~ Jane’s POV
‘I had to move,’ I convinced myself. Taking a deep breath, I sidelined him and was about to walk away when I felt warmth spreading through my back. I stiffened when I felt his hand at the small of my back, leading me out of the club. As soon as I was out, I stepped away from him, terrified of what would happen next but refusing to go down without a fight.
My hand still on my arm, I finally lifted my eyes to meet his green ones. “I apologize for troubling you, sir. I’ll take my leave now.”
I bowed my head slightly and was about to walk away when, finally, he spoke to me. “Who did this to you?” I froze mid-stance, my hand wrapped around my arm, wincing in pain and staring wide-eyed at the man in front of me. No one had ever asked me this before. Not when my brother broke my wrist, not when my father called me worthless, not when my sisters watched and did nothing.
Standing before me was Blake Knight, the most feared man in the mafia world. I saw his dark green eyes lingering on the bruise forming on my arm that I was desperately trying to hide. “Answer me,” he growled.
“It's none of your business.” For a moment, silence stretched between us, and I contemplated my harsh comment. I was stunned at myself for speaking so rudely to the man who could end me this very moment.
Then, he stepped closer. “It became my business the second you were decided to be my wife.”
Wide-eyed, I stared at him, shocked to the core. But then…I laughed out bitterly. Wife? To the King of the Underworld? The same man whose name made powerful men, including my father, tremble?
“I would rather die!” I spat out, my breath trembling, already shivering from fear of the man glaring daggers at me. I knew I was crossing a line I shouldn’t be, but he was the one making absurd comments. There was no way my father would agree to this.
“Then let’s see which happens first,” With a slightly hoarse voice, he stepped closer and bent down, staring at me with intensity that sent a shiver down my legs, “Marrying me…or dying…?”
“With all due respect, Mr. Blake Knight. I think you’re mistaken.” I stepped away, trying to create as much distance as possible, my mind spiralling with a million questions.
His lips twitched, a hint of a smirk dancing on his lips. I didn’t realize a smirk could be sexy until I laid my eyes on his. “I’d prefer you calling me ‘husband’.”
With that, he straightened and placed his hands back in his pockets. His eyes darkened when they landed on my bruise again. But within seconds, his expression went neutral, and before I could respond to his laughable comment, he walked back into the club.
Shuddering, I quickly took a cab and went back to my apartment, quickly typing an excuse to Amy, not wanting to tell her the entire story of what almost happened.
As soon as I stepped inside my apartment, I dialed Lily’s number. It continued to ring, but she never picked up, and I knew she was busy…probably somewhere she shouldn’t be. Sighing, I changed into my pajamas and applied an ointment on my arm before flopping on the bed. Cursing my fragile body, I closed my eyes, trying to fall into a deep slumber.
“Who did this to you?”
The scene repeated in my mind like a broken record, and I groaned, sitting up. I stood up and went to the spare bedroom I had in the apartment that I turned into my spare room filled with canvases.
I picked up a brush and my paints before emptying my mind on the canvases. This was the only time I truly felt at peace, even with the chaos going around in my world. Before I could delve deep into my zone, my phone rang, and Lily’s name appeared.
“Lily!”
“Jane. I have something to tell you—”
“I think I already know, Lily.” I sighed, placing the brush down and walking out of the room, flopping on my couch.
“What…how!?”
“I stumbled into Blake Knight tonight…” And after that, I told her everything that had happened, only for her to curse after every sentence I spoke.
“Fuck…I’m so sorry, Jane. If he hadn’t seen you tonight, I might’ve been able to do something. But you know the connections he has. I—I have no resources against that man.”
I knew Lily would be powerless against. Who wouldn’t be powerless against a man whose ruthlessness didn’t even end at the murder of his parents? “It’s okay. I just hope he was bluffing.”
There was silence on the other line before I knew that Lily was silent because there was no way she believed he was bluffing. Blake Knight wasn’t the man to interact just for fun; he did everything with a purpose.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be here through everything, I promise.” With a few other exchanges and me asking about my family, we hung up. She told me that they were aware of the decision as well and as against of it they could be, they didn’t have a say against the Knights.
I was about to go to bed when the doorbell rang, and I found Amy standing on the other side. Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I opened the door and welcomed her inside.
“Amy! Is everyt—”
“You tell me that! Why didn’t you tell me a guy harassed you?” She asked, standing in an accusatory pose, her hands on her hips as she glared at me.
“It isn’t something you go around announcing, Ames.” I shrugged, moving to the kitchen to get her a glass of water after seeing her heaving chest. She gladly accepted the glass of water and gulped it down in one go.
“Tell me when something like this happens, alright?” I nodded, but then a question popped into my mind, and I sat down across from her.
“How did you know?”
“Oh, I saw someone beating the other guy…almost to death, I swear, and when I asked around, they said that he harassed someone and was even running after her before the guy caught him.”
My breath hitched in my throat. Blake Knight….He beat him up…? For touching me…? “Did you…see who it was? The person who caught the guy…”
She shook her head. “I wish,” she placed her glass down on the table, turning to me. “He had his back toward me, and as soon as I heard, I knew it was you he harassed.”
Sighing, I shook my head and told her to get comfortable before I made my way to my room, my hands trembling with the certainty that was my future now. If Blake Knight was written in my future, there’s no way I could run from it anymore.
“Gen!!” I heard Amy yelling from the living room. Frowning, I turned and walked out only to freeze mid-stance. No…it can’t be…oh god, no, please, let this be a dream…no…no.
“Hello, Janitor!” Franze waved at me, an evil smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. I shook my head, my vision already getting blurry as I rushed to my room, trying to shut the door. But his hand caught the door between the spaces, and he pushed it open, forcing my fall on the floor.
“Please, Fanz…no…don’t do this…please…”
“Gen! Who are you, people!? Leave her alone!” Amy cried and tried to tug free from Alina’s grip, struggling to reach me.
“Oh, how much we missed you, Janitor. Why did you run away, huh?” Franz spoke, standing over me, his legs caging my body as he crouched down, eyes darkening with each passing second.
“Please…don’t…” I was crying at this point, wishing for something, even an earthquake to stop it all, to stop Amy from getting hurt. She was innocent; she didn’t deserve this.
I closed my eyes when I saw Franz raising his arm to hit me. I had done this before, and I could do it again; I just need to bear through it. I bit my tongue and waited for the impact that was about to come within seconds.
Before the hit could reach me, a voice roared from behind us, sending a cold shiver down my spine.
“What did I say about touching what’s mine!?”
