“Language, Andrea!” my mother snaps.
“Oh, for fuck’s sakes, Mother! Wind your neck in!” I turn back to my father. “And how the hell do you figure that I owe you, Daddy?”
“You…” he begins, his cheeks growing red. “You owe us… owe us…” he falters. “You will never be Kyle!” he finally yells.
“No, you’re right!” I manage to get out. Tears are brimming. “But I’m me! Your daughter…” I can’t say more because my throat has closed up.
“Precisely,” my father says. “And as our daughter, you will do the right thing. Marry Mark.”
“It’s not possible,” I choke out.
“Of course it is,” he replies, hard lines forming around his mouth. “You simply set aside your wild ways and do your duty.”
“I can’t marry Mark! Because I’m engaged to Mateo!” My voice is agonized. But my father ignores it. His face is twisted into a mask of hate.
“Then end it!” he snarls. “You will do as I say and marry into the Whitlock family.”
Is he serious? I just told him I’m marrying the man across the table from me, and he’s telling me to end it. I sense Mateo shifting, growing tense, his hands balling into fists.
“I can’t end it!” I cry out. I look from my father to my mother and back. Are they truly expecting this from me?
“Why the fuck not?” demands my father.
“Because…because…” I bleat, scrambling for a response. My mother stares at me, then at Mateo. And then at the glass of water in front of me.
“Oh my God,” she whispers. “You’re pregnant.”
I gape at her. What the fuck?
“No!” my father yells.
“Yes,” I respond. “Yes, it’s true. I’m pregnant.” Mateo chokes on his water, sets his glass down, and blinks at me but says nothing.
“Get rid of it,” my father snarls, and I have no words.
No fucking words left.
Chapter 7
Mateo Ricci
“Enough!” I roar through the mayhem, and all three Carters snap their heads to face me. I’ve just spent an eternity watching these predators attack the woman across from me, and it’s fucking enough.
“Richards—!” Broderick Carter snarls at me, and I slam my fist onto the table. Cutlery crashes.
“I. Said. Enough,” I say softly. He puts his glass down and sets his jaw. “I am marrying your daughter,” I continue. “And there isn’t a damn thing you can do to stop it.”
“I don’t remember you asking for her hand,” he has the nerve to say.
“I think that’s unnecessary, don’t you, Carter?” I scoff. “We’re not living in the dark ages. Andy is a grown woman. She can make her own decisions.” I look over at Andy, who’s staring at me wide-eyed. She flicks the tip of her tongue over her lips, and I watch it. How does she manage to pack so much sensuality into such a tiny movement?
“In polite society, we—” Carter begins.
“Polite society?” I scoff again. “I just heard you tell your only daughter to get rid of her baby so you can marry her off to another man.”
Baby? Holy fuck.
I don’t know how that cropped up, but I won’t end the lie now. It’s the best leverage she seems to have.
