AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey.” Clover nudged her playfully. Even if she hadn’t known his true identity at the time, circumstance led Clover and Damon together. “Despite our unusual meeting, it still felt inevitable. And I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”
“So, Clover meets a hot male escort, fake-dates him and then falls in love with him and has her dream job and a new shiny beau. I’m sure a little age gap isn’t going to be that big of a deal in your love quest,” Issobelle exemplified. Clover pinched her. “Hey!”
“You like to bring that one up when you can, don’t you?” Clover asked, trying to keep a serious expression.
“I mean c’mon it’s kind of a cool meet-cute,” Issobelle laughed.
I considered her seriously. “I don’t think it’s the age gap that’s the problem anymore. I lied to him… If you’d seen his expression when he’d found out…” I fell short, the emotion as raw now as it had been then. How could I ever ask for his forgiveness after I brought that kind of trouble to his home?
“Well trust is important but it’s not like you lied to him on purpose. I mean the man saved you from a pack of wolves. If he can do that and not sit in a room with you and express his feelings then he’s really misaligned,” Issobelle casually shrugged.
Clover tsked at her.
“What?” Issobelle made light of it. “Putting him to the side, you can’t marry this Frederick douchebag. I don’t care what your parents say. You can live with me for all I give a shit.”
“You know you’re always welcome to live with Damon and me,” Clover added.
I scrunched up my nose. “No offence, Clover, but I wouldn’t want to be third wheel to your household considering you and Damon just moved in together and can’t keep your hands off each other.
“And besides, I can do this. I’m going to tell my father outright tonight I won’t go through with it.” A heavy weight sat on my chest. “And if he disowns me because of it… well I’ll figure it out.” Ironically, the pay check I’d been waiting on had been deposited into my account weeks ago. It was minimal but it was there and it was mine. And although my mother had given me a credit card to use, I wanted to try and stand on my own two feet and stay true to my decision.
I’d been so scared about my parents’ disappointment and them disowning me that I’d been willing to sign my life away. And although I was blessed with my mother’s permission—in not so many words—I realized vomiting in the bottom of that bin in that ridiculously hideous wedding dress that there was no way I could go through with this, even when I tried to force myself.
We’d finally arrived at the hotel my parents stayed in when they visited. I could see my mother waiting patiently in the reception.
“Do you need us to come with you?” Clover asked quietly. I inhaled a long calming breath.
“No, I need to do this on my own.” Facing my father terrified me but other things terrified me more… Like a lot of wrongs and hurts I had to make up for. Like flying to Chicago and confronting Eric to apologize. That scared me more than anything else. Because it would be his final rejection, which I anticipated, that would break me completely. I owed him at least a proper explanation. And my fragile heart gave way to the hopeful thought that maybe he’d hear me out… that he’d look at me with something other than disgust. But first I had to get through this.
“Thank you. I love you both,” I admitted and pulled them tightly into a hug.
“I’m still pissed,” Issobelle called out, taking another sip of her milkshake. Clover swatted her arm, the two mock-bickering behind me as I walked through the doors, my mother studying her wristwatch, without looking at me as she stood. “You’re five minutes late.”
“I feel like five minutes late from ruining my father’s day and possibly year isn’t all that bad,” I replied.
She nodded taking a harsh swallow. Because she’d be the one to deal with the fallout. And yet my mother had given me an out. One I could never admit to another person in case she was judged by my father for it.
My mother and I stood silently in the elevator and my heart thrummed in my chest. I loved my father, despite how messed up the situation might be in him palming me off like some bargaining chip, I still loved him. And the thought of him being displeased or even hating me sent a cold chill through me and my stomach swirled with nausea again. But I couldn’t live a loveless marriage simply because I wanted him to be happy with a business deal gone right. He wouldn’t be sitting in the marriage—I would.
When the elevator doors opened, commotion and chaos sounded through the halls. Walking straight out into the hallway of the penthouse, I saw Frederick round the corner with a sneer on his face. He barged between me and my mother. I grabbed her by the arm before she lost her footing.
“Hey, asshole!” I hissed. When he turned, he looked ominous, a vile sneer and expression on his face.
“Couldn’t keep your filthy mouth shut could you?” he growled.
My mother was indignant, and I stared at him, baffled. When the elevator doors closed, we turned to face one another. Neither of us knew what was happening. We followed the noise to where it sounded like my father was losing his absolute shit.
“Dad?” I called out as we rounded into the sizeable living room. A few papers had been thrown to the floor and with a bony finger, he pointed into the direction that Frederick had left.
“He was trying to trick us,” he yelled furiously. Even in my father’s rage, still not a single strand of hair was out of place.
“Marcus,” my mother said calmly because she was used to his many spurts. “What happened?” She hurried to pick up the papers in case someone might see him having “such a moment.” I hadn’t envied my time away. The longer I’d been away from them the more relaxed I became and not caring so much what other people thought, if ever so slightly. But my parents, they hadn’t and were never going to change a bit.
“Did you know they’d run out of oil,” my father said, raising more papers in the air. “They planned on marrying in for the security of funds knowing I would’ve bought into the company.”
My mother silently poured him a whisky from the bottle always conveniently placed on the side table. My mind was a whirl. Slowly, I took the bundled papers from him. It contained graphs and figures, some emails sent via management, and it was all in the negative. The last two years of earnings dropping significantly. How had they even covered this up from the media so far? Then again, Frederick’s family cared about their appearance and reputation just as much as my own parents.
“You will not be marrying that man,” he said, as if it were a punishment that I now couldn’t marry him. “I forbid it.” I tried to wipe the smile from my face, the mounted relief flowing off me. I lunged for my dad, taking him by surprise as I hugged him.
