Nisha

S, sold?!

The man’s words weren’t making any sense and I stiffened up even further in his arms, still experiencing a chill of fear coursing through my entire body. While I tried to wrap my brain around what the hell he was talking about, his hold gradually disappeared.

Free, I stumbled forward to Nana, who quickly reached up and pulled me down into her arms. Like this, the two of us clung to one another. Shaking my head, I glanced between Nana’s wide gray eyes and back up to the man. He stood three feet away, frowning darkly as he gazed down at us.

There was something about him….

This guy was maybe a year or two older than me, if not the same age. But something about his very aura kicked off waves of only one word to me: power.

I had no idea what was going on, but an animalistic part of me knew that deep down, this man was a threat to my survival.

Swallowing, trying to get enough moisture in my mouth to be able to speak, I parted my lips. “Who...are you?” I managed to whisper harshly.

Eyes nearly glowing with the light of an intense emotion I could not identify, the man slowly lowered into a courtly bow. “Why, jhenmu, my name should be quite familiar to you. I’m at least a little famous, I must admit.”

A slow, cold smile lifted his lips as he straightened his position. While still bright, there was no longer any warmth in his beautiful blue eyes as he watched me much in the same manner as a hawk spotting a rabbit to hunt. “My name is Jack Frost, dear Nisha.”

Jack Frost?

I repeated the name slowly in my head, frowning. Like in the fairytales and Christmas movies?

“Duke Frost...I must apologize for not welcoming you in an appropriate manner.” Nana’s words pulled me out of my startled thoughts.

Strangely, though she still struggled a little at the start, her voice quickly regained strength. She slowly rose to her feet. Following and assisting her, since I needed help myself to get up off the floor, I stared at my grandmother.

“Nana?” I questioned quietly, still afraid.

Grace patted my hand on her arm in silent comfort and curtsied in a graceful manner in front of this crazy Jack.

Seeing this, Jack’s face took on a bored expression. “Yes, yes, all the formality and the like. It’s fine, Grace. I already told you I forgive you. But the real trouble-maker here is Nisha.”

Saying so, his gaze returned to me, a look of disappointment clearly written all over his face. “You won’t have an abortion?” he asked bluntly.

Tossed around and overwhelmed by everything that was happening, I answered him honestly, aiming my confused rage at him. My hold on Nana’s arm tightened as I sought some sort of strength from her. “No, you asshole! Now leave immediately! You are trespassing on private property.”

More chills ran down my spine as the air inside the house seemed to lower by several degrees. Swallowing, I refused to give in and continued to glare into Jack’s blue eyes.

His lips lifted into a sneer and disgust twisted his face as he let out a long sigh of disbelief. “Must you try my patience, Nisha?” he asked solemnly. “Grace, please explain the situation to her. Is there a room prepared for me to stay?”

Immediately, Nana nodded, every aspect of her appearing like a maid greeting her master. “Yes, Your Grace. I have prepared the master suite for you. If you turn immediately left after arriving at the top of the staircase and again turn left, you will reach it.”

“That room?” I demanded in shock, gapping at Nana like she was a stranger. “I thought you kept it locked up to store Dad’s old things.”

“I have kept it clean and arranged properly since I knew Duke Frost would be staying with us,” Grace answered calmly, not looking at me.

Jack’s expression did not change in the slightest, but he nodded his head slowly. “That’s fine. I wouldn’t want to put either of you out of your rooms, but staying at a hotel in this town is unacceptable. I will go ahead and unpack by myself. I will require some time to calm down and get my thoughts together for now. Please do not disturb me until dinner time.”

Shaking his head slightly, he lifted his hand in a distant wave. Without another word, he walked back to the front porch to get his suitcase and then returned, sparing neither of us a glance.

As he passed by up the stairs, Nana once more curtsied deeply. “As you wish. Rest well, Your Grace.”

As soon as his legs disappeared from sight, I turned on my grandmother. “Nana! What the hell is going on? Why are you acting so subservient to that asshole? He is literally trespassing! We have to call the police.”

Her gray eyes were cloudy and very tired behind her glasses as she slowly turned to look at me. Since we were the same height, our eye level was exactly synced up and I saw regret hidden in her eyes as she stared at me for a few moments. Then, exhaling slowly after taking in a deep breath, she locked gazes with me, a seriousness I hadn’t seen in a very long time pouring off of her.

“Snowflake, I told you before, didn’t I? The world isn’t as simple as you think it is. Duke Frost is not trespassing. Everything that we have belongs to him,” Nana explained in a slow, deliberate fashion. Her voice was steady and calm; like she’d practiced this speech many times.

“Decades ago many things happened, events that threatened not only my life but your father’s life as well. Duke Frost’s father took us in and sheltered us as guests, but on the condition that we agree to his terms. He did not decide on his payment until Jack was born and it was discovered you were a girl in your mother's womb. After that, he officially decided on the contract. The terms he drew up were like I told you before; you will marry Jack."

Pausing to catch her breath, Nana slowly continued, her expression twisting with some sorrow. "But a few months before passing away, Nathan requested a change in the terms. He promised that as long as you were given a chance to find someone else and that Jack would stay out of your life until you reached twenty years, both he and I would serve the Frost family for the rest of our lives. I agreed with him, which is how we have gotten to where we are now.”

After that jaw-dropping explanation, some of the heaviness in her eyes seemed to dissipate as she took in a deep breath. The secret she'd been hiding for years was finally brought to light.

Unable to believe what I was hearing, I shook my head. “No. No, that can’t be true, Nana!” I reached out to shake her shoulders in panic. “That’s something straight out of a fairytale!” I cried, refusing to accept this turn of events.

Nana’s expression twisted into a bittersweet smile as she let out a quiet, broken laugh, rooting me to the spot. “You know, Snowflake…. Whether you want to believe it or not, fairytales are reality. I know my life has been one since I was fifteen and met your grandfather. It’s exactly that event in my life that brought this whole tragic set of events to take place,” she confessed around a sob. “I never knew love could twist so many lives,” she whispered, reaching up to wipe away the tears flowing freely from her eyes.

Unable to find any words in response to Nana’s heart-broken confession, I stepped forward to envelop her in a hug. Except for the twins, Nana was all I had left in the world.

I felt betrayed and lost by everything going on at this moment, but I wouldn’t turn my back on her no matter what. We’d spent all these years supporting each other since Dad died and nothing was going to come between that.

Not even the devil incarnate, like the jackass sitting upstairs right this very moment.