“Vijftig euro, meisje,” the driver says.
Fifty euros.
I don’t have that.
I don’t have anything, in fact. Not even my dignity.
I bite my lip, closing my eyes for a second, before I reply, “The guy inside will have your money.”
The driver laughs. “Sure, and I’m the fucking queen.”
“I swear on my life,” I say. “Please. Just let me talk to him, and I’ll get you your money. I swear. You can wait here for me.”
He narrows his eyes at me but then waves it off. “Fine. Go.”
I don’t wait for another second and exit the vehicle, walking into the restaurant in front of me. Van Buren was literally the only place that came to my mind where I felt I’d be relatively safe. For now. My parents will surely come to find me once they find out I ran. I’m not safe with them, nor with anyone else I know at this point.
Even though I’ll definitely miss Jasmine more than anything.
I sigh and walk inside. The place is empty as it’s the middle of the day, and the restaurant hasn’t opened up yet, but I still take a peek inside as I’m sure the staff is already preparing for tonight.
A server notices me, and I quickly pull down my hoodie as she approaches me. “Hey, can I help you?”
“Yeah, I’m looking for Easton. Easton Van Buren,” I reply, twiddling my thumbs.
But the way all the warmth seems to evaporate from her face makes me question what I just said.
“Easton?” she mutters.
“Yeah. This is his restaurant, right?” I mutter.
“Yeah, yeah … I’m just … nothing.” She clears her throat.
“Tell him Jill Baas wants to talk to him,” I add.
“Of course,” she says before she walks off into the back behind the bar. The silence that follows makes me all the more aware of my heartbeat ticking right out of my chest.
The second she comes walking back with him, the nerves take over, and I smile like an idiot when Easton appears.
He frowns when he sees me. “Jill? I didn’t expect to see you back so soon.”
The server looks utterly confused as to why he would know me, but she shrugs and walks off to clean the rest of the tables.
“Mr. Van Buren,” I say, but my voice sounds more like a mouse squeak.
Easton approaches me. “What are you doing here? Where’s Hugo?” He looks around like he’s waiting for my father.
“I ran away from them,” I spit out.
His brows furrow even more. “What?” He places a hand on the small of my back. “C’mon. Sit down first.”
I pause and say, “I need to pay the driver first. But I don’t have any money.”
Easton nods and then flicks his fingers at the server. “Pay the driver outside for me.”
The server nods and rushes out the door while Easton gently nudges me toward a table. “Tell me what’s going on.”
I stop and turn around to place my hand on his elbow, looking up into his serious eyes while mine fill with tears. “I need your help,” I plead. “Don’t tell my parents I’m here, please.”
He swallows, visibly shaken by my request. “What happened?”
My breath falters at the thought of having to explain it all, so I keep it simple. “I did something bad, and my parents traded me to the De Vos family. They wanted to force me to marry one of their sons, Luca.”
Easton pulls back a chair and beckons me to sit. “How long ago did you escape?”
“An hour ago, sir,” I say, staring at the clock.
It feels so much shorter than that.
Like it happened only minutes ago.
“Are they looking for you now?”
I nod. “Please, don’t send me back to them, sir.”
He reaches across the table and holds out his hand. It’s warm and gentle and everything I need right now to make me cry.
“I will do my best to keep you safe, Jill.”
“I can’t go back. Not to my own family or to the De Vos family,” I say. “But I don’t have any money or a place to stay.”
He looks me in the eyes and says, “I will take care of it.”
“I … I …” I don’t know how to respond.
Can Easton really help me?
I barely know him, apart from some conversations we had while my family was having dinner here. He’s a few years older than I am, but he built an empire from the ground up. Maybe this man does know more about the world I come from than he lets on.
Why else would my parents come here so often?
“You can trust me,” Easton says, squeezing my hand.
What other choice do I have than to believe him?
“Do you want me to help you?” he asks. “Think carefully about what this means. You won’t be able to see your family again. It’s too dangerous.”
I don’t need a second thought. “Yes. Help me.”
He sucks in a breath and holds it, his body tensing up. “All right,” he says, raising a brow. “But …”
Of course there is always a but.
“But?”
“My help is not for free.”
I take in a breath. “I understand that.”
I wonder what his price is, though.
“Good. You’ll have to work for me.”
That … seems stupidly easy compared to what I would have to go through if I had stayed with the De Vos family. If Luca had his way with me.
I smile, shaking my head. “That’s all?”
He smiles back in a way that makes me feel welcome. “That’s all.”
Three years later
When the sewing machine stops, I pull out the little dress I made and hold it over the doll. A big grin forms on my face. It fits perfectly.
“Amazing!” Charlotte, Easton’s wife, says, snatching it out of my hand to look at it. “I can’t believe you made this all by hand.” She puts it over the doll until it fits snugly. “Perfect. Just what I was looking for.”
“Thank you,” I reply.
I always take pride in my work. I never thought I’d end up enjoying making clothes as much as I do, but when Easton told me to get busy with the fabrics he gave me, I never stopped. He probably knew I had a penchant for designing the most extravagant dresses. Though, I doubt he’d realize I’d eventually end up making them for the tiniest of models. And that I’d be working for his wife.
I smile at her. “Do you think the girls will like them?”
“Of course!” Charlotte exclaims, stuffing the doll in a box. She grabs some wrapping paper and covers the box until it looks pretty, sticking on a bow for the final touch. “There. The perfect gift for a kid in need. I’ll need plenty more!”
I blush. It’s really humbling to know that my work will make someone happy, especially when that someone is a little kid who doesn’t have anyone else in the world. I wish I could give them so much more. If I had my family’s wealth, it would’ve all been possible.
I sigh out loud.
At least Easton kept me out of harm’s way for so long. It’s a miracle my family hasn’t found me yet. I even wore a wig in the beginning so no one would recognize me, but now I just cut my own hair short and keep my business outside the house brief.
Easton knows just how to avoid the De Vos and Baas gaze by keeping them so close they’d never suspect him of anything. And it helps that he has spies all over town to tell him when I need to lay low for a while.
“Something the matter?” Charlotte says.
“Oh, nothing,” I say, shaking my head. “I was just lost in my own thoughts, that’s all.”
I look away at the door, where Nick, Easton’s most trusted guard, is dutifully guarding the place. Easton never wants Charlotte to go unaccompanied. Not because he doesn’t trust her, but because he involves himself with dangerous men who could try something at any time.
Like my father and …
Just the thought of the De Vos family makes my throat clamp up.
“Oh … Of course,” Charlotte muses.
“Huh?”
“You like Nick, don’t you?”
My eyes widen, and my cheeks turn red. “What? Why would you—”
“Oh, c’mon, I’ve seen you look at him,” she says, winking. “I can tell when something’s going on.”
“Nothing,” I say. “Nothing’s going on.”
She raises a playful brow. “You sure?”
“I haven’t had a boyfriend in forever.” I snort.
She gasps. “A boyfriend?” She leans over the table all across the fabrics I need, stopping me from continuing my work. “C’mon, tell me. I wanna know more about your past. How did you end up working for Easton?”
My whole body tenses up. “Well … I …”
She frowns, grabbing my hand. “Hey. I consider you my friend now. You can tell me anything.”
She squeezes gently, just like Easton always did when he wanted to make me feel better, and it moves me to speak up.
“Okay …” I take a deep breath in and out. “Grab a chair then because it’s gonna be a long story.”
After I’ve told her everything, it takes Charlotte a while to respond. She takes in a deep breath. “Wow.”
“Yeah …” I murmur as I grab some new cloth and start cutting it into pieces for the next dress. “It’s a lot.”
“I’m sorry,” she says.
“Oh, don’t be. It happened a long time ago,” I reply.
“But still,” she says. “Can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for you, losing your entire family like that.”
I sigh and look away for a moment, still clutching the fabric in my hand. “I do miss them. Sometimes. Mostly my sister.” A pang of guilt hits me in the stomach, and I shake my head. “I try not to think of it.”
Charlotte grabs my hand. “I’m here for you. If you need me.” The way she looks at me makes me tear up, but I swallow it down. “It’s okay to be angry. To be sad.”
“I know, but it doesn’t change anything,” I say, shrugging it off. “Besides, Easton kept me safe. I’m very grateful.”
I continue sewing, but a part of me still digs in my memories as I try to picture what Jasmine would look like right now and what she’s doing. If she’s still involved with our parents’ business. If they made her take over. If she’s happy…
“I do wonder sometimes how my sister is,” I blurt out.
Charlotte looks at me while curling her hair around her finger. “Can’t we look her up? What’s her name?”
I gaze up at her and put down my stuff, but I don’t know what to say.
“I … I …”
“It won’t do any harm to know, right? They won’t find you,” she says as she fishes her phone from her pocket and opens a search tab.
“Easton told me to never say the name out loud,” I reply. “It could get me in trouble.”
I’ve actually never searched online for any of my family members.
I was terrified.
Terrified of the consequences.
Terrified of what I’d find out.
“I won’t tell anyone,” Charlotte says, crossing her fingers. “Promise.”
I sigh again. “My full name … is Jill Baas.”
I haven’t said that name in years.
It feels odd.
And it makes my skin crawl.
“Baas … hmm …” Charlotte types on her phone but stops as her eyes widen. “Oh!”
I jump from my seat. “What?”
She turns the phone to me. “Is this her? Jasmine Baas?”
My heart comes to a stop the second I look into the eyes of my own sister.
The one girl I thought I’d never see again.
And it makes tears well up in my eyes.
I nod. “I never got to say goodbye …”
Charlotte’s face contorts. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to upset you.”
“Can I have a closer look?” I ask.
She hands me her phone. “Of course.”
But when I take it, it almost drops from my hand.
My whole body feels numb.
Like I’m not really here.
Because my sister’s name and face aren’t just online for everyone to find.
The photo on the social media account shows her trying on a wedding dress.
With the caption “Today a Baas. Tomorrow a De Vos.”
Oh, God.
“What’s wrong?” Charlotte asks. “Your face is turning white.”
My lips quiver as I speak. “She’s getting married … to the boy who destroyed us.”
She frowns. “What?! You mean Luca De Vos?”
I nod as the phone shakes in my hand, rage bubbling to the surface.
They couldn’t have me.
Couldn’t keep me from running.
From hating him.
So they took my sister instead.
“Fuck,” I growl, and I hand her back the phone before I squash it. “I have to go.”
“What? Where?” Charlotte asks while I grab all my things and tuck them in my bag.
I don’t know where she is right now, but I can find out the wedding date and location if I just search online.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to try to find her,” Charlotte says. “It could be dangerous.”
I pull my bag over my shoulder and march toward the door, only throwing her a single glance. “I can’t let my sister take the fall for my mistake. I have to save her.”
“What if he kills you?” she yells, but it won’t stop me.
“He won’t,” I respond while I open the door to the workshop. “I have something Luca wants. Me.”
