Two days after Christmas, in the soft pink glow of a Honolulu dawn, Seraphina Blackwood stood alone on a deserted sidewalk. Her eyes traced the height of the skyscraper across the street, all the way up to his penthouse in the clouds. She exhaled deeply, feeling the weight of the decision she was about to make. Marry him? Impossible. Yet she had no choice.
"I’m not scared," Seraphina repeated to herself, hitching her tattered backpack higher on her shoulder. "I’d marry the devil himself to save my sister."
But the truth was, she never imagined it would come to this. She had believed the police would intervene, swooping in to save the day. Instead, the authorities in Seattle and Honolulu had laughed in her face.
"Your older sister wagered her virginity in a poker game?" the first officer had said incredulously. "In some kind of lovers’ game?"
"Let me get this straight. Your sister’s billionaire ex-boyfriend won her?" the second had scowled. "I have real crimes to deal with, Miss Blackwood. Get out of here before I decide to arrest you for illegal gambling."
Now, Seraphina shivered in the cool, wet dawn. No one was coming to save Elara. It was all on her. She narrowed her eyes, determined. She had to take responsibility. After all, it was her who had gotten Elara into this mess in the first place. If Seraphina hadn’t foolishly accepted her boss’s invitation to the poker game, her sister wouldn’t have had to step in and save her.
Clever Elara, six years older, had been a childhood card prodigy and a con artist in her teens. But after a decade away from that dangerous life, working instead as an honest, impoverished housekeeper, her sister’s card skills had become rusty. How else to explain the fact that, instead of winning, Elara had lost everything to her hated ex-boyfriend with the turn of a single card?
Lucian Drakov had separated the sisters, forcibly sending Seraphina back to the mainland on his private jet. She’d spent her last paycheck to fly back, desperate to get Elara out of his clutches. For forty-four hours now, since the dreadful night of the game, Seraphina had only managed to hold it together because she knew that, should everything else fail, she had one guaranteed fallback plan. But now, having to rely on that plan felt like falling on a sword.
Seraphina looked up again at the top of the skyscraper. The windows of the penthouse gleamed red, like fire, above the low-hanging clouds of Honolulu. She had caused her sister to lose her freedom. She would save her—by selling herself in marriage to Lucian Drakov’s greatest enemy: his younger brother.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend, she repeated to herself. Considering the way the Drakov brothers had tried to destroy each other for the past ten years, Sebastian Drakov must be her new best friend. Right? A lump rose in her throat.
I would marry the devil himself...
Slowly, Seraphina forced her feet off the sidewalk. Her legs wobbled as she crossed the street, narrowly dodging a passing tour bus that honked angrily. There was no backing out now.
“Can I help you?” the doorman asked inside the lobby, eyeing her messy ponytail, wrinkled T-shirt, and cheap flip-flops.
Seraphina licked her dry lips. “I’m here to get married. To one of your residents.”
He didn’t bother to conceal his incredulity. “You? Are going to marry someone who lives here?”
She nodded. “Sebastian Drakov.”
His jaw dropped. “You mean His Highness? The prince?” he spluttered, gesticulating wildly. “Get out of here before I call the police!”
“Look, please just call him, all right? Tell him Seraphina Blackwood is here and I’ve changed my mind. My answer is now yes.”
“Call him? I’ll do nothing of the sort.” The doorman pinched his nose with his thumb and finger. “You must be delusional...if you think you can just walk in off the street...”
Seraphina rummaged through her backpack.
“His Highness’s presence here is secret. He is here on vacation...”
“See?” she said desperately, holding out a business card. “He gave me this three days ago. When he proposed to me. At a salad bar near Waikiki.”
“Salad bar,” the doorman snorted. “As if the prince would ever...” He saw the embossed seal and snatched the card from her hand. Turning over the card, he read the hard masculine scrawl on the back: For when you change your mind. “But you’re not his type,” he said faintly.
“I know,” Seraphina sighed. Twenty pounds overweight, frumpy, and unstylish, she was painfully aware that she was no man’s type. Fortunately, Sebastian Drakov wished to marry her for reasons that had nothing to do with love—or even lust. “Just call him, will you?”
The man reached for the phone on his desk. He dialed. Turning away, he spoke in a low voice. A few moments later, he faced Seraphina with an utterly bewildered expression.
“His bodyguard says you’re to go straight up,” he said in shock. He pointed his finger towards an elevator. “Thirty-ninth floor. And, um, congratulations, miss.”
“Thank you,” Seraphina murmured, tugging her knapsack higher on her shoulder as she turned away. She felt the doorman watching her as she crossed the elegant lobby, her flip-flops echoing against the marble floor. She numbly got on the elevator. On the thirty-ninth floor, the door opened with a ding. Cautiously, she crept out into a hallway.
