“I have nothing to say to you.”
“Well, we have plenty to say to you,” James Manford replies.
Reluctantly, I turn over and sit up, placing my bare feet on the ground.
“You look like hell,” my father says.
I just glare at him as he walks across the room and enters the bathroom.
“This kind of conduct is beneath you, Jason.” James leans against the wall beside the desk and folds his arms. “You are smarter than this. You are destined to be the future Sloth heir, and quite frankly, this latest behavior concerns me.”
“If you’re that worried, cut me loose. Find someone more worthy.”
“Don’t be facetious, Jason,” he replies. “You know that’s not how these things work. Julia and you were matched for a reason, and those reasons haven’t changed.” James purses his lips. “If this juvenile behavior is a deliberate attempt to thwart your marriage to my daughter, think again. This marriage is happening. The only thing your behavior will achieve is a delaying of the transfer of power from me to you until I have groomed you to be the perfect replacement. You will just prolong the situation.”
“You are a second son,” Dad says, returning to the room and handing me a wet facecloth. He was clearly listening to our conversation from the bathroom. “And I won’t tolerate this rebelliousness any longer. Your blatant disrespect of me and James on Monday was completely unacceptable.” He looms over me, pinning me with a lethal look. “You will do as you are told or face the consequences.”
“Which are?” I quirk a brow as I press the wet cloth against my dry lips.
“You’re close with your friends on the team. Chad, Nix, Creed, right?” James says.
I don’t bother replying to his rhetorical question.
“Step out of line, and your friends will pay the price,” Dad confirms.
It’s classic Luminary behavior—threaten the innocents who can’t defend themselves. It’s an effective strategy though. It’s why most luminaries don’t mix with outsiders. They can’t use innocents to hurt you if you haven’t befriended or fallen in love with any.
My father doesn’t need to elaborate for me to understand. I toe the line, or they will kill my friends.
All rebelliousness flees my veins, and I nod.
It’s one thing to place myself in danger.
I won’t do that to my unsuspecting friends.
I need to formulate a more sophisticated plan. One which will legitimately extract me from the marriage to Julia and let me marry Ashley instead.
For now, I need to stop outwardly rebelling and play the game. “I understand.”
“I hope you do.” James flicks a piece of fluff from the arm of his navy suit jacket. “You are engaged to my daughter now, and I expect you to conduct yourself accordingly. You have your Luminary commitments, of course, and those are sanctioned, but for now I expect you to demonstrate loyalty and faithfulness to my daughter as your future wife. Your engagement is public and official, and I won’t have her disrespected.”
Of course, he won’t. These assholes bend the rules to suit themselves. As long as I’m discreet, I am allowed to fuck whomever I want while engaged. He is only doing this to enforce his power over me, and to appease his whiny daughter.
“I have tolerated your indiscretion with my niece for years.” He stabs me with a look. “It ends now.”
“A marriage contract is being worked out for Ashley,” my dad says, and I work hard to hide my reaction. It’s not like I haven’t considered this already, but I thought I had more time. Ash isn’t familiar with our ways, and she won’t be fully up to speed for some time. I didn’t think they would rush to find her a match this soon. It complicates things.
“You will not interfere,” James cautions one final time.
“Understood.”
“Ashley is new to our world, and she has a lot to learn. She doesn’t need this complication either. If you love her like you profess to do, you will walk away and let her deal with her fate,” my father says.
“You need to make the point very clear to her,” James warns. “Ensure she hates you so there is no doubt you and her will never be.”
I’m in a shitty mood the rest of the day after that little visit, and my mood doesn’t improve when my brother shows up later that night.
Despite my earlier promises, I lunge at him the instant he steps foot in my room, throwing a punch at his face. His head whips back, blood spraying from his mouth as my fist connects. My bruised body screams at me in pain, but I ignore it, thrusting my fist at his solar plexus.
