Raya slept through most of the journey, but as the car began to slow and the atmosphere shifted, she stirred awake.
"Where did you bring me to?" she asked groggily. No one replied. Instead, Ace pushed her out of the car.
"That's inhumane of you," Raya complained with a glare. But Ace only glared back at her.
She knew she was dying — or at least, it felt like she was walking straight into her death. It was better to be herself for the last time than to cower in the face of danger. Yet, even now, she didn't want to die.
"Move," Ace ordered sternly. If not for his boss's instruction not to harm her, he would have struck her already. Unlike Ace, however, Stone was simply amused by Raya's behavior.
Raya moved as instructed and glanced around. The house screamed wealth. This couldn't be the den of kidnappers, could it? Maybe she'd even ask the owner to adopt her — just kidding.
But still, this must be where she was being sold.
What would be her work here?
A sex slave? A maid? Whatever it was, it wouldn't be good.
Her father had put her in this mess, but she couldn't seem to blame him entirely. She blamed herself. She should have put the man in an old-age home a long time ago. But it was too late for regrets now.
Before she could think further, her face was covered from behind.
She stood still, not panicking. There was nothing she could do other than wait.
Ace escorted — no, pushed — her into a grand hall that reeked of money and power. Marble floors. Cold chandeliers. Silent maids who averted their eyes.
With her face covered, no one recognized her.
They led her into a luxurious study and finally removed the cloth from her face. She closed her eyes to adjust to the brightness before looking up.
And there he was.
Adrian Blake.
Cold. Impeccable. Arrogant. Dressed like sin in a custom suit, standing by the window as if he owned the world.
He turned as she entered.
Handsome as sin, the first three buttons of his army-green shirt undone, he gave a small smile — like he was trying to seduce her. Whatever he was trying, it wasn't working. Raya wasn't having any of this. She believed she was in big trouble.
When they say nobody is above the law, they don't mean the Blakes. Especially not Adrian. He was the law himself. If he wanted to harm her, no one could save her.
But why would Adrian kidnap her? Was it because she looked like his fiancée? Would they scrape her face off just because he didn't want anyone to look like his woman?
"I invited you to have a conversation," he said smoothly.
Raya glared. "Invited? This is kidnapping!" Though scared, she refused to show it — especially not in front of this handsome man. Focus, Raya.
Adrian's lips barely twitched. "Details. You're here. That's what matters."
He gestured toward the chair across from him.
Reluctantly, she sat — ready to bolt the moment she had a chance. As if she could escape.
He laid a leather folder in front of her and opened it with practiced ease. Inside were documents, a glossy photo, and a short dossier.
Raya stared at the image.
Her own face stared back — but not quite. Polished. Composed. Rich.
"Be my fiancée," Adrian said calmly, "for the time being. In exchange, I'll erase your father's debt — and compensate you."
Raya blinked.
Then blinked again.
"I'm sorry, what?"
It was the most ridiculous thing she'd heard in her twenty-three years of life.
Be his fiancée? Like… why? For what?
Adrian didn't repeat himself. He didn't need to.
"You want me… to pretend to be her? To pretend to be your fiancée? Are you insane?" She shoved the folder away. "Look at her. Look at me. We're opposites. She's rich. And to be blunt, I'm poor. How did you even see me in the picture?"
"If I had a choice," Adrian said, voice sharp with disdain, "you wouldn't even be in the picture. But unfortunately, you look exactly like her."
His eyes raked over her with something close to contempt. "So no, I'm not asking you out of desire — I'm out of options."
Raya raised a brow, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Well, Mr. Blake, this woman… your fiancée might be richer and more glamorous, but I'm definitely prettier."
She didn't believe what she said either, but she wouldn't allow this man to ridicule her.
He didn't react. But he clearly thought she was insane to compare herself to Seraphina in her rags.
Still, something nagged at her brain. "If you want me to be your fiancée, where's your fiancée? Did you do something to her?" Raya clapped her hand over her mouth like she'd just revealed a huge secret.
It was like her mouth had been running all morning without her permission.