“Welcome, Miss Blackwood.” Two large, grim-looking bodyguards were waiting for her. In a quick, professional motion, one of them frisked her as the other one rifled through her bag.
“What are you checking for?” Seraphina said with an awkward laugh. “You think I would bring a hand grenade? To a wedding proposal?”
The bodyguards did not return her smile. “She’s clear,” one of them said, and handed her back the knapsack. “Please go in, Miss Blackwood.”
“Um. Thanks.” Looking at the imposing door, she clutched her bag against her chest. “He’s in there?”
He nodded sternly. “His Highness is expecting you.”
Seraphina swallowed hard. “Right. I mean, great. I mean...” She turned back to them. “He’s a good guy, right? A good employer? He can be trusted?”
The bodyguards stared back at her, their faces impassive.
“His Highness is expecting you,” the first one repeated in an expressionless voice. “Please go in.”
“Okay.” You robot, she added silently, irritated.
Whatever. She didn’t need reassurance. She’d just listen to her intuition. To her heart.
Which meant Seraphina was really in trouble. There was a reason her dying father had left her a large parcel of Alaskan land in an unbreakable trust, which she could not receive until she was either twenty-five—three years from now—or married. Even when she was a child, Gideon Blackwood had known his naive, trusting younger daughter needed all the help she could get. To say she could be naive about people was an understatement.
But it’s a good quality, Elara had told her sadly two days ago. I wish I had more of it.
Elara. Seraphina could only imagine what her older sister was going through right now, as a prisoner of that other billionaire tycoon, Sebastian Drakov’s brother. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.
“For Elara,” she whispered, and flung open the penthouse door.
The lavish foyer was empty. Stepping nervously across the marble floor, hearing the echo of her steps, she looked up at a soaring chandelier illuminating the sweeping staircase. This penthouse was like a mansion in the sky, she thought in awe.
Seraphina’s lips parted when she saw the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Crossing the foyer to the great room, she looked out at the twinkling lights of the still-dark city, and beyond that, the pink and orange sunrise sparkling across the Pacific Ocean.
“So...you changed your mind.”
His low, masculine purr came from behind her. She stiffened then, bracing herself, and slowly turned around.
Sebastian Drakov stood there, a dark silhouette against the glowing morning light. He was tall and imposing, with an air of authority that made Seraphina’s heart race. She had met him only briefly before, but his presence was unforgettable. He stepped forward, his blue eyes piercing into hers.
"I knew you would come back," he said softly. "For your sister."
Seraphina swallowed hard, trying to steady her voice. "Yes. For Elara."
Sebastian nodded, his expression unreadable. "You understand what this marriage means, don't you? It’s not just a piece of paper. It’s a binding contract, a merger of power and resources."
"I understand," Seraphina replied, her voice trembling slightly. "I’ll do whatever it takes to save her."
"Good," Sebastian said, his lips curving into a slight smile. "Because once we’re married, there’s no turning back."
Seraphina took a deep breath, feeling the weight of his words. She had made her decision, and now there was no going back. For
her sister’s sake, she would marry Sebastian Drakov and enter a world of power and danger that she could scarcely comprehend.
"Let’s get this over with," she said, squaring her shoulders.
Sebastian chuckled, a deep, resonant sound that sent shivers down her spine. "You’re braver than you look, Seraphina Blackwood. Come, let’s not waste any more time."
He extended his hand, and she took it, feeling a jolt of electricity at his touch. Together, they walked towards the private chapel within the penthouse, where a priest awaited. The ceremony was swift, solemn, and before she knew it, Seraphina found herself bound to Sebastian Drakov by vows she barely understood.
As they exchanged rings, she glanced at Sebastian, his expression serious and determined. She couldn’t help but wonder what she had truly gotten herself into. But there was no time for second thoughts. Elara needed her, and she would face whatever challenges came her way.
"You are now husband and wife," the priest declared, his voice echoing in the grand chapel. "You may kiss the bride."
Sebastian turned to her, his gaze intense. He leaned in, and as his lips brushed against hers, Seraphina felt a strange mix of fear and exhilaration. This kiss sealed their fate, binding them together in a union born out of desperation and necessity.
As they pulled away, Sebastian’s eyes held a promise. "I will protect you and your sister. You have my word."
Seraphina nodded, hoping his word was enough. She had taken a leap of faith, and now all she could do was trust that she had made the right choice. For Elara, she would face anything—even a marriage to a man she barely knew.
TO BE CONTINUED…
