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I winced under his guttural growl.
“Ah a smart man after all,” Frederick applauded. His bodyguard, despite his size and previous show of brute force, gently pulled me up from the floor. I hated this. I hated this family. I hated this hurt. I hated these chains.
Tears streamed down my face as I realized I was tired of running. I’d found what I’d been looking for. Someone to love, and in the process, I’d hurt them more painfully than I could’ve ever imagine I was capable of.
Shadow whined behind me as I made for the door, scratching at the wooden floorboard to follow. I felt numb as I was escorted to the car, in complete disbelief that not only had my father bargained me off, but Eric had so easily let me go too. But I couldn’t blame him for it. I hated myself. I’d brought this upon him. If I’d told him earlier, would it have been any different? Or had I really been that stupid, thinking that I could keep running away and avoiding my responsibility?
After Frederick’s bodyguard collected all three suitcases and slammed the trunk shut, I finally looked up and out the window. The cabin’s front door was closed, a fitting metaphor for the memories shared and now, the disbelief of my heart being ripped out, discarded and bound to remain in the mountains. It’d been the last place I’d ever thought I’d wind up and feel at home. I curled my arms around myself, the cold chill of coming day seeping into the car. No, it wasn’t this place that made me feel at home—it’d been Eric. And I’d fucked it all up.
I began to sob in the back of the car, the calamity of everything that was about to happen unfurling. My biggest nightmare had finally caught up to me, and yet I felt like I’d just left behind an even bigger disaster.
Chapter 33
Cassidy
Iwrung my hands, anxiety fueling me as I sat on the expensive white sofa. I knew my mother had been silently staring at the dirt mark on my jacket since the moment I’d walked in. Frederick hadn’t so much as allowed me to stop, let alone shower or change my attire since he’d dragged me out of Eric’s cabin in my pajamas. My parents seemed disgruntled by my attire, but appreciative for him having brought me.
I hadn’t seen my parents for over three years now. My mother’s silky blonde hair was highlighted with a few lighter blondes mixing in the gray and my father, twenty years her senior only had flickers of gray through his molten brown hair. They hadn’t changed or aged a bit.
We sat in the lobby of their penthouse in Manhattan. Frederick’s bodyguard waited outside the door and Frederick poured himself and my father a glass of whiskey as they stood, peering over me as if I was some scolded child.
My only semblance of decency was that my mother actually hugged me and voiced she’d been concerned for my well-being when I arrived. But that affection was now long gone as my father adopted his usual business demeanor, appraising me as if I was some supervisor lacking in one of his projects.
“Do you know to what lengths it took us to find you? We were terrified as to what would happen when we cut off your credit card and cell.”
“You didn’t have to listen to him,” I mumbled in Frederick’s direction, since it had been his idea to begin with.
“Don’t give me attitude,” my father said, defeated. “These were our terms. You and I set an agreement before you left for New York. You had three years to enjoy your youth. More lenient than we were initially going to allow you. And this is how you repay us? Running off like a child?”
“I don’t want to marry him,” I gritted out, digging my nails into my leg.
“What we want, sweetheart, and what is our duty are two different things,” my mother said gently. My throat locked up on any smart remark because of her tender tone. I’d watched my parents in a loveless marriage. And as harsh as my mother might’ve been, she cared, and I knew my father did somewhere deep down as well. But it didn’t mean they could still treat me like their little girl, bargaining me off.
“We live in the twenty-first century. I feel like I’m being bargained off like some goat,” I argued.
“Watch your tone,” my father reprimanded. “Your mother and I were married in the same way. And we’ve lived a happy beneficial life.”
I almost choked on mock-humor. Was that between the silent affairs or “pushed under the rug” deals to protect the families’ images? And that was what he deemed to be a “happy beneficial life”?
“You’re our only daughter,” my mother said carefully. “We want what’s best for you.”
“And this is what’s best for you,” my father said, pointing to Frederick. He’d said very little at this point, but his presence loomed over me like an axe. Neither of us mentioned the cabin or Eric. My heart ached at the thought. But Frederick’s threat still lingered and was very real. If the only thing coming between him and what he wanted was me having fallen in love with another man, he’d destroy it within an eyeblink.
I couldn’t drag Eric into this any further than I had already. And because of that, I couldn’t expose Frederick for his nature because I didn’t want Eric involved or dirtied in this mess. We were at a standstill. My heart pined at the thought of having so many things left unsaid. But the way he’d looked at me… disgusted and horrified... How could I ever dare face him again?
It was hard to tell my parents about Frederick, the mask he wore and the ugliness of his true nature. He’d spent years perfecting it, fine-tuning what he wanted the world to see. And I only looked like the silly girl, running away from a forced marriage.
“Please, Dad.” My bottom lip wobbled. Today had been a long day. I wanted to sleep and pretend like it’d never happened.
“Cassidy, my darling,” my father said, placing his glass of whiskey down. “Please don’t make us look unreasonable.” He tucked a piece of my hair back. “This was our agreement. You need to contribute to this household in your own way. What did you think would happen? That you’d continue living and partying in New York? There is expectation of you and with your skillset you can do very little to maintain the name or its funds.” Not that we needed any more money. “Your place, to support your family is by Frederick’s side.”
My shoulders caved in. They’d never expected anything of me. I knew in my heart if I’d been born a son and not a daughter, my father might’ve expected something different of me. And my mother had never suggested anything else. And yet I’d allowed it to happen as well. I’d been ignorant and naïve running away. And for what?
“Cassidy,” my mother spoke up. I didn’t look at her. I wasn’t going to convince anyone else otherwise in this room what was best for me. Defeated, I began to believe what they were saying was true. “You’ve always dreamed of a big love. But sometimes those things just don’t happen in real life. Instead, you should seek an agreeable companionship. It’s not easy maintaining this lifestyle. You can have anything you want—and this is how to keep it.”
“I think maybe we shouldn’t pressure her so much tonight,” Frederick spoke chivalrously. I death-stared him, channeling all my hate and fury. My parents both looked at him admirably. “It’s a lot, I don’t want my future fiancée thinking I’m taking everything from her. We should give her a few days. I know she’ll come around.”
Had it not been for my upbringing and my parents standing in the room, I might’ve spat in his face. But all I wanted to do was curl myself into a ball and cry. I was back in New York, this city that I loved but didn’t feel like home anymore. It just felt like an extension of the cage I’d been trying to flee.
