Fiona
The silence stretched too long after he said it. I didn’t even know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that. I had said it but I didn’t expect him to follow along with it.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Marissa’s voice shot out first. She was already halfway up from her seat, arms stiff at her sides, face turning red fast, “you’re marrying me.”
My father looked confused, like he’d heard the wrong name. “Rick,” he said, standing now too. “Son, this can’t be what you meant. She’s not…”
My stepmother gripped the back of her chair and looked at me like I’d just stabbed her. “You can’t be serious. Is this a joke?”
Rick didn’t move. He didn’t blink. He looked like he was still deciding whether any of them were worth acknowledging. Then he said it again, this time slower.
“My father said to make a contract with this family. I’m choosing who that will be with.”
The way he said it was cold, his voice was not loud or angry it was just final like it wasn’t up for discussion.
My father took a step forward, “you don’t understand the agreement. We talked about this. Your father and
I…”
Rick glanced at his watch, one hand coming up casually. “I’m late for another appointment.”
He turned to leave.
“Rick,” Marissa snapped. “You’re not walking out, you don’t get to say that and walk out.”
He walked anyway.
He reached the door, pulled it open, then stopped just once to look over his shoulder. His eyes didn’t go to my father or Marissa. He looked only at me, “it will be happening tomorrow,” he said and then he left.
The door clicked shut. My stomach dropped. I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until it rushed out in one sharp exhale.
My father turned toward me so fast I flinched. “What did you say to him?”
I looked at him and didn’t answer.
My stepmother was shaking her head, her mouth slightly open. “What kind of manipulation did you pull? What did you promise him? This is disgusting.”
“I didn’t promise him anything,” I said.
Marissa took a step closer, her heels clicking too hard on the tile. Her eyes were glossy, her lip trembling. “You left for three years. You disappeared like you were dead. You show up with your bastard child and
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Chapter 5
now you’re stealing my fiancé?”
My hand moved before I even thought about it.
55 vouchers
The slap landed across her cheek with a sharp sound. Her head jerked sideways. She held her face and stared at me like she didn’t recognize me.
“You don’t get to talk about my child,” I said. “Not ever.”
No one moved.
I turned to Lena, who had already slid off her chair. Her small hand reached for mine like she knew it was
time to go.
“We’re done here,” I said.
I walked out of the room with Lena beside me. I didn’t wait for anyone to stop me or follow. I walked through the hallway, past the massive front door, and out into the open air. I could still hear them shouting behind me, voices clashing, furniture shifting.
I got Lena into her seat, buckled her in, then slid behind the wheel. My hands tightened around it. I started the engine and pulled away from the house without looking back.
Halfway down the driveway, I glanced at Lena in the mirror. She was holding the edge of her dress and looking out the window.
“Mommy?” she asked.
“Yeah?”
She hesitated. “Are we in trouble?”
“No,” I said. “We’re going home.”
We drove in silence for a while. I didn’t turn on the radio. I needed the quiet to think. My head was a mess. Rick had just declared he was going to marry me and then walked out like it was nothing.
I hadn’t even spoken to him alone. I didn’t know what his game was. I didn’t know if this was real, if he remembered something, if he was just doing it to piss off his father or mine,
But something in the way he looked at me didn’t feel fake.
I gripped the wheel tighter. My fingers were sweating.
He couldn’t possibly want to marry me out of nowhere. Not unless… unless something had started to come back. He had looked at Lena too long. He had looked at me too long. That wasn’t a stranger’s gaze.
Still, no one just drops an announcement like that unless they’ve already made up their mind.
We reached our building. I parked and helped Lena out. She skipped up the steps like nothing had happened. I unlocked the door and let her inside.
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8:40 pm ED
Chapter 5
EL 55 vouchers
She kicked off her shoes and headed straight for her drawing pads. I stood in the kitchen with my coat still on, staring at the floor.
What the hell just happened?
I pulled my phone out and stared at the screen. No messages. No calls. No updates.
Rick hadn’t contacted me.
He just left. Walked out of that house and left me to deal with the pieces.
I sat down on the couch and took off my heels. My feet were sore. My head was still buzzing from everything. Marissa’s voice was stuck in my ears. My father’s tone. That look on Rick’s face.
I leaned back and stared at the ceiling. My stomach was twisting.
He had to reach out. He had to explain. He couldn’t just say something like that and disappear.
Unless that was the point. Unless he was forcing the next move out of me. But why?
Why now? What did he remember?
I pulled the blanket over my lap and sat in silence.
I didn’t know what I’d just walked into. I didn’t know what I was a part of now.
But I was marrying Rick tomorrow.
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