It was a habit my grandfather had caught onto. I failed every one of his tests after each meeting and paid for it in ways I’d rather never think about again.
“Your ridiculous little stage of experimentation ends now,” my mother was saying as she straightened my tie for me.
The words cut deep, and bile rose in my throat. How could I explain to her how I felt in words that she’d understand? In a way that she’d hear me? The reality was that I couldn’t. She wouldn’t care. She couldn’t love me this way.Though I wasn’t sure she loved me at all.
“There’s no room forthatkind of thing in our world,” she told me. “You will marry a woman, you will have a family, and you will take your father’s place in the company. Those are the things that matter. Do you understand?”
Words stuck in my throat.I hated all of the words coming out of her mouth.Still, I nodded slightly.
“The Hammonds are powerful people,” she continued. “Vivienne is a good match for you. A smart match. Together, you two will accomplish great things.”
“What if I don’t like her?” I dared to ask.
“Do you think I liked your father?” she scoffed. “He was a weak man who needed a stern partner to guide him. Your grandfatherrecognized that a long time ago. He saw it in your father, and he sees it in you.”
“But were you ever happy with him?” I wasn’t sure why I asked the question. It seemed so trivial in the grand scheme of things, but maybe I needed to know it’d be okay.That I’d be okay.
“Happiness is a delusion that people cling to, using it to convince themselves that they’re fine where they are. Happiness doesn’t get you anywhere in life. The sooner you understand that, the better off you’ll be.” She took my face in her hands, making me look at her. “I know you think I’m hard on you, Harley, but you need it. You need to know these things to succeed. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Mother,” I whispered. I didn’t, but I knew there was no point in telling her that. It didn’t matter what I wanted or what I felt. Her word was final. There was no point in fighting that.
Vivienne Hammond carried herself the same way my mother did: with practiced grace and power. She walked into the room as if she owned it—like her status as an heiress made others inferior to her. From her poise to her outfit, she was dripping with wealth and self-inflation. She was everything I wanted to avoid in a partner.
And yet, here I was… sitting at a lunch I hadn’t agreed to. I watched my life unfold around me like something that had already been decided for me. Like something that her father and my mother had decided.
Vivienne soaked up the attention while I stared at my plate, pushing my food around mindlessly. The weight of expectation was crushing.
“How was your move back to the city?” my mother was asking.
“Oh, I never lived in the city,” Vivienne replied with a little laugh. “I’ve visited Alexander a few times, but I grew up in France.”
My gaze flicked to my mother as Vivienne called her father by his first name. There would’ve been hell to pay if I called her Elizabeth, but she just nodded along with Vivienne’s story as if it were completely normal.
“Harley has lived in the city for a few years now,” my mother told her. My breath caught in my throat, an ebb of panic weaseling its way through my chest.Oh, no.I knew exactly where this was going. I could feel it, even before she said. My chest tightened, and my throat clogged. “He would love to show you around when he returns, wouldn’t you, Harley?”
All eyes turned to me. The air in my lungs thickened uncomfortably. My fingers tightened around my fork as a dozen different responses flashed through my mind—none of which I could say out loud.
“Sure,” I whispered. “If you wanted to, I could.”
The moment the words left my mouth, my heart sank.
“I’d love that. We could make a whole afternoon of it.” Vivienne fluttered her lashes at me with a look that I was positive some guys would’ve enjoyed. Truthfully, she was attractive, with her golden-blonde hair and vibrant blue eyes. Her orange dress complemented her tanned skin, and there wasn’t a single pore visible on her face with all the makeup she wore. I had no doubt most guys found her attractive, but I couldn’t get past the cat claw nails and heavy perfume that made me gag. “We can have dinner afterwards, and you can try some of my favorite foods from France.”
“You cook?” I asked, genuinely surprised. My question made her and her father laugh.
“Of course not!” Vivienne exclaimed. “I have better things to do than cook. I brought my personal chef with me from France. He’s absolutely fantastic. You’ll adore his cooking.”
Yeah, that tracked.
My mother’s glare cut into me, sharp and demanding, and I scrambled to fill the silence with something agreeable—something that wouldn’t set her off. I wasn’t even sure what I said. Something polite. Something empty.
It was enough.
The conversation moved on as if nothing had happened—as if anything I had to say didn’t matter.I didn’t matter.They laughed and made plans that I wanted no part of. They were completely oblivious to how I struggled and tried to hide the bubbling emotions rolling through me.
I wanted no part of this, but I just couldn’t see a way out.
CHAPTER 29
