No.
Absolutely not.
Isla would never say that. Never even think about it. I've held her while she cried about belonging, listened to her talk about her dreams that have nothing to do with me or my name.
"I don't believe you."
"Then you're a fool. But I'm not going to stand by and watch you throw away your future for a gold-digger."
Gold-digger. The word makes my blood boil.
"She's not?—"
"I'm giving you a choice, Sebastian." He cuts me off, and now the threat is explicit. "End this tonight, publicly, and I'll forget this whole embarrassing episode. Or continue with this girl, and I'll make sure everyone knows exactly what she is. I'll expose her scheme, her family's situation, everything. I'll ruin her reputation at this school so thoroughly she'll have no choice but to leave."
The world narrows to this moment. This choice.
Him or her. The legacy or the girl. Everything I've ever known or everything I've discovered I could be.
"You wouldn't."
But I know he would. My father doesn't make empty threats.
"Try me. Thornhills protect their own. And right now, I'm protecting you from yourself."
I should tell him to go to hell. Should defend Isla immediately, completely, without hesitation.
But I'm frozen. Caught between twenty-one years of conditioning and two weeks of freedom.
"I need to think," I hear myself say.
The words are ash in my mouth. Betrayal in three syllables.
"You have until midnight. That's when I'm scheduled to give my donor speech. If you haven't ended this by then, I'll do it for you. Publicly."
He leaves me on the balcony, alone with my cowardice.
I grip the railing so hard my knuckles turn white. Try to breathe through the panic.
I need to find Isla. Need to tell her what just happened. Need to figure out who lied to my father and why.
I head back inside, scanning the ballroom for her red dress. She's not at our table. Not by the bar. Not on the dance floor.
My phone buzzes. Marcus.
Marcus:Your father is here. Looking murderous. What happened?
Me:He knows about Isla. Someone told him lies. He's threatening to destroy her if I don't end it.
Marcus:Who told him?
Me:I don't know. But I'm going to find out.
I spot Harrison by the photography backdrop and make my way over.
"Have you seen Isla?"
"Not in a while. Twenty minutes maybe?" He looks concerned. "Everything okay?"
