In her opinion, Siana Anetta didn’t think she lacked much. She was petite with a round, sculpted face that fit well together. It might not be the striking beauty that would make people fall madly in love with her instantly, but she felt her attractiveness was quite ample that she never felt intimidated by someone else.

Siana had a pleasant personality and was very approachable and friendly. Her mother had died giving birth to her, but her father, Viscount Anetta, did everything to make sure she received all the love and care. He didn’t have any vast land and assets to his name when he started out, but he had incredible business skills. He had remarkably doubled the size and income of the business that was passed down to him by his great-grandfather. He had made sure that Siana had a very comfortable childhood.

Siana, although deprived from her mother’s love, was a very responsible child. In the absence of a mother figure, she had taken charge of housekeeping on her own. Her father had taken care of the housekeeping before, but Siana learned the tropes quickly and took over the work, while also assisting her father in his business. She was very skillful with accounts and bookkeeping, which helped her father immensely.

Siana, a beautiful, accomplished woman with a father who had a good business, attracted many suitors. Plenty of men tried to court her. Even when their marriage proposal was denied, they sought her out to be her lover. Siana rejected each one of them with solely one reason: they were not her ‘type’.

She liked handsome men with a princely face, like those found in the fairy tales. The blond-hair-blue-eyes type of men. After the appearance was satisfied, she had specific qualities she liked in a man, which were practically close to nonexistent in the men who sought to court her. None of them met her standard, yet. Therefore, Siana had found nobody worth starting a relationship with.

Her friend, Yulia, once thought that advancing in age would be disadvantageous for Siana even though she was just eighteen now. So, she recommended a good man with a well-off family for Siana to marry. But Siana would have none of it. She figured she would rather not settle for someone she didn’t like, instead she would devote her time to whatever she wanted to do.

She firmly held to her beliefs even when Yulia married the second son of Count Linen and moved to the Linen Estate. Most of the people Siana knew married before reaching twenty and moved with their respective husbands. Most people feared the societal convention that branded them as ‘defective’ if a woman wasn’t wed by twenty. Many families sometimes forced their daughters into early marriage to escape societal scorn.

But Siana’s father never cared about such norms. Viscount Anetta respected his daughter’s decision and opinions as he would his own. He felt that if a man would reject or attack her for being unmarried and above twenty, he probably couldn’t respect and keep her happy, anyway. He had a lot of money after all, as much as it was needed for her to spend her life comfortably. He wondered if it was really necessary for his daughter to marry just for the sake of it. Siana felt at ease because her father always stood by her side. Therefore, she decided to not marry out of sole compulsion or societal pressure until she found someone worth her heart.

That was until Viscount Anetta passed away and Viscount North visited Siana about a debt. She stared at Viscount North in disbelief, who was seated across from her. “I… tell me again, my lord,” stammered Siana, “of the debt I am supposed to pay.”

It bothered her to even utter it, but she maintained her calm composure. “How much was it exactly?” she asked.

“22,000 golds, Lady Siana,” said the Viscount.

If Siana could, she would have screamed and fainted. “How could it be?” asked Siana, calmly. It might have been a minimal amount for other aristocrats, but for Siana it was a substantial amount. She wondered if scraping the last of her assets and selling every little thing she owned would be enough to repay it. Siana closed her eyes and tried to calm down. The unexpected situation turned her mind blank.

She stressed over the situation. Her mind kept recollecting the image of her father, who had died ten days ago. If only it hadn’t rained that day, she thought. She remembered something she had heard on the day she received her father’s obituary.

Viscount Anetta’s carriage had slipped and fell off a cliff on a rainy day. Usually he would take the longer, safer way when it rained heavily, but on that particular day, he had a pressing business appointment. The carriage had shattered to pieces. That had meant instant death for her dear father, his advisor and the carriage driver.

He was a Viscount in title, but he was just an ordinary man who ran a fairly large business and had been successful in it. The guards had ruled out murder as he didn’t seem to have any enemies. The guard had said that it could have been avoided if it hadn’t rained so heavily on that day.

Siana hadn’t had enough time to mourn. She had taken the reins of her father’s business after his death. She couldn’t let his toil go to waste. It didn’t prove to be too difficult as she was already well-versed with the work, but a bill had been unexpectedly damaged. If Siana spent the money carefully, she could probably sustain herself for a few years.

However, now that she was faced with this situation, she was uncertain and worried. She had tended to all the bills and done all the calculations, but all of a sudden, this bill of 22,000 golds appeared out of nowhere. “Let’s go through the bill once again,” suggested Siana, “It could be a mistake.”

