Chapter 48 No Choice
Anna's POV
Serena didn’t flinch. Instead, she just stood there, arms crossed, watching me like she had already calculated my reaction before I even gave it.
“You don’t have a choice, Anna,” she said calmly. Her gaze locked onto mine. “If you marry him, you get closer than anyone else ever could.”
My heart started racing. I let out a dry laugh, shaking my head as I took a step back.
“No,” I said. “Don’t say that like this is one of your neat little plans. This isn’t some undercover dinner or infiltration party. This is marriage.”
The word felt heavy on my tongue.
Serena tilted her head slightly. “Exactly.”
I stared at her. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I’m not.”
Silence fell between us, thick and suffocating.
I ran my fingers through my hair, pacing once, trying to process what she was saying.
“Do you even hear yourself?” I snapped. “You want me to marry a psychopath. A man who kills people for breathing wrong. A man who—” I paused, my voice tightening, “who literally flipped a coin to decide if I should live or die.”
Serena’s expression didn’t change. “That same man,” she said evenly, “is the closest we’ve ever gotten to Zack Arrow.”
I stopped pacing. Everything always circled back to him.
Serena stepped closer, lowering her voice.
“Think about it,” she continued. “If you marry Xavier, you don’t just stay in his circle, you become untouchable within it. His wife isn’t just some random woman. You gain access, Information and power.”
My jaw tightened. “And risk getting killed in my sleep,” I shot back. "We don't even know if he already knows I'm a spy."
“That risk already exists,” she replied without hesitation.
I looked away, exhaling slowly, trying to steady the storm building inside me. “This wasn’t part of the mission,” I muttered.
Serena sighed softly. “Missions evolve, Anna. You know that.”
I clenched my fists. “Yeah, but this?” I turned back to her. “This is crossing a line.”
She didn’t respond immediately.
Then, “Or maybe,” she said quietly, “this is exactly where the line was always heading.”
I froze. Something about the way she said it… It felt too intentional. My eyes narrowed slightly. “What does that mean?”
Serena shrugged lightly. “It means you’ve gotten closer than anyone expected. Closer than we planned for. Xavier trusts you—”
“He doesn’t trust me,” I cut in sharply.
She raised a brow. “He kept you.”
That shut me up for a second. Because that… That was true.
She continued, pressing her advantage. “He announced it publicly. In front of other Dons. That wasn’t impulse, Anna. That was a statement.”
I swallowed. “You think this is about feelings?” Serena added. “It’s not. It’s strategy. From his side… and it should be from yours too.”
I let out a shaky breath. My mind was spinning again.
It felt like everything was collapsing into one point, and I was standing right at the center of it.
“If I say no?” I asked quietly.
Serena’s gaze hardened just a fraction. “Then you become a liability.”
The words landed like a slap.
I laughed softly, but there was no humor in it. “A liability to who? The agency? Or Xavier?”
She didn’t answer. She didn’t need to.
I nodded slowly, looking down at the floor. “Right,” I murmured.
That told me everything.
I looked back up at her, my eyes sharper now.
“And what happens after?” I asked. “Let’s say I marry him. Let’s say I play the perfect wife. What then?”
Serena stepped even closer, her voice dropping to a near whisper.
“Then you become the agency's eyes and ears, we already know Xavier wants Zack dead, so that makes the whole thing very easy for you."
My heart skipped. I studied her face, searching for hesitation. There was none.
“You’re asking me to live with him,” I said slowly. “Sleep in the same bed. Gain his trust… just so I can be the company's eyes and ears?"
“Yes," she said sharply.
I let out a long breath, my chest rising and falling.
I shook my head slightly, trying to push that thought away. “You’re asking me to become something I’m not,” I said quietly.
Serena’s eyes softened just a little. “No,” she said. “I’m asking you to become exactly what this mission needs.”
I turned away from her, walking toward the window, staring out into the night. The party was still going on downstairs.
Behind me, Serena spoke again. “You don’t have to answer now,” she said. “But you don’t have much time.”
I closed my eyes briefly.
I opened my eyes slowly, my mind still trying to catch up with everything Serena had just said.
“I’ll… think about it,” I told her.
Even to my own ears, my voice sounded distant. Uncertain.
Serena studied me for a second, like she was trying to read what was going on inside my head.
“You have until dawn,” she said calmly. “After that, decisions will be made for you.”
I swallowed. Then I asked, “How do I reach you?”
She gave a faint smile. “You don’t. I’ll reach you if I need to. Goodbye for now, Anna and stay sharp."
She turned toward the door. “Stay alive, Anna,” she added lightly, like she was telling me to have a nice day.
Then she reached for the handle, pulled it open and everything froze.
Lucas was right there, standing by the door.
His eyes moved from Serena… to me… then back to Serena like a man piecing together something dangerous.
My heart slammed hard against my chest. Shit.