My Dangerous Childhood Friend

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.聽

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.聽

She clasped and unclasped her hands on her lap. She wouldn鈥檛 be able to pay everything back, even if she sold everything she had. 鈥淚 can pay only 12,000 golds in such short notice,鈥?she told Viscount North.

鈥淎nd the remaining 10,000?鈥?he asked.

鈥淚 will need some time to pay it all,鈥?she said worriedly.

鈥淭ime?鈥?said Viscount North, 鈥淗ow long do you require?鈥?br>
鈥淭hat鈥?I鈥?鈥?stammered Siana, unable to answer. She hadn鈥檛 an inkling how she was going to pay him everything.

鈥淒uring the time that I am supposed to wait,鈥?began Viscount North, 鈥淲hat are you going to about the interest that will be generated further?鈥?br>
Siana鈥檚 lips froze. She hadn鈥檛 thought about that at all. 鈥淟ady Siana,鈥?he said, 鈥淭he 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?鈥?br>
鈥淚 will do whatever it takes to pay you back,鈥?said Siana, 鈥淚 just need a little time.鈥?br>
Viscount North stroked his flimsy moustache that connected with his white beard. 鈥淲hatever it takes?鈥?he said, 鈥淚 want to hear more about that part.鈥?Siana was silent. She didn鈥檛 know what he was getting at.

Viscount North let out a sigh. 鈥淵ou know what I hear from the no-good debtors?鈥?he said with pity, 鈥淓xactly what you have just said. It鈥檚 obvious that they can鈥檛 pay everything back, like you.鈥?br>
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.聽

鈥淟ady Siana,鈥?he said, puffing out more smoke, 鈥淚f 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.鈥?br>
Siana was silent. He wasn鈥檛 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.

鈥淵ou said that you would do whatever it takes to pay me back,鈥?he said, 鈥淪o then what exactly are you going to do?鈥?Siana couldn鈥檛 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.

鈥淢arry me,鈥?said the Viscount, looking at her through the smoky haze.

Siana was stunned. 鈥淢arry you?鈥?she asked, incredulously.

鈥淵es,鈥?he said puffing away at his cigar, 鈥淚f you do, the debt will be forgotten. And of course, I will not touch any of your assets, they will be yours.鈥?br>
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鈥檛 respectable as well. He had a record of divorces. His first wife had left him because she couldn鈥檛 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.聽

鈥淵ou might already know, Lady Siana,鈥?he smirked, 鈥淭here aren鈥檛 many jobs that pay well for a single lady like you with no friends or family. I don鈥檛 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.鈥?br>
The Viscount drew on his cigar deeply and flicked the shortened end on the table, insultingly. Siana鈥檚 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.

鈥淎s grateful as I am for your concern,鈥?she said in a mock peasant voice, 鈥淎nd as eager as I am to consider your offer, it hasn鈥檛 been long since my father passed away.鈥?She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief.