1 Year Ago
The last time I saw Father was probably months ago. I try not to go to his house too often because our conversations always derail into shouting matches about who’s right and who’s wrong. And I can never, ever win that fight. Especially not with that woman living with him and always taking his side. He protects her more than he ever cared about me.
That’s why I decided to move out and live in my own tiny apartment. It’s a much safer and saner place to live, and I have some savings I can live on until I find a job. I haven’t gotten one yet, but I know if I keep pushing, I’ll be successful. I have to because I’ll run out of savings someday, and there’s no way I’m going back to my father.
Well, except to check on him, of course. I mean, I can’t just let him sit on his golden throne while his wife waits for him to drop dead so she can claim his wealth. That won’t be happening on my watch.
My father’s never been nice to me, but he’s still my father, and I don’t want him to be anyone’s victim.
Today’s our annual get-together with the whole family before he goes on summer vacation, and I went to his place to make sure his wife is still behaving and not secretly poisoning my father. We’re all sitting at the table in silence, eating our dinner without even looking at each other.
My father seems to be okay, health-wise, but I’m not sure mentally he’s doing so well. He’s more absent than usual, and the littlest things, like a misplaced fork or food not being salty enough, enrage him. It’s as if something’s going on, but he won’t tell me.
Suddenly, he slams down his fork and says to the butler, “Can you fucking make sure the steak isn’t overcooked this time?”
“Sorry, sir,” his new butler apologizes. He’s gone through five of them in the past two years. “It won’t happen again.”
“Better not.” My father scoffs, patting his lips with his napkin.
“Father,” I mutter, lowering my fork.
“What?” he snarls.
“Charlotte, better not go there,” Elijah tries to warn me, but I ignore him.
“Is everything okay? You seem so agitated lately,” I say, trying to put it mildly, so Father doesn’t get even angrier.
“It’s none of your damn business,” he growls back.
I frown. “Well, excuse me for being interested.” I sigh as I stare out the window.
“Just eat your damn food,” he says after a while.
“Not hungry,” I reply, grabbing my napkin to wipe my mouth.
“You’re only saying that because you’re offended,” he says.
“I’m not. I’m genuinely worried about you, but you won’t talk to me.”
“What’s there to talk about?” He eyes me down like a vulture. “That you moved out of the house? You constantly ignoring my calls and requests? You constantly ignoring my beautiful wife?” He leans over to touch his wife’s hand, and it makes bile rise in my throat.
“I’m not ignoring anyone. I just wanna live on my own as an adult. Is that so wrong?”
“I never said you could move out.”
“Yet I did,” I reply, shrugging. Apparently, it’s hard for my father to realize I’m a full-grown adult now.
“You’re my daughter,” he says as if he still has a say in it.
“So? You let Elijah do whatever he wants.” When I look at Elijah, he gives me this eagle-eyed look. Shaking his head gently, Elijah mouths, “Don’t pull me into this.”
“Elijah is a responsible young man who can take care of business,” my father replies.
“Oh, and I can’t?” I narrow my eyes. I knew it. He doesn’t trust me. “I’ve been living on my own just fine,” I add.
“On my money.” He pounds his fist on the table, causing everyone to jolt in their seats. “It’s time you learned what responsibility is.”
“Yes,” I say. “Yes, please. I’ve been waiting for years for you to involve me in your business. Maybe then I can finally learn something.”
“Business?” He scoffs, laughing. Then he returns to his stone-cold killer face again. “No. Elijah will be the one to follow in my footsteps.”
I roll my eyes. “Of course, he is.” What a surprise. Not.
“Hey, I didn’t say he should exclude you,” Elijah butts in. “It wasn’t my idea.”
“No, it was mine,” my father says. “I need someone reliable at the wheel.”
“Why do you keep saying things just to hurt me?” I ask, tears welling up in my eyes. “Do you enjoy seeing me in pain?”
“No, Charlotte, I don’t. But you need to hear the truth, and the truth hurts,” he says. “You weren’t born to lead.”
“Who are you to decide that?” I say through gritted teeth, trying desperately to hold back my tears. I don’t wanna shed them for him. No way.
“I decide since I’m the one who’s supposed to save this business.”
My jaw drops and shock ripples through me. “Save?” I murmur. “Save the business?”
My father has never said anything about having problems with the business. How long has he been hiding this from us?
However, when I look at Elijah, who’s lowered his head while pretending to still eat his dinner, I realize I was the only one who didn’t know.
“The business is in trouble?” I ask. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“Of course not,” he replies. “Your brother and I will take care of it.”
“But that’s your whole life. Our lives. All you’ve ever worked for,” I say. Leaning over the table, I try to get him to look at me, but he just keeps cutting into his food. If he goes on any longer, I’m sure there’ll be nothing left but mush.
“I know, dammit!” The sudden outburst has him smashing his knife onto the table this time. “I’m well aware of what’s at stake.”
“Then let me help you,” I say in a last desperate attempt to connect.
“You wanna help?” he says, rubbing his napkin over his mouth and then throwing it down on his plate. “Do what I tell you to do.”
“Tell me what I need to do,” I reply, “and I’ll do it.”
“Marry a suitor of my choosing.”
My eyes widen, and my jaw almost drops to the floor. “What?” I laugh it off. He must be joking. Except I’m the only one laughing. “You’re kidding, right?”
“The only way to fix this business is if we get another investor on board, and to do that, I need a bargaining chip.”
“A bargaining chip?” I scoff. I can’t believe he’s contemplating this. “And you wanna offer me as a reward? Hold on.” I grab my glass of water and chug it down in one go. “Like what, go on a date with them?” I’m at a point where I wanna cry, laugh, and yell at the same time. It’s that ridiculous.
“As a wife.”
The glass I was holding drops to the floor and shatters on impact.
“Wha…?” I can’t even form a coherent sentence.
“You’ll be able to save the company and the legacy of the Davis name, Charlotte,” my father adds as if that will persuade me.
“No,” I say when I’ve finally come to my senses. “No, absolutely not.”
Father clears his throat. “I figured you’d say that. But I’m sure you’ll change your mind once you see the esteemed men I have in mind.”
“Are you insane?” I say, scooting back my chair. “The answer is no.”
“Charlotte—”
“You’ve lost your damn mind!” I shout, getting up from my seat. “You think I’ll marry some dude I’ve never met because you wanna save your company?”
“Sit. Down,” he growls, practically stabbing me with his eyes.
“No!” I throw my napkin onto the table. “It’s not happening.”
“It is, and you will attend these Meet & Greets.”
“Meet & Greets?” I scoff. “So now you’ve already given them a name? Organized a date?” I shake my head. “I can’t believe this. After all this time and all this effort I went through to show interest, to be invested … this is what I get? A father who wants to sell me to the highest bidder?”
“You’ll get to know them properly before the time is due for you to pick.”
“I won’t let you auction off my fucking heart!” I yell.
“Charlotte! Manners!” he yells back.
“I don’t care about manners! You don’t even care about me!” I look at Elijah and beg him with my eyes to do something, but he doesn’t even say a word. He’s retracted himself from the conversation just to make it easier on himself … but not on me. Doesn’t anyone care?
“Elijah … please,” I ask, but he just looks at me with these apologetic eyes that do nothing for me.
“I’m sorry, sis,” he mutters.
“Oh, fuck you all!” I explode.
“Charlotte!” my father yells as I march past him.
“No, I don’t give a damn anymore,” I hiss, