Chapter 002

I braced myself before turning around. My heart was pounding in my chest, and my palms were perspiring.

"You can do this," I whispered as I turned to him.

Deep blue electric eyes cut straight to mine, and I felt my heart stop beating. Prince Viktor Andreevich's incredible looks still hit me like a fierce blow. He was even more impossibly handsome than I could remember. He was tall, around six foot three, with broad shoulders and a hard-muscled body. His face was perfectly chiseled, and his lips were alluring. His expensive suit, which spread across his chest, spoke of money while the ruthlessness in his eyes and ticking jaw screamed power.

Despite my best efforts, I was still briefly thunderstruck. Usually, I had no problems talking to people. In fact, I had a problem with over sharing with people. But Viktor left me tongue-tied. No man this handsome and hot had ever paid me attention. Better, he was a prince and Mafia lord. Staring at his face, I almost forgot to breathe.

"The last time I spoke to you, you said you'd never marry me." He paused, his eyes scrutinizing my shirt and cheap flip-flops. "For any price."

My cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. "Maybe I was a little confused."

"You threw your drink in my face."

"It was an accident. I swear it."

His eyebrows rose. "You ran out of the restaurant."

"You just surprised me, you know!"

Four nights ago, he called me at the Grand Cherokee Hotel, where I worked as a housekeeper. "My sister instructed me never to speak to you." I had blurted out.

"Then you might miss the best proposal of your life." He had told me, and I couldn't resist the offer. He asked me to meet him in a restaurant near Waikiki beach. Despite knowing he was forbidden and that his brother was my sister's ex-boyfriend, I was intrigued by the strange offer. And I had even been more shocked to find out that he meant an actual proposal. Marriage.

It had been one of the most shocking days of my life. Viktor had proposed to me? I really wanted to tell Illyra, but I knew she would freak out. Worse, she could insist we moved to a new country. We had been avoiding the Andreevich brothers for years. By we, I mean Illyra, who had stupidly fallen for a dangerous mafia lord. But I couldn't blame her. She was far wiser than me and knew how to handle her shit.

"You ran away from me," Viktor said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Like the devil was chasing you."

I swallowed, gripping my clothes. "Because I did think you were the devil."

His eyebrows cocked up in disbelief. "Is this your way of apologizing for what you did?"

I shook my head. "You don't understand." I choked out. "You.." my throat closed.

How could I explain that even though his brother had almost ruined my sister's life years ago, I was still electrified by his blue eyes? How could I explain that even though I knew he only proposed to me so he could get his hands on our land, I had been overwhelmed by too many years of staying single and yearning for a man to want me that I immediately wanted to yell out yes?

How could I explain such pathetic stupidity? I couldn't.

"Why did you change your mind?" He asked, barely inches away from me. "Do you need the money?"

We did need to pay off the debts we owed for some years, but that wasn't the reason, so I shook my head.

"Then is it me you want?"

I threw him a startled look. "Really?"

"Many women dream of being in my bed."

"Not me," I replied with a snort. "Besides, my sister told me to avoid you at any cost. You might be rich and handsome, but a dangerous drug lord who ...."

Oops. I realized I was saying too much when I noticed how he stared at me.

I swallowed when he took a step, closing up the small distance between us. "Why did you change your mind, Lyra?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but the words were fighting at the back of my throat. It was impossible to speak when he was staring at me intensely, and I could feel his breath on my neck.

"Why do you want our land?" I asked, with the last courage in me. I didn't think I could speak until the words left my mouth.

"We owned the land in Alaska for years. It's rightfully mine." He breathed, and I gulped. Everything about him was intoxicating, and I suddenly understood why Illyra had fallen for his brother.

"Your brother sold the land to my father for a fair price," I answered, taking a step back from him. But he closed up the distance between us again.

"He sold it against my will." He replied crisply. "Without my knowledge."

I took an unwilling step back from the dangerous gleam in his eyes. A self-made Billionaire and Mafia boss, Viktor was well known to be a ruthless, heartless playboy whose primary interest, more than his cartel and dating supermodels, was destroying his elder brother. He was determined to take him down for cutting him off from their first cartel right before it could have made him hundreds of millions of dollars. Their efforts to destroy each other were part of the reason that Illyra ended her relationship with Andrei. I didn't know how to tell him I was agreeing to marry him so he could save my sister from his brother.

"I want to marry you because I need your help," I whispered.

"I don't help people." He replied immediately.

"What? What are the benefits that accompany getting married to you, then?" I asked desperately.

"The title, the..."

I scoffed. "I don't want to marry you for some stupid title."

He glared at me, and I immediately wished I had swallowed those words. "You don't seem to be scared of me."

"I am.." I whispered. "Why shouldn't I be?"

"Good." He said, leaning closer to whisper in my ears. "Because some say I am insane and ruthless. That I have been driven mad by my hunger for revenge."

I shivered at his words. "Is it true? Are those rumors true?"

He chuckled, his thick voice coming off smoothly in my ears before he turned his back to me and walked toward the door.

"I would hardly admit if they were true." He replied. "Keep speaking to me that way, and you will find out."

At that moment, I knew I had to keep my mouth shut because whenever I did open them, I couldn't stop the words from flowing.

"I would be careful with my words," I said, hoping it meant something to him. "Can we talk about the proposal?"

He paced about for some seconds before turning to me. "Yes, I know you have changed your mind. But has it occurred to you?" He paused, a cold smile appearing on his lips. "That I might have changed my mind about marrying you?"

"What?" I blurted out. There was no way he could reject me. He was my last plan. My final backup plan, and without him, I wouldn't see Illyra again.