Siana requested to be excused for a moment while she went through the bill. Viscount North nodded. She held up a lantern to read the contents of the bill. After going through it, she realized the reason for the sudden arrival of the bill: it had been drawn up long before she started helping her father with his business. 

I thought you had settled everything, father, she thought. This amount had fallen through the cracks. The real amount was pretty fair seeing the contents of the bill. But the interests of all these years, nearly a decade, had generated 22,000 golds to be paid back. It was ridiculous that Siana or her father had never received a reminder for it. If I sell all my dresses and jewelries, it will be about 4,000 golds, and the house will fetch 8,000 golds, she thought, but I will still be 10,000 golds short. 

She clasped and unclasped her hands on her lap. She wouldn’t be able to pay everything back, even if she sold everything she had. “I can pay only 12,000 golds in such short notice,” she told Viscount North.

“And the remaining 10,000?” he asked.

“I will need some time to pay it all,” she said worriedly.

“Time?” said Viscount North, “How long do you require?”

“That… I…,” stammered Siana, unable to answer. She hadn’t an inkling how she was going to pay him everything.

“During the time that I am supposed to wait,” began Viscount North, “What are you going to about the interest that will be generated further?”

Siana’s lips froze. She hadn’t thought about that at all. “Lady Siana,” he said, “The situation is grim. How can a young girl like you, without a wealthy guardian or relative, pay 10,000 golds even if I gave you ample time?”

“I will do whatever it takes to pay you back,” said Siana, “I just need a little time.”

Viscount North stroked his flimsy moustache that connected with his white beard. “Whatever it takes?” he said, “I want to hear more about that part.” Siana was silent. She didn’t know what he was getting at.

Viscount North let out a sigh. “You know what I hear from the no-good debtors?” he said with pity, “Exactly what you have just said. It’s obvious that they can’t pay everything back, like you.”

He took out a cigar from his breast pocket and lit it. The tip of the cigar turned red with heat as he puffed out a thick cloud of smoke. Siana coughed as he exhaled the smoke, but Viscount North seemed to hardly care. 

“Lady Siana,” he said, puffing out more smoke, “If I wait for you to pay everything back, it will haunt me for years. Frankly, I doubt you will be able to pay me back even if I do wait.”

Siana was silent. He wasn’t wrong. She had no resources or extra property to sell in order to pay back the debt. The smoke from his cigar filled the entire room in a hazy air. When it had almost obscured everything in view, the Viscount spoke again.

“You said that you would do whatever it takes to pay me back,” he said, “So then what exactly are you going to do?” Siana couldn’t speak. She felt uncomfortable at his words. She knew something sinister was going to be proposed and yet, she had no choice but to listen.

“Marry me,” said the Viscount, looking at her through the smoky haze.

Siana was stunned. “Marry you?” she asked, incredulously.

“Yes,” he said puffing away at his cigar, “If you do, the debt will be forgotten. And of course, I will not touch any of your assets, they will be yours.”

Siana held her tongue because a barrage of cuss words was threatening to burst forth. The Viscount was nowhere near what she looked for in a man. He had to be, at the least, twenty years older than her. His reputation wasn’t respectable as well. He had a record of divorces. His first wife had left him because she couldn’t tolerate his many affairs with other women. He had then married a prostitute who had divorced him and fled to another country with a part of his wealth. Rumor had it that his strange and perverted fetishes had repulsed her, and she had had to flee.

Nobody wanted to marry Viscount North after that. Not the commoners, and not the aristocratic ladies. Even brothels had refused him entry because of his perverted fetishes. After much searching, he had married a third time, but the third wife had jumped off a window a year later. Thankfully, her injuries were not life-threatening but the lower part of her body was paralyzed. The heartless Viscount filed for a divorce declaring that he had no intention of tending to a crippled wife.

Siana knew he was looking for a new woman to ruin her life, but never had she ever thought, not even in her wildest dreams, that she would be his target. She refused to respond. The Viscount smiled wickedly and looked at her. 

“You might already know, Lady Siana,” he smirked, “There aren’t many jobs that pay well for a single lady like you with no friends or family. I don’t want your youth to be destroyed toiling for scraps. Flowers are the prettiest when placed in a vase as decoration. Not when they are blooming on a road, waiting to be withered by the touch of a stranger.”

The Viscount drew on his cigar deeply and flicked the shortened end on the table, insultingly. Siana’s lips quivered in anger by the gesture. He was a man without manners or shame. She ardently wanted to kick him out of the house, but the dire situation stayed in her hand. For now, she needed to calm down and think of a way out of his proposal.

“As grateful as I am for your concern,” she said in a mock peasant voice, “And as eager as I am to consider your offer, it hasn’t been long since my father passed away.” She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.

Viscount North hesitated. Siana spat out the words before he could respond. “I didn’t expect such good news to come,” she said with tears in her eyes, “If My Lord had come bearing this news when my father was alive, he would have been elated. But alas, my father is no more.”

She bawled loudly, and her shoulders shook. She hoped the Viscount had enough shame to take a hint of the situation, otherwise her excessive acting would be in vain. 

“Lady Siana,” said an embarrassed Viscount, “I am sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight. I have imposed too much on a young lady who has lost her father so very recently. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“You… You mustn’t apologize,” she said, blubbering, tears streaming down her face. “The situation just isn’t easy.”

“Yes, Lady Siana,” said the Viscount, walking over to where she was seated, and patting her shoulders. “You must be heartbroken.” His patting hand slid down her waist and just over her backside. Siana’s skin prickled in an unpleasant way. She wanted to tear his hand off and feed them to the dogs. But she had to convince him to buy some time to figure out a way to pay the debt.

“Lady Siana, you are just so beautiful that I felt greedy,” he said, “You understand how I feel, don’t you?”

“Of course,” she said, blowing her nose in the handkerchief. You slimy arsehole, she cursed inwardly. Her face was distorted, more in anger than the crying. If he looked at her, he would know how she felt about him exactly. But he was busy touching her inappropriately to take any notice.

“It will look bad if we get married so soon after your father’s death,” he said, “How about we wait for two weeks then I will offer again?”

“Really?” snorted Siana, teary-eyed.

“Of course,” he said, patting her back. “I shall be back here after two weeks. In the meantime, focus on getting yourself together, okay?”

“I will do so,” said Siana, “Thank you, My Lord.”

“I will be looking forward to our next meeting,” he said and left the house.

Siana couldn’t shake off the feeling of his hands on her. She felt disgusted and infuriated. “That bastard makes me sick,” she muttered angrily. She could still feel his hands slithering all over her body. She went to the washroom and prepared a bath. But it was useless. Usually, she loved a warm bath which would make her feel soothed afterwards. This time, it did nothing to make her feel better.

What in heavens am I going to do? She despaired. She had used her father as an excuse this time, but she might not be so lucky the next time. She needed to figure out a way to reject the proposal when it came again. Do I really need to marry a man like that? The thought almost made her vomit. 

Siana hated Viscount North, but more than that she lamented the situation that she had been dragged into. A sadness fell over her. Perhaps if she had taken Yulia’s advice and married, she would have never fallen into this situation. Thinking about Viscount North made her even more miserable. She wished she could go back in time and shake the young Siana by the shoulders and warn her about this limp-d*ck, old man she would most probably end up with.

How is it that the world doesn’t even have a single decent man? She recalled the many men who had sought her. No one had made her excited. Nobody actually wanted her because they loved her, they were mostly after her father’s wealth and status. There was one who had caught her eye at the time. One of her childhood friends. It had been so long since she had seen him. She couldn’t even remember his face clearly. But she remembered that he had been kind and sweet and handsome, too. She had thought he was a prince.

His name surfaced fleetingly in her mind and then fled. She scrunched her eyebrows, trying to remember him. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t conjure his name, only the fact that his name started with the first letter of the alphabet.

What was it? She frowned, thinking. Then it came unbidden to her lips, as though it had always sat there to be uttered at this precise moment. “Alan!” she exclaimed, “That was his name. I am sure of it.”

With the knowledge of his name, came the memories of the past. They had been such good friends. She had been ten. Her father had brought his friend’s son over to their house. They had been introduced at the time. Her father had reminded her to be kind to him because he had nowhere to stay after his father’s death.

Alan had been shy but brutally honest. He also had a pleasant face. The maids found him so sweet that they always showered him with gifts. Her father had mentioned that he looked like his father. Alan had a dream, he wanted to become an officer like his father. Siana had felt sorry for him and liked his shy demeanor. She had offered her friendship, and he had accepted gratefully. Thinking back, perhaps he had accepted to be friends because he was living with her family, nonetheless, she had been glad.

Her happiness had a short span, though. For a person to become an officer, they needed to fulfill two things: first, they should possess powers to handle the guns; second, they had to spend a certain amount of time on the battlefield.

Alan had already fulfilled the first. He had powers needed to wield special guns. He was a remarkable marksman at such a young age. He had to leave to fulfill the second criteria. Siana hadn’t wanted to lose a friend, so she had begged him not to go to the battlefield. But Alan had refused. Siana’s young heart was wounded. 

“I hate you,” she had blurted out loudly with tears in her eyes. Her father had explained and consoled her. But was disappointed when Siana refused to listen.