Page 3 of Vow to Corrupt You (Gods of Corruption #1)

Nikos

“Mr. Romano, with all due respect,” Lucio says in his imploring tone, and my jaw clenches.

I hate it when people think they can convince me to change my mind with tearful stories—or, even worse, groveling before me.

“Prior to this meeting, Valeria expressed her willingness to this marriage. She agreed to marry you—”

“Agreed to marry me?” A low scoff rumbles down my throat.

“I’m doing you a favor, Lucio. You should be kissing my feet for agreeing to marry one of your daughters instead of putting a bullet in your son’s head for trying to incite a riot against me.

” My tone darkens as I reach the last part.

I don’t have to do any of this. I could just wipe out his whole family—and this old man is delusional if he thinks he can bargain.

“Mr. Romano, I meant no offense. I merely—”

I motion for him to be silent. Lucio’s vile begging stirs up my wrath. I detest pleading because when it gets to the point where someone needs to beg, then my patience has worn out. My neck cranes instinctively as a deep inhale fills my lungs.

“Don’t test my patience, Lucio.” My eyes close shut for a fraction. In the exact second, I feel my uncle’s hand on my shoulder, and he leans closer.

“Τι κ?νει?, Ν?κο;” What are you doing, Niko? He whispers in Greek, making sure none of them understands.

“Ξ?ρω τι κ?νω.” I know what I’m doing. I assert sharply.

Dimitris reclines, his hand slowly slipping off my shoulder.

My uncle believes the oldest daughter is the best choice for me.

Since yesterday, he has been constantly trying to persuade me that she is the one I should take as my wife.

He claimed that, at twenty-five, she would be more mature than her sisters and, as he put it, the only one who could handle me.

Dimitris has been very insistent about it, and now, seeing Lucio’s reaction, I’m pretty sure he might have asked my uncle to convince me to marry her.

If only they knew I’d had no intention of marrying any of them. Until now.

“Mr. Romano, is—” Lucio hesitates, his nervous glance bouncing between me and my uncle, when a soft, cracking voice cuts in.

“I’ll do it!” She urges, panic and desperation rising in her tone, as if she knows one more second of hesitation might cost them their lives.

I shift my focus back to her, like everyone else, and see the growing terror on her face. She’s scared of me. I can see it in the way her pupils dilate. And she hates me. I can see that, too. The intensity of her hatred burns so deep in her gaze that it’s hard not to notice.

“If that’s the only way to save my brother’s life, then so be it. I’ll marry you, Mr. Romano.” She sounds so mournful that I almost pity her. Almost. Unfortunately for her, I have zero feelings and am a brute with no heart who always gets what he wants. Whether willingly or by force.

Now, I want her.

It’s not about her beauty. She’s not the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen. She is beautiful. Long, sleek black hair, bronzed skin, slender body. Yes, she is attractive, but there are women whose every glance turns heads. Like her stepsister, who may dazzle with her looks.

Due to Dimitris’s friendship with Lucio, I knew a thing or two about the Contis.

But after the agreement I made with him the day before, I had my men gather every possible detail about his daughters.

I couldn’t possibly consider marrying a woman without knowing literally everything about her.

Besides, Lucio works for me, and I always run a background check before letting anyone into my circle.

So I’m aware Valeria isn’t really related to Lucio, but I also do know the meaning family has for this man.

Blood-related or not. He cares as much for his adoptive daughters as his biological children.

But Serena being Lucio’s birth daughter wasn’t the main factor why I chose her, either.

There’s something about her that the stepsister doesn’t possess, and that the pictures I saw yesterday failed to capture.

The innocence that radiates from her very being.

She looks so pure and innocent that it’s almost begging for someone to corrupt her—and I will take pleasure in doing so.

I’ll fuck that innocence out of her until she’s so rotten that even the Devil himself would step down from his throne and bow at her feet.

“Mr. Romano?” Lucio’s quivery sigh snaps me out of my dark thoughts. He knows the rules. He knows he has no choice but to agree to my demands. He also knows he’s fucking lucky that I’m even considering taking one of his daughters as my wife. Lucky that his daughter caught my eye.

No. Not just that.

She fucking invaded my mind, so deep, I’d agree to anything just to have her all to myself.

My mind is already in overdrive, scheming all that needs to be done the second I leave this place.

I’ll have my men follow her, track her every move.

Or better—put my entire IT team on her digital shadow—every message, every call, every location.

She won’t breathe without me knowing. I’ll make damn sure no one gets to her before I do.

I’ll make sure no other man ever gets the privilege of touching her, tasting her, tainting her.

She is mine now.

Mine. And only mine.

Whether she realized it yet or not.

One glance…one fucking glance was all it took for her to take over my mind. Instantly. But they don’t need to know that.

I turn to my lawyer, Piero, who stands on my left, and give him a nod.

He retrieves a folder from his black leather bag.

I’ve been prepared for any circumstance, as always.

I’ve been ready to slaughter their family or take my wife, though until five minutes ago, I had believed it would be the former.

“May I?” Piero asks, glancing at Lucio. He points toward the table in the middle of the room, in front of a vintage brown couch with quilted upholstery studs and a fancy golden frame. I can tell Lucio loves opulent things.

“Please,” Lucio nods, avoiding my gaze, and Piero sits by the table.

“This contract will officially bind you to Mr. Nikolaos Romano as his fiancée,” Piero clarifies, glancing at her— my prey of choice . “Do you understand that, Miss Conti?”

My attention moves to her. She nods faintly, pressing her lips together. Her body trembles like a flame flickering in the darkness. Is she that frightened of me? Well, she should be. The things I will do to her... to her body. She wouldn’t even dare to imagine.

“Very well,” Piero states. He runs his hand through his slicked-back, dark hair before he reaches into the pocket of his neat, navy blazer for a fountain pen.

“Please provide me with your details, Miss Conti, such as full name, age, date and place of birth, parents’ names, and nationality, so I can finish filling out the contract. ”

“Serena Conti, twenty-one years old, born on March twenty-first in Cefalù, Italy, to Lucio Conti and Antonella Alves, nationality, half-Italian, half-Brazilian.” She says it as though she is reciting her own death sentence. Her eyes now refuse to meet mine.

“Thank you,” Piero states, an air of courtesy in his tone.

He casts a quick look at me, and I can see some sort of blankness in his hazel stare.

I cock my head, which seems to make him clear his throat.

“I’ve filled in Mr. Romano’s details beforehand.

” His gaze drops to the contract as he reads, “Mr. Nikolaos Romano, age thirty-one, born on November first in Palermo, Italy, to a Greek mother, Eleftheria Katsaros, and an Italian father, Marco Romano. Is that correct, Mr. Romano?”

“Correct.”

Piero fixes his black tie as if it’s choking him.

He’s been my family’s lawyer for at least two decades now and has handled many dark dealings for my father, and now for me.

He’s never shown any remorse, not an ounce.

The ridiculous sums I paid him, allowing him a lavish vacation in Santorini, high-end cars, and whores seemed to absolve any sense of guilt or remorse.

But now—now, I see guilt on his suntanned face. He knows I will break that girl’s soul.

“Thank you. We may proceed.” He focuses on the file of documents in his hand again.

“This Agreement is made effective immediately between Serena Conti, hereinafter referred to as the Bride, and Nikolaos Romano, hereinafter referred to as the Groom. The Bride acknowledges that she is now officially engaged to the Groom and agrees to marry him within one week from the Effective Date of this Agreement.”

“A week?” She gasps as if she heard the Reaper calling her name.

“Any issues, Miss Conti?” Piero redirects his attention to the bride in question.

She glances at me fleetingly for the first time since breaking eye contact. A flicker of fear fills her gaze, which drops to the ground in that same instant. “N-no. No issues.”

Good girl.

“Please sign the contract, Miss Conti.” Piero reaches the pen toward her. “Mr. Romano has already signed it prior to this meeting.”

Her eyes close for a fleeting moment as if she wants to slip away from the reality that surrounds her.

Her shaky hands clasp together before she takes a step toward my lawyer.

She grabs the fountain pen, and Piero hands her the contract.

I watch her eyes move across it as she reads it until her gaze sticks on something.

My signature. She scrutinizes my signature as if memorizing or analyzing it.

It’s like she can see inside my soul by staring at my signature. Can she? What does she see?

“How do I know you won’t hurt my brother?” Her bold tone pulls me from my thoughts. Intriguing . The sudden change. The unexpected spark of daring—or even rebellion—in her attitude fascinates me. “How can I be sure you’ll keep the terms of the agreement?”

Smart question. I like her way of thinking.

The corner of my mouth lifts in a dark grin. “You’ll have to take my word for that.”

Her lips press together. She bends forward, leaning over the table. Her hand moves across the paper as she signs it. She presses the fountain pen so hard on the surface that I wonder how the paper isn’t tearing. She drops the pen onto the document with a sharp thud.

“Excuse me.” She straightens, her gaze fixed on the signed contract. “I need to use the ladies’ room.”

She rushes out of the living room, her eyes on the ground the entire time as if scared of meeting mine.

“Serena—” her stepmother shouts after her, instinctively taking a step forward to follow after her, but I lift my hand slightly, halting her in her tracks. “I’m sorry, Mr. Romano. She didn’t mean any disrespect. This is just… unexpected for her. She’ll come to terms with it.”

I fight the curl of a sardonic smile. “Yes, she will. I’ll make sure of that.”