Chapter 7

• “My name is Marcel. Relax, I’m not here to hurt you,”
• Marcel. I blinked, the name didn’t ring any bell. “How do you know my name?”
• “My Al-” he stopped himself, then cleared his throat and started again “Let’s say I have had my eyes on you for some time now,”
• It may be the build of this man, and the extraordinary strength he possessed that gave me the hunch to be wary of him. I didn’t trust him, even though he’d just saved my life. His next words drove me into utmost shock.
• “Aria Azalea Edgar. Eighteen years of age. Daughter of Elinor and Harold Edgar. You have a Sibling, Audrey, working two jobs some blocks away from here. You have lived downtown St. Matthew road for the last seven years. Most of your childhood was spent at Dawson. Recently graduated from high school. Your family is in deep mess at the moment, owing a debt of over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Your father owes Pablo a hundred and ninety thousand, exclusive of his other debts…”
• My mouth dropped open and close several times as he continued to recite all my family problems, without leaving any detail out. The more he spoke, the more I am reminded of how much mess we are in and Pablo’s threat ringing somewhere at the back of my head. The tears I’d been fighting finally dropped to my cheeks when he was done, and I tried to find my voice for the first few seconds.
• “How…”
• Marcel shook his head “It doesn’t matter how. What matters is why,” He smiled devilishly, “My Al-” Again he stopped and cleared his throat.
• “Slade needs your help. We need your help,”
• What can an insignificant person like me have to offer a man like Marcel? He reeked of wealth and affluence. His skin looked tough, but that had to be from too much fighting rather than suffering.
• “Who is Slade? And what are you talking about?”
• His brow furrowed and anger crossed his features as if I had just insulted the man he mentioned by not knowing about him.
• “Let’s say he is my boss. I owe him my life and loyalty. It’ also my duty to protect you,” He relaxed the frown on his face, but I can tell he is still annoyed. It’s hard to imagine Marcel being under anyone’s command, or serving anybody which is why I grew more skeptical about him. I should flee from his presence this very minute, but he knows my address. He recited my phone number and knows all the places I had to do menial jobs to get money. If he needed me, he knew exactly where to find me and so far so good, he hadn’t hurt me.
• “You need to come with me,” he adds “Slade can make all your family debts go away and give you a life of affluence and luxury that you so much desire. You and I know that you can’t raise that sum in a hundred years by moping grounds and cleaning toilets. Your sister desires to go to college so bad, and you can make her happy by paying the price. Don’t you get tired of seeing your mother cry every day? Are you not tired of looking over your shoulders, for fear of that Mongrel?” he points in the direction Pablo and his friend had just fled.
• This man had to be delusional to think I would believe his words and just go with him. This isn’t some sort of movie, and things like this don’t just happen out of the blue.
• I laughed “You have to be joking,”
• His features hardened again, the frown returning to his face.
• “This is no joke Aria. As it is, you have little time left and so do we. You heard Pablo, he would not hesitate to turn your family to ashes, or even abduct you and Audrey and make you his sex slaves for the rest of your lives,” his harsh tone made me flinch.
• I clenched my jaw “That’s a cruel thing to say,”
• He pursed his lips “That’s the truth Aria,” his gaze held mine, daring me to argue with him.
• I pondered on his words, and I hate to admit it but he was right. If he hadn’t shown up, Pablo would have carted me away, and I wouldn’t be able to fight him off if he tried to force himself on me. The thought made me shudder.
• Marcel smirked “You only have to do one thing Aria,”
• I grit my teeth and made to shove him out of my way, but he doesn’t budge.
• “I need to go home now,” I seethed.
• “I see you are stubborn,” he sighs, finally stepping out of the way “I’ll take you home,”
• “You don’t need to, I can walk,” I doubled my steps, but his strides were way longer than mine, and in no time, I had to occasionally jug to meet up with his pace. There was no use being so strong-headed. Pablo could still be anywhere around here watching me.
• “Are you not interested in knowing what we need you for?” Marcel apparently wasn’t backing down. I’m not exactly short, but I feel like an ant walking beside him.
• The offer sounds tempting, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. Things just never worked in my favor. Nothing I ever did or hoped for went the way I wanted them and I gave up dreaming a long time ago. It’s almost like the universe worked against me.
• “What is it I have to do?” I asked casually. My ears were itching, and my mind was trained to receive whatever ridiculous thing he had to say.
• “We need an heir that only you can provide!” he rasped.
• “What?!” I stopped in my tracks and turn to him.