“To be fair, Zachwantedto marry Adeline,” Nate said. “Her family just didn’t want it to happen. They had something else in mind for her, an alliance with another family, like, a real, old money marriage alliance, so they were separated.”
I shook my head, but then Will piped up. “Sure, but you’re forgetting the most important thing, guys. In the end, Adelinechosethe other guy.”
“Fuck, I didn’t know that,” I muttered, huffing out a deep breath as I looked down at my shoes. “Poor Zach.”
“Yeah, but the media won’t care,” Nate said. “They’re going to latch onto this and drag our name into it because of the connection. Zach and Adeline were anitcouple and their breakup was swept under the rug, which led to a lot of public speculation about what happened.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they tried to spin an affair,” Charlotte said, and murmurs of agreement swept through the room. “We can’t even dispel them because of the NDA.”
“We’re still doing nothing,” Alex reminded us. “Our silence is the best way to protect Zachandthe business for now. Jesse has the media covered with his engagement, and then there’s our gala.”
Jacque squirmed in her chair, and immediately, I knew something was very off.How could I not? This is insane.
“You all married for love,” I said, my voice coming out rougher than I’d realized it would and edged with a hardness I didn’t bother hiding.
“It didn’t start that way,” Alex said, like that made it better. More murmurs of agreement followed. Nate. Charlotte. Even Will. “We did it for the family, Jesse. Every last one of us, but we got lucky.”
I let out a humorless laugh and squeezed the back of my neck. It made sense that they’d justify it that way. It wasn’t insane. It was just what we did, dressing up obligation and calling it noble. Necessary.
“Excuse me,” Jacqueline muttered, pushing her chair back so fast, she almost smacked into me. I stepped out of the way just in time, still trying to reach for her before she could make for the door, but she was too fast.
Her cheeks were pale and her footsteps were clipped and fast across the hardwood. I took a step after her, instinct kicking in, but I stopped instead of leaving. If I followed her now, I’d say something reckless or worse, something honest.
So instead, I waited for the click of her heels to recede down the hallway, then turned back. “I actually care about her, you know. I can’t use her like this, Alex. You can’t box us into an actual marriage just because of this article.”
“This is what’s good for the family,” he said immediately, as smooth and easy as if he’d rehearsed it. To be fair though, he probably had. “It’s got to be done, Jesse. Now.”
Nate nodded along like a fucking puppet on a string. “I know it’s not ideal, but?—”
“Not ideal?” The last thread of patience I’d been trying to hang onto snapped and I scoffed. “Shit, we’re nowhere near ideal and that’s fine, but you guys are sounding just like Dad. Has anyone ever told you that?”
Alex’s expression darkened. “Jesse?—”
“Oh, yeah,” I cut in, a sharp laugh slipping out. “Will did. When you tried to gethiswife to stay in an engagement tome.”
Even through the phone, I could feel Will stiffen. Charlotte didn’t say a word. Alex’s mouth pressed into a thin line, but he didn’t deny it.
I shook my head and took a big step back, deliberately putting space between myself and the table. For the first time, I felt a major rift forming between us all. When I’d left before, they’d let me go—Jesse’s just being Jesse.
That was the family line, and frankly, it’d been true, so I’d left it. This felt different, though. It felt a hell of lot worse.
“This isn’t happening,” I said, more certain than I’d ever been about anything. “Not like this.”
“You don’t have a choice,” Alex retorted.
I scoffed again. “There’s always a choice, Alex.”
With that, I turned and walked away without bothering to wait for a response. I didn’t need them to make another argument to try to convince me or to give me another reminder of everything I was supposed to be.
Rain hammered against the windows as I strode down the hall, feeling like I was going to suffocate if I didn’t get out of here soon. The storm outside was relentless, which seemed fitting.
This was a mess. A complete, undeniable, family-sized disaster, but I knew exactly what I wanted, and for once, it had nothing to do with the Westwood name. I was done playing their game.
Now, I just had to make sure I didn’t lose Jacque in the process.
CHAPTER 30
JACQUELINE
