The church erupts in hushed whispers.
He turns back to me, his face a mask of misery and resolve. “I’m sorry. Dakota, I’m so sorry. I can’t do it. I can’t marry you.”
My mother gasps. Somewhere to my left, Father makes a strangled sound of rage. And I…
I should feel devastated.
Humiliated.
Instead, a treacherous relief floods through me, so powerful my knees nearly buckle.
No!
No, no, no.
What about the treatment?
Without the money, Amelia’s treatments stop.
We lose everything.
What have I done wrong?
“I tried,” Cameron continues, his voice breaking. “I swear I tried to do what was right for everyone. But I can’t promise to love you when I—” he glances at the woman, Sienna, his expression cracking open with naked longing. “When my heart belongs to someone else.”
I look at her and see it.
Real love.
Not arranged. Not convenient. Not practical.
Just pure, inconvenient, impossible love.
A strange emptiness opens inside me. Not envy, exactly. How can I condemn him for wanting what I’ve secretly wished for myself?
A harsh cough cuts through the murmurs. A guest in the back row doubles over, a wet sound tearing from his throat. Everyone turns to stare.
“Sorry,” the man gasps, holding up his hands. “Sorry, I?—”
Someone pats his back while others shoot annoyed glances.
“Sorry.” He coughs one last time, then sits up straight. “Please continue.”
“This marriage will happen.” My father strides forward, grabbing my arm with bruising force. “We have an agreement.”
“An agreement built on blackmail.” Julien steps forward, his voice a low, controlled rumble that makes my hairs stand. “This ends now, Nicklas.”
The church goes so quiet I can hear the rustle of my dress as I turn to look at him. Blackmail?
“What?” I whisper.
Julien glares at me like I personally orchestrated this whole disaster.
“Julien.” Amelia places her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, I?—”
Her voice breaks, and the hard lines around his eyes soften, a flicker of the boy he once was glimpsing through.
“Not your fault, Meli,” he says. “Your father threatened to destroy our family business with inside information unless we agreed to this marriage.”
