“For me?” He scoffed. “If that was true, she would’ve respected the negotiations I’d entered into on her behalf.”
“Oh, the negotiations you didn’t even respect her enough to mention? The negotiations you entered into that would’ve seen her shipped off to the other side of the world with a man she doesn’t trust, doesn’t know, and doesn’t want to be with? Is that what you’re talking about?”
His teeth ground. “That was my prerogative.”
“Okay. Let me put it to you this way, then. Do you care about your daughter’s well-being at all?”
His eyes flashed. “Of course I?—”
“No,” I said, talking over him. “I don’t think you do. Not the way you should, at least.”
A muscle jumped in his cheek. “You’re out of line, boy.”
“Then answer me this.” I leaned in. “Do you know how long she’s been struggling with her mother’s death? How alone she’sfelt? How she thought marrying a monster might be the only way to earn your attention and your love?”
“That is not true.” Douglas paled. “We all struggled after Rochelle’s death, but Charlotte has never had to?—”
“Yes, she has,” I said, blunt and final. “She told me how she’s always been pushed aside the second you’ve got something better to do. How you’ve treated her like an ornament, an inanimate object who’s not worthy of even being spoken to unless you need something from her.”
Douglas opened his mouth, closed it again, and then massaged his temple with his glasses still in his hand. “I’m not sure where you’re getting any of this, but it’s utter fabrication.”
I shook my head. “Over the last few weeks, she’s told me everything and I believe every word. You haven’t been particularly good to her, have you? Think about it, Doug. You really don’t care about what’s best for her. All you care about are your own interests and you’re perfectly willing to use her when it suits you.”
He fell silent, stunned, like the ground beneath him had shifted and he didn’t know where to step next. Satisfaction purred deep in my chest like an engine coming to life after years spent being worked on.
I was glad he was feeling whatever he was feeling. He fucking deserved it. I pushed off the desk, pacing once before turning back. “Gregory is not who you think he is.”
Douglas stiffened. “He’s from an excellent family. There have been some misunderstandings, but his father?—”
“His father sent him out of England to keep him from embarrassing them further,” I snapped. “Alex told me the real story. Not the sanitized version, but the truth that Gregory has managed to hide behind charm and fancy suits.”
Douglas tried to interject, but I didn’t let him. “Do you know how many women he’s cornered exactly like this? Howmany people he’s manipulated? Backed into legal nightmares and contracts they didn’t want? Do you know how many families have paid him off quietly just to make him disappear?”
Douglas stared at me like I’d become the bane of his existence, but I went on. “He was practically chased out of Great Britain, Doug. The man is radioactive. A blight on that family’s name. He came here because his father realized Gregory was tearing through every resource and bit of reputation they had left and they wanted a fresh start for him.”
Silence settled between us, thick, cold, and heavy, but I still wasn’t done. “He’s trying to claw his status back by sinking his hooks into the only thing that can give him a real foothold here, the Westwood fortune. Your daughter’s inheritance.”
Douglas leaned back hard in his chair, absorbing every word, but he still shook his head. “That’s not?—”
I scoffed. “He approached you because he saw an opportunity with Charlotte. It’s not because he wants her or because he respects your family. Hell, he barely even knows her and the only thing he wants from your family is what you can offer him. Money. Legitimacy.”
Douglas swallowed. “I don’t believe that.”
“Then believe this,” I snapped. “Everything Gregory is doing right now, dragging lawyers into it, forcing the prenup, and insisting on rights he was never entitled to? Those aren’t the actions of a wounded suitor. It’s a man executing a strategy he’s used before and you’re welcome to have your own people look into it. Just be prepared for what they’ll find.”
I paused, letting the truth simmer between us while Douglas felt the weight of his own blindness. When he sighed, I finally spoke again.
“Charlotte deserves better,” I said, my voice quieter now but no less firm. “If you won’t stand up for her, I damn well will.”
He didn’t seem to have an immediate answer to that, just staring at me like he was seeing me for who I really was for the first time. “What do you want?”
“I’m not going to let the woman I love fall into that monster’s hands,” I said, my voice tight and controlled only because yelling would’ve given him the satisfaction of thinking he’d rattled me. I locked eyes with my reluctant father-in-law. “You can keep trying to stop me, and her, but I put a ring on her finger, and I’ll be dead and buried before I let anyone take it off. Do your worst, but Charlotte is mine now, and I plan to keep it that way.”
His expression finally faltered, offense flickering across his features first, but then confusion, and then something half-formed that might’ve been regret if he were a slightly better man. “If this is about her inheritance?—”
“I don’t need it and neither does she.” My jaw clenched so hard, it hurt. “She has me. She doesn’t need a damn dime from that estate anymore. Keep it, for all I care. As long as you stay away from her while you hang onto it.”
I turned and stormed to the door, but my hand had just touched the knob when I paused. I found myself half-turning, throwing my final shot over my shoulder like a blade.
