Chapter 8 - The Price of a Queen
|
Naya stared at the paper. It wasn't a check; it was a legally binding contract, already bearing Devan’s sharp, aggressive signature.
The amount of money listed at the bottom was staggering. It was enough to save her mother’s life ten times over. It was enough to erase every night of panic, every unpaid bill, every moment of crushing poverty she had ever endured.
“One year,” Naya repeated, her voice barely a whisper.
“Three hundred and sixty-five days,” Devan confirmed, his dark eyes tracking every micro-expression on her face. “You will live in this house. You will have a security detail. You will belong to me in name and appearance.”
“And in reality?”
“In reality, we are business partners. I have no interest in forcing myself on a woman I had to buy.”
The cold honesty of his words somehow put her at ease. Naya picked up the heavy gold pen resting beside the contract. She thought of her mother’s pale, exhausted face in the harsh fluorescent light of the state clinic.
She signed her name.
“Leo,” Devan called out.
The heavy doors opened instantly.
“Dom?” Leo asked, his eyes darting suspiciously toward Naya.
“Miss Walker is staying. She is moving into the east wing master suite,” Devan ordered. “Have someone retrieve her belongings from her apartment. And bring the stylist team here immediately.”
Leo’s jaw tightened. “Devan, you can’t be serious. Bringing a civilian into—”
“She is not a civilian anymore, Leo. She is my fiancé.”
Leo looked like he had swallowed glass, but he nodded sharply and left the room.
Within two hours, Naya’s catering uniform was gone. She was bathed, her hair elegantly styled, and she was zipped into a breathtaking, tailored crimson gown that cost more than her car. A massive diamond ring, originally intended for Camilla, was slipped onto her finger.
When she walked back into the study, Devan looked up from his paperwork.
For a long moment, the ruthless mafia boss forgot how to speak.
“Will this work?” Naya asked, nervously smoothing the silk skirt.
May you like
Devan cleared his throat, his gaze lingering on the curve of her neck before snapping back to her eyes.
“It will do perfectly. Now, let’s go introduce my new Queen to the wolves.”
