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“This guy?” I ask, turning the phone to her.
She nods as another bout of sobs racks her body. “They told me tonight that he’s all for it, his family is ridiculously rich, and he’s a business genius.”
“Does he know how young you are?” I ask, horrified.
She nods. “We went to dinner with him and his parents last night, and he cornered me and tried to grope me. He said he’s always liked his girls young and that he can’t wait to break me in. I never thought Mom and Dad would agree, but it’s all done. They want us to announce the engagement by the end of the month.”
“How old is he?”
“Thirty-five.”
Sick to my stomach, I grab Penelope’s arm and squeeze. “You can’t let them do this. Do you want to marry that pervert and be forced to have children with him? You have to get out; you have to stop this toxic power trip Mom and Dad are on.” My voice is frantic and shrill and apparently loud enough for the guys to hear, because a moment later, both Gulliver and Kip are in the bathroom, filling the space that really wasn’t intended for four people.
“What’s going on? Izzy, are you okay?” Gulliver asks, glaring at my sister.
Ignoring him, I focus on Penelope, needing to know that she isn’t just going to go along with this madness. “Penelope.”
“What can I do?” she says, her voice little more than a broken whisper.
“You break one of the clauses. Fail a class, fuck a guy, get arrested, withdraw all of your college applications. There are so many things you can do, but you can’t let them force you into a marriage with a guy twice your age that you don’t even know. This is the twenty-first century. Great-grandfather might not have realized it when he wrote that horrid will, but we don’t have to play the game. You can just say no,” I tell her, my voice clear and full of determination. I can’t let her do this for the sake of money.
“They’ll never forgive me if I lose the money,” she whispers.
“It’s just money. We’re rich without it. We’ll never want for anything ever for the rest of our lives. Why do they need more? It’s not like they even get to control the company, that all falls to your future husband. So, fuck them. Fuck the stupid will and fuck our evil parents. They don’t care about us, they haven’t since that will was read. You need to think about yourself.”
By the time I finish speaking, my chest is heaving, and anger is pulsing through my muscles.
Strong hands pull me from the floor, and I’m turned into Gulliver’s arms as he smiles widely down at me. “You’re so fucking hot when you’re angry, Little Ghost,” he purrs, a second before his lips find mine.
Our kiss is fast and hard and laced with desire, but I reluctantly pull back, needing to deal with my sister and all of our never-ending drama. Turning in Gulliver’s arms, unwilling to leave his embrace, I lean into his body as I look down at my sister. “You can’t let them do this.”
“I’m not like you,” she whimpers. “I’m not strong.”
“Then you have to get strong. You have to force yourself to be brave. I can help you,” I yell. “We can help you.”
“Why would you want to? I’ve been so awful to you. I’m just as bad as them, and maybe Geoffrey is fate’s way of getting revenge,” she whines.
“Stop feeling sorry for yourself!” I shout. “Get up, wash your face, and then let’s sit down in the living room and figure a way to get you out of this mess and away from Mom and Dad before they find out what you’re doing.”
Two hours and several black coffees later for my sister, all of us, including Hawthorn and Davis, are sitting around the suite’s living room.
“I don’t understand why we’re still discussing this. It’s simple, fail a test,” Gulliver says for the twentieth time.
“My parents have engaged private tutors for every single subject for me. They’re buying the test answers. If I fail a test, they’ll know it was deliberate,” Penelope hisses, her angry tone grating on me.
“Take a shower, and I’ll fuck you,” Davis offers. “I’m not touching you until you wash off the smell of vodka and puke, though.”
“I’m not fucking you. I don’t even like you,” she sneers, turning her nose up at the beautiful boy opposite her.
“But you’ll fuck Geoffrey Bancroft,” Davis sneers. “You know he swings both ways, right? Once you’re engaged, he’s not going to be able to have his boytoy hanging around, so he’s going to have his dick in you, then in who knows how many nasty rent boys. But it’s okay because you’ll be rich enough to pay off the doctors when he gives you an STD.”
Penelope’s jaw drops open, and her eyes widen as they fill with tears.
“Davis,” I snap, and he immediately looks contrite.
“Look, Penelope, we’ve been going round and round in circles for over an hour. There’s no way you can break one of the will stipulations without Mom and Dad finding out. But once it’s done, what can they do? We’ll make sure you don’t have to go back to the house, and once it’s done, nothing they say or do can change that,” I tell her matter-of-factly.
“What about if they do to me what they did to you?” she whispers.
