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Chapter 1 - Debt Chains

Chapter One – Debt Chains

The diamonds on my wrist weigh more than the sum of my family's debt.

That's the first thought I have as the Kingston chauffeur helps me out of the sleek black car and into the blinding glare of cameras. Flashes pop like fireworks, reporters shout my name like they've known me for years, and I… I smile.

I've practiced smiling. Soft, graceful, submissive. A smile that says I belong here, even though every bone in my body knows I don't.

"Alina, shoulders back," my mother hisses from beside me, clutching her clutch like it's a lifeline. "This is the night everything changes."

Changes. She means saved. Tonight is the night we're saved.

I take her words and pin them to my ribs like armor as I walk into the Kingston Hotel ballroom, where chandeliers drip with diamonds and waiters float past with trays of champagne. Every corner screams wealth, every eye turns to me as though I've stepped onto a stage.

Because I have.

"Alina Cole," the announcer's voice booms as if I need reminding of who I am—the nobody about to become somebody.

No. Not just somebody. Ethan Kingston's fiancée.

He's waiting at the top of the staircase, golden-haired, perfectly groomed, his smile polished to perfection. The heir everyone worships. The man who will own me.

"Breathe," my mother mutters, nudging me forward. "Smile, baby. Do it for us."

Us. Meaning the mountain of debt crushing my father's company. Meaning the creditors circling like vultures. Meaning I've sold myself to save them.

So I lift my chin, place one hand on the gleaming banister, and climb.

Ethan extends his hand as if bestowing a gift. "Alina."

"Ethan." My voice is steady. My smile obedient.

He leans in, brushes a kiss against my cheek, and murmurs for my ears only, "Perfect. Keep smiling."

And I do. Because what choice do I have?

The night blurs into a carousel of clinking glasses, polite laughter, and strangers congratulating me as if I've won the lottery. They don't see the chain around my neck.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Ethan's father booms from the stage, raising his glass. "Tonight we celebrate the union of two legacies—the Cole's family and the Kingstons."

Applause erupts. Cameras flash. Ethan squeezes my waist possessively.

But then

I feel it. That shift in the air.

A stare.

My gaze drifts across the ballroom, past the glitter and gold, to the shadows near the marble pillars.

And I see him.

He's nothing like Ethan. Dark hair that refuses to be tamed, broad shoulders filling his black suit like it was made to restrain him, a glass of whiskey dangling carelessly from one hand. He doesn't clap. He doesn't smile. He just watches me.

The moment our eyes meet, my lungs forget how to work. Something jagged and dangerous slices through me, raw and electric.

I shouldn't be looking. I don't even know him. And yet I can't stop.

My lips part, my chest tightens.

Ethan notices. His fingers dig into my waist, forcing my attention back. "Eyes on me," he whispers through his smile.

But it's too late. Whoever that man is, he's branded into me already.

Hours pass in champagne-soaked small talk. My cheeks ache from smiling. My soul aches from pretending. And still, I feel him. The shadow. The stare.

It's almost midnight when I finally escape to the balcony, the city lights sprawling beneath me like a million secret wishes. I lean against the railing, tugging at the bracelet cutting into my wrist.

"You look like you'd rather be anywhere but here."

The voice is low. Rough. Too close.

I whirl around

And he's there.

Up close, he's even more dangerous. A scar cuts faintly through his eyebrow, his jaw sharp enough to wound, his eyes the color of storms.

"I—" My words tangle. "I don't know you."

A smirk curves his mouth. "But you felt me watching, didn't you?"

Heat rushes to my cheeks. "That's—no. I was just—"

"Lying," he finishes for me, stepping closer. Not enough to touch. Just enough to make my pulse trip over itself.

I swallow hard. "Who are you?"

"Damian." He says it, like a challenge. Like a warning. "Damian Kingston."

Kingston. My stomach twists.

Ethan's brother.

"I thought," I faltered. "Ethan only has one brother."

His smile doesn't reach his eyes. "That's what they want you to think."

Before I can speak again, he leans in, so close I catch the scent of whiskey and smoke.

"Careful, fiancée," he murmurs. "You're playing a dangerous game marrying into this family. And sooner or later… you'll find out exactly how dangerous."

Then he's gone, swallowed back into the shadows, leaving me breathless against the railing.

My heart pounds, my body trembles, and my mind whispers a truth I can't admit.

Tonight, I met Damian Kingston.

The forbidden heir.

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