"Mom!" I called out as I walked into my parent's house.

They've been trying to have me over for dinner for quite some time now, but with my busy college schedule, I was never able to fly out to LA to see them. Now that I have graduated and 

will be starting work soon, I have a much more flexible schedule.

"I'm in the kitchen Zariah!" My mother called back to me.

I took my boots off because I knew they hated someone walking in the house with shoes on before I wandered into the kitchen.

My mother's curly black hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. She was wearing a white sundress, which complimented her dark brown skin. She was placing a turkey in the oven when she turned to smile at me, her hazel eyes lighting up in joy.

"Zariah, you look lovely." She gushed as she pulled me into a tight hug.

I hadn't seen her in so long, but being in her arms finally felt so lovely. It was the safest place in the world for me.

"Thank you, ma, you look amazing as well." I complimented back.

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Of course I do. Where do you think you get it from?"

We both broke into fits of laughter before hugging each other again. She was right. I looked a lot like my mother. I had inherited her tight, curly black hair, which stopped midway down my back. I also had her beautiful dark brown skin and her hourglass figure. I even inherited her height, leaving me to stand at 5'3". The only thing I inherited from my father was his freckles and milk chocolate brown eyes.

"Is that Zariah I hear?" My father said before walking into the room.

I rushed over to hug him, and I missed him the most. I've always been a daddy's girl, and being away from him for so long always made me sad; it felt nice to be back in his warm embrace.

"I've missed you." He said as he gently kissed the top of my forehead.

"I've missed you too, Dad," I said back.

Just as he was going to say something, my 18-year-old brother, Josiah, walked into the room.

"Wow, you've gotten tall," I said as I hugged him.

He snorted. "No, you're just short."

I rolled my eyes and punched him in the arm playfully. We talked about what college he was planning on going to when there were three knocks at the door. I turned to look at my parents.

"I didn't know you were expecting a guest," I said.

Their faces looked uneasy, and my father rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"I'll go answer it." My mother stated before she exited the room.

"How about we all go to the table? " my father said as he guided us into the dining room.

I sat beside Josiah, and my father sat at the end. I looked over at Josiah, who shrugged his shoulders and seemed just as confused as I was. When my mother walked back into the room, there were three men behind her. Two of them were dressed in black suits and wore black sunglasses, and the other man was dressed in a navy blue Armani suit.

The man in the navy blue suit was extremely handsome. He had neatly styled curly brown hair and a very defined jawline with a hint of a 5 o'clock shadow. He was tall, maybe 6'7", and built out of nothing but pure muscles—I could see that even through the suit. The most captivating thing about him would have to be his eyes. They were ocean blue with specks of silver in them, but they were completely emotionless.

"Who is this?" Josiah asked.

My mother sent him a warning glance. "This is Czar Kuzmich."

"Okay, but why is he here?" Josiah asked.

"Behave, Josiah." My father suddenly said.

My mother guided the guest to the table and returned to get the food. We sat awkwardly, and I needed clarification about why the three men were there and not talking. My mother came back with the food and placed it in front of us. Immediately, everyone dove in to distract themselves from the tension, but the three men just sat and watched.

After eating our food, the man named Czar cleared his voice.

"Let's get to business." He said it with a thick Russian accent that had me crossing my legs.

One of the men placed papers and a pen on the table.

"What is this?" I said as I placed my fork down.

"Can't this wait until later?" My father said as he looked at the man.

"No," Czar said, and the way he said it left no room for argument.

My dad sighed in defeat, and I turned to look at him.

"What's going on?" I said.

My mom looked worried. "Tell her, Rick." She said.

I waited patiently for my father to explain to me what the hell was going on. My heart began to hammer hard against my chest, and I felt uneasy.

"Zariah, you remember my gambling addiction and how we almost lost the house due to me losing so much money?"

I nodded my head.

"Well, I ran into some trouble. I also owned the casino money as well, and I had no way to pay them back. Mr. Kuzmich here owned the casino and was willing to make a deal with me."

"What was the deal?" I asked, now growing worried.

"All my debt will be paid off if you marry him."

I stood up, causing my chair to fall back. "What? No!" I said.

"Zariah, calm down and hear your father out." My mother said calmly.

"No, I refuse to marry a man I don't know," I said

"It's either that or I kill your father," Czar said.

That caused me to freeze and look over at him. "You're bluffing."

"Oh, but I am not, " he said, placing a handgun on the table as if it were nothing.

My heart dropped, and I felt like the wind knocked me out.

"Please sit, Zariah, let your father finish." My mother said.

I silently picked the chair up from the floor before sitting at the table. Josiah took hold of my hand and squeezed it for support, but I felt numb and kept blinking my eyes, wanting the three men in front of me to disappear and never come back.

"Zariah, you will be well taken care of. The Czar is one of the world's richest men and owns many companies. He'll take good care of you and has even allowed you to visit us."

"Allowed?" I repeated in disgust before turning to look at Czar. His face was emotionless, and he just sat there, not seeming to be bothered by the conversation.

"Yes." My father said slowly.

One of the men slid me the papers and pen, and I glanced down at them."You'll have to sign these," Czar said.

I could barely read the papers because my tears clouded my vision. One tear slid down from my cheek and splattered onto the paper. I was torn; I had no other choice than to sign the dotted line, or else my father would die.

So, with a shaky hand, I picked up the pen and wrote my name on all the papers before sliding them roughly back.

Czar placed the papers in a suitcase before all three men stood to their feet.

"I'll be back tomorrow to pick you up and give you time to spend with your family before you come to live with me. We'll then discuss more wedding plans," he said before leaving.

When I heard the front door shut, I rose to my feet.

"Zariah-"

"Don't," I said, cutting my father off and turning to walk to my old room.

Each step felt heavy, and each step felt as if all my dreams were being ripped away from me. I worked so hard to go to college and graduate to become successful and make it big one day, but now all that doesn't seem possible. My father sold away my life all because he couldn't stop his gambling addiction.

When I reached my room, I slammed the door shut and climbed into bed. I allowed the tears to consume me. My head hurt from crying so hard, and I felt weak. I rolled over and looked out the window at the busy city, wishing I hadn't come home today.

Eventually, sleep overcame me.

~*~

AHHHHHH! First chapter to Arranged to Be and I hope you guys like it so far! Can't wait for more updates and you guys comments. Don't forget to comment, follow, and share. Until next time my lovelies.

A/N: I literally had to go back and type this but Zariah is BLACK! I can't stress this enough. A lot of people picture her as white despite her having dark brown skin😭and tight curls! But yes Zariah is black🤍