Page 12 of The Devil's Torment

“He has, yes.”

The last shred of hope snaps. Only one reason comes to mind for why Nicholas would agree to marry me. He wants to make me suffer for what I said at Beth’s funeral, for the shame I brought down on him and his family. For how Idaredto speak out against the all-powerful De Vils.

“Please, Vicky.” Mum’s pathetically somber voice breaks through the chaos in my mind as I try to figure a way out of this mess. “If we weren’t desperate, we wouldn’t ask. This way, your father’s business will thrive, and we’ll be saved.”

While I will wither and die.

“Did Beth know all this?”

My father nods. “And she was happy to help us.”

He may as well have kicked me in the stomach, his hidden meaning clear as a freshly polished mirror.This is why she was our favorite. She wasn’t combative, opinionated, sassy. She did as she was told.

The living room grows smaller, the walls closing in around me. I have no choice. I’ll have to give my life to save theirs. The last embers of my spirit disintegrate, swallowed by the looming shadow of my impending doom.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

Mum looks as though she’s about to faint, and relief races across Dad’s face.

“Thank you, darling. We knew you’d do the right thing.”

The right thing for them. The utterly wrong thing for me.

“Can I have my phone and my laptop back now?” Already, I sound different. My voice is dull and hopeless. I was wrong earlier when I thought I’d spent the last seven days incarcerated and freedom was on the horizon. Turns out I’ll be spending the rest of my life in prison, with a vengeful warden at the helm.

“I don’t see why not.” Dad leaves the room, returning a few seconds later with my tech.

“Thanks,” I mutter. “Permission to go to my room?”

“Of course.” He’s bright now, his worries over, while mine are only beginning.

My legs are considerably heavier on the trek upstairs than they were when I skipped downstairs only a few minutes ago. In that short amount of time, my whole life has changed.

Closing my door, I set my laptop on my desk and flop onto my bed. I’ve got a ton of missed calls from my friends, which tells me Dad didn’t bother letting them know he’d grounded me and confiscated my phone. Great. I’m surprised they haven’t reported me as a missing person. I send an “I’m alive” message to our group WhatsApp, but I can’t face telling them about Nicholas. Not yet.

Instead, I call Imogen. She answers on the third ring, breathing heavily into the phone.

“Please tell me I haven’t interrupted something… personal.”

She laughs. “No. I just got out of the shower and heard the phone ringing. Everything okay? I kept meaning to call, but I wanted to give you space.”

“Do you know?” I blurt.

“Know what?”

“Dad’s forcing me to marry Nicholas.”

“What?” Even I can tell the shock in her voice isn’t fake. “When did this happen?”

“Today. Just now.” I throw an arm over my eyes. “This is my worst fucking nightmare, Imogen. My parents have basically blackmailed me into it, and I can’t say no. How will I survive a marriage with that man after what he did to Beth?”

“It’ll be okay, Vicky, I promise. I’m here to help. Maybe what you once felt for him isn’t as dead as you believe.”

A snort bursts out of me. “Oh, believe me, it’s dead. Dead as my sister.”

Dead as me, too. Marrying into that family is worse than death. It’s purgatory; a life sentence without parole. A living nightmare. It’s time to face facts.

Life as I know it is over.

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