Would she also be killed for knowing too much?
"It's none of your concern, and she isn't dead," Adrian said sharply. "Will you accept the deal or not?"
She stood. "Absolutely not. A capital-letter NO."
"I'll cover the entire debt your father owes. And pay you handsomely if you do your part well."
She crossed her arms. "It's obvious you're rich, but I'm not desperate enough to sell myself. I won't pretend to be someone else for money and put my life at risk — especially when I don't even know what's going on here."
Adrian stepped forward, gaze dark. "Are you sure… this is what you want to choose?"
"With my full chest," Raya said with a smile, even though she was freaking out inside. What if her boldness annoyed him?
He let out a soft exhale — something between a sigh and a warning. "Right now, I'm the one asking for your help, Miss Calder. But the next time you come here, you'll be the one begging for it."
"I won't need your help," she said tightly. "Not now. Not ever."
Though her heart whispered otherwise.
The money could solve everything.
Still — freedom mattered more. Her dignity mattered more. It was better to work her ass off than be trapped in a golden cage.
If she agreed to whatever he was proposing, she might land in even more trouble than she already was.
Anna's mom, Rebecca, once said the rich life is more complicated than ours, so we should be thankful for what we have.
And that's what she would do — be thankful for the freedom she still had.
Adrian studied her for a long beat. Then calmly turned to his men.
"Take her out through the back gate. Quietly. I don't want the staff mistaking her for Seraphina."
Raya's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?" Why the back door?
But he didn't look at her again.
He'd already started thinking ahead.
Because Adrian Blake never made empty offers.
He always had a plan.
—
The sleek black car rolled to a stop just outside the estate's back gate.
Raya was pushed out of the car by Ace, the gravel crunching under her worn-out shoes. She didn't look back.
(It seemed that guy had a personal beef with her.)
The car pulled away immediately.
Her head throbbed from the absurdity of it all — pretending to be some rich heiress? A fake engagement?
What annoyed her the most was his "Unfortunately, you look like her." How was it unfortunate that Seraphina looked like her? Was he trying to say she wasn't worth looking like his woman?
"Nonsense," she muttered.
What kind of mess had she been dragged into?
She exhaled shakily and reached into her bag, fishing out her phone.
It buzzed in her hand.
"Dad" flashed on the screen.
Her stomach clenched. She answered quickly.
"Hello?"
His voice came through — choked, panicked, trembling.
"R-Raya… they just left here. The men from the den. They said… they said the time's up."
Raya blinked. "What do you mean, time's up? We had at least a week left."
"They changed it," he whispered. "They said we now have one day. Just one, Raya. I don't know what happened. I tried to tell them — tried to plead—"
He broke off into sobs.
Raya stared at nothing. The street blurred before her.
Her grip on the phone tightened.
"They can't do this," she said, her voice low and shaking. "They can't just change the agreement like that. Dad… seven hundred thousand dollars? In one day? Where am I supposed to get that?"
"I'm scared, Raya. They said if we don't pay, they'll come for the house… for me…"
Silence.
Raya swallowed the lump rising in her throat.
Even two weeks wasn't enough to get seven hundred thousand dollars. And now a day? She didn't even have $10,000 yet.
"I'll figure something out."
"Raya…"
"I said I'll fix it!" she shouted, frustrated.
She ended the call and lowered the phone slowly.
She knew there was no way to fix it. Nothing she could do.
Working so hard was just her way of proving she wasn't useless. But now it seemed the situation had rendered her powerless.
Her legs threatened to give out beneath her.
Just moments ago, she'd turned down an offer that would've solved everything. An offer that would have brought a smile to everyone's face — just for her ego.
And now?
The walls were closing in. There was no breathing space.
Did she make a mistake not accepting Mr. Blake's offer?
Was it too late to go back now?
Even if she decided to go back, she didn't even know which house she'd been taken to.
After a few minutes of pacing, she decided to go to work. No other choice but to work, even if it wasn't enough.
Her tears threatened to fall, but crying wouldn't solve anything. It never had.