Page 12 of Vicious Knight

I already guessed that she’s one of the students we call foreigners here. Those students either come from another state, or they’re international, so they had more normal lives. Regardless of where they come from, everyone knows the Ivanov name.

And they know me.

Now she knows me.

Ivy Yegorov was a pretty little distraction. Now that she’s gone, the shit that was on my mind has resurfaced like backed-up sewage that’s been building for weeks.

Last year when I stood before my uncle and took my vows, I knew everything would be different, but what I didn’t realize was how soon things would change. For me.

It was like the asshole couldn’t wait to start fucking with me.

I’m twenty years old and in my junior year here at Raventhorn. The year when I’m supposed to start my internship at Ivanov Tech, the family software engineering company.

I’m the only real technologically-minded person in the family, so the process of getting me started should have been easy.

But no.

That motherfucking asshole not only wants to streamline my internship with a review at the end to ensure my suitability to join the company, but he wants to lock me in a marriage contract.

Yes, I knew I’d have an arranged marriage someday. My cousin Caspian, who is the same age as me, is already married, so it was a given that I would be next.

Caspian and his wife, Willow, technically had an arranged marriage, but really it wasn’t because they’d been in love with each other since they were kids.

Their situation was completely different to what will be forced on me.

Since I’m not a direct heir there wasn’t supposed to be any talk about marriage anytime soon, so I never saw this coming.

It certainly wasn’t supposed to be a fucking contract term to getting my share of the company. That’s something new the old man threw in to piss with me.

And the shitty thing about it is, there’s nothing I can do.

I’m in a game of war, and I’ve landed on a spot where I have to play by the rules. Again.

My uncle owns the majority of shares in the company and holds all the decision-making power over my inheritance until I graduate. Meaning that asshole gets to decide every motherfucking thing.

If I didn’t stand to lose a billion-dollar fortune, I’d leave the miserable prick to it. But I can’t turn my back on a legacy my father helped create.

I also can’t turn my back on what’s rightfully mine. My father wouldn’t want me to.

Since my uncle can’t destroy me the way he wants, the asshole is trying to make use of me. I’m sure that’s still with the hope that I’ll destroy myself one day.

With a shake of my head I step back onto the pebbled path and resume my route to the dorm.

I live in Erebus House, home of the Sigma Alpha fraternity. The place where men become first-class Knights.

Of all the fraternities ours is the strictest, and you must pass all the trials we set to even be considered for initiation as a Knight.

Our freshmen pledges arrived last week, so they could get all the admin out of the way and find their feet before we got down to business with them.

Part of the finding-your-feet stage is partying, so there’s been a wild party every night for the last four days with the guys getting wasted, fucked, and shit-faced stoned.

If my mind were more settled I would be right in the midst of the indulgence.

Loud heavy metal music greets me when I approach Erebus.

As there are still some guys chugging beer on the lawn I can see the party is still going with no end in sight.

I walk inside the house and see I’m right. The wildness is still going on.

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