago, the name Axel Hawthorne meant nothing to me, just another shadow in Dad’s twisted world. But judging by the panic in everyone’s eyes, he’s not someone to mess with.

The image of him is seared into my brain. How did I not notice him the second I walked in? The guy’s a walking nightmare—built like a tank with broad shoulders that block out the light. Tattoos crawl up his neck and arms. His dark hair is shaved into a rough undercut, and those piercing brown eyes? They look right through you, like he’s already decided where to bury the body.

“I did what I had to do,” Dad says coldly, as if he’s just signed a routine contract, not a death sentence.

Spencer’s face is practically glowing red, his rage a ticking time bomb. Meanwhile, I’m stuck in shock, trying to wrap my head around the shitstorm. My entire life is about to get flipped upside down, and the worst part? There’s not a damn thing I can do about it.

Spencer and Dad’s voices clash like thunder. Their argument spirals into chaos, and the whole room feels suffocating. My thoughts are a tangled mess, everything that’s happened in the past few hours hitting me like a freight train.

Why the hell would Dad drag me into this? How could he do this to me?

And then, because my day apparently isn’t shitty enough, in struts Alicia—Dad’s new wife.

Her heels click obnoxiously against the concrete floor as she enters—tall and thin, draped in designer labels like a mannequin. Her makeup is flawless, her hair styled to perfection; a walking stereotype of a rich, shallow bitch who thinks money can buy class.

Alicia’s only a few years older than me. Gross. She’s constantly trying to outdo me, whether it’s copying my car, my clothes, or even the way I style my hair. It’s like she’s so desperate to be me she’s forgotten how to be...well, whatever the hell she used to be.

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