After my sworn enemy’s company acquired mine, I became his personal property. He fastened a tracking anklet around my leg, installed surveillance software on my phone, and even hid a listening device in my pajamas’ buttons.
“If you hate me, bite me here.” He tugged open his shirt collar, revealing an old scar. “You left it when you were sixteen.”
At an auction, he raised his paddle to buy my ancestral home. That night, he knelt beside the bed with the deed in his hands.
“Marry me, and I’ll put it all in your name right away.”
I grabbed an ashtray and smashed it against his forehead. “One more fresh scar. Will that make it symmetrical?”
Blood ran down his jaw and dripped onto the deed. He laughed. “Perfect.”
