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When Cisco had refused to go through with his arranged marriage to Camilla Villanueva—marriage that his father had personally contracted—he'd set in motion a deadly chain of events that still had far-reaching consequences.
Camilla had ended up married to Thadeo, the middle DeVille. Sergio, Camilla's brother, had been incensed at the slight since the contract had been for the DeVille heir, not for an ex-military spare that had no stake in the family business. And so he'd retaliated in his own way—by kidnapping Val.
Initially, it had been solely out of revenge for the slight to his pride, for which he'd been ready to wage an all-out war. But while Cisco and Yuyu had attempted to get their son back throughanymeans possible, Amato and Elena had approached Sergio with a better offer—they would give their youngest daughter in marriage, together with a sizable dowry, in exchange for Val.
Sergio, thinking he could make use of the opportunity and the dowry Amato was offering, had been satisfied with the deal and he'd returned Val to Cisco and Yuyu.
The deal had been signed in blood, and Sergio had been added as sole beneficiary of Noelle's trust upon her eighteenth birthday. He'd also been written as a clause in Amato's will.
Either Cisco fulfilled the deal, or every liquid DeVille asset would be transferred over to one of their first cousins—which would mean an automatic shift in leadership. The clause had been added strategically. Either Cisco fulfilled the deal, or his cousin Primo would do it once he got his hands on the DeVille assets. One way or another, Sergio would get his due.
The only bright side had been that Noelle had been too young—just shy of ten years old at the time. The marriage could only take place when she was of age.
Sergio, already a man in his early forties at the time, had wed another. And another. He'd gone through three wives in that time, and while Cisco and Yuyu hoped at least his last wife wouldn't drop dead, that had ultimately come to pass recently.
When Dolores, Sergio's last wife, had died, Cisco's first move had been to order a hit on Sergio. Mayhap his mistake had been in not sending Yuyu to finish the job, but the hit had failed. And Sergio had been angrier than ever.
He'd declared he wouldn't take another wife until Noelle came of age, after which he would wed her immediately as stated by the contract. If that hadn't been enough, Sergio had stated in no uncertain terms that DeVille either gave him his promised bride, or he would take her for himself—alive, or dead.
At that point, it had become more than just a legal gamble, but rather of survival.
Noelle'ssurvival.
It didn't matter that she was the blameless party in the entire debacle. It only mattered that for some reason Sergio Villanueva had become obsessed with acquiring her.
"Don't," he took her in his arms. "Don't blame yourself. It would have happened regardless," he sighed.
When the contract had been signed, Amato had already known he was dying. Yuyu was convinced Elena had used her wiles to convince him that Noelle would never serve them for anything else, so she was the best casualty.
"How can I, when I know our happiness was built on her futureunhappiness?"
"She needs to marry him to fulfill the contract. But after…" he trailed off, the implication clear.
"And until then?" Yuyu lifted her face, her eyes shimmery with tears.
"We'll figure something out," Cisco promised, though he himself did not know what.
For the first time, his hands were truly tied. His father had known he would attempt to do anything to prevent the marriage and he'd set in place a few safety measures. All because Cisco had dared to marry Yuyu instead of Camilla.
Cisco was aware it wasn't so much the choice of his bride that had impacted his father's decision as it was the fact that Cisco had directly disobeyed him.
He might not have signed the marriage contract with his own hands, but he might as well have.
Sensing Yuyu's increasing distraught, he led her back to the cabin. But upon opening the door, it was to come face to face with a wide-eyed Noelle.
"Marriage?" she asked in an incredulous tone. "Me?"
"Noelle," Yuyu tried to reach out to her, but she flinched.
"Who is it? Tell me?" she demanded in a dead voice.
Cisco swore under his breath as he realized she must have overheard part of their conversation. This wasn't how he wanted her to find out.
"Who did you sell me to?" She repeated, more vehemently.
"Noelle, it's not like that…" Yuyu tried to speak but Noelle wasn't even looking at her.
She directed her gaze towards Cisco, knowing that onlyhehad control over this as the current head of the family. And to an extent it was true. He had control over everythingbutthis.
