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“My only child who’s under twenty-six…”

He doesn’t need to say it. We all know I’m the only one who fits that category. And as if on cue, every head at the table turns toward me as my father continues.

“It’s obvious he did this on purpose, waiting for Sierra to reach this age, because that contract also specifies it becomes null and void if the child marries before his twenty-sixth birthday.”

“We’re not in the ‘90s anymore,” Zayn says, his voice uncharacteristically cold. “Your parents can’t decide the future of one of your children. That kind of document certainly has no legal basis.”

“That’s what we thought too. And ever since, we’ve been working with our lawyers to find any loophole, any way to make it invalid,” John says, rising to his feet. “But there is none. They signed and registered it properly. Which means Sierra must marry into that family, unless…”

“Unless she marries someone else before her birthday,” Kai finishes for his father. And I never heard his voice sound more dangerous.

“Yes,” Dad confirms, his tone tight. “That was his mistake. There is no news about you dating or getting engaged so he thought he could speed things up. His company is actually not going through a very good time, like he wants the world to think, and he’s desperate.”

Mom continues to explain how our lawyers advised us to proceed, but I’m no longer listening. Her voice fades into the background as the panic starts to take over.

I push myself out of the chair slowly, needing air, needing space, needing to think, but Dad stops me with a hand on my wrist.

“Baby,” he says gently, “if you marry before your next birthday, the contract will be null. We need you to marry Nick. I can’t let you marry Colt Jones.”

“Who? You better be fucking joking,” Nick asks, eyes blazing. “What does he have to do with any of this?”

“The person who called me is Walton Jones, Colt’s father.”

Dad reveals, and everything around me stills. My vision blurs, and for a terrifying second, I realize I’m not breathing.

Colt Jones.

We went to the same college. Met at a few parties. But we weren’t close, not even remotely. He approached me once or twice, but I turned him down politely.

He has a bad reputation. There are stories, rumors about his life.

Sure, he’s handsome. Ridiculously so. And yes, there’s always been a crowd of women ready to do anything he wants. But I’m not one of them. Never have been.

I turn to Nick instinctively, and he’s already watching me. His expression unreadable. Intense.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” Mom says in the sweet tone she always uses when she tries to comfort me, making her way towards me. “This is not how your dad and I wanted you to start your family, but it’s beyond our control.”

She pulls me into a tight hug, and for a moment, I let her hold me.

“If we don’t honor the contract, Walton will make public a lot of—let’s call them dark—details about your grandparents’ past. And, of course, our name will be dragged into terrible scandals, which will surely lead to the destabilization of the company as well.”

“You marry Nickolas in less than a month, or you marry Colt Jones after your birthday, Ser. It’s your choice,” John states, looking at my father with hurt in his eyes.

“No, actually, it’s not,” Nick growls, and his voice sounds rough and raw and absolutely final. “Her only choice is when she’s going to marry me. Because she sure as shit isn’t marrying Colt.”

All of us stare at him, shocked into silence by the fire in his eyes and the sharp edge in his tone.

EIGHT

Nick

I don’t understand what the hell came over me when I agreed to the wedding, but the thought of Sierra with Colt fucking Jones drove me insane.

I open my laptop to get some work done, hoping to lose myself in spreadsheets and emails, but I can’t focus. Not even a little.

All I’ve been doing since I got home was thinking about her. I can still feel her sweet scent. I can still feel the warmth of her body. My dick’s been semi-hard ever since I had her in my arms, and the quick release in the shower this morning didn’t help at all.

This is another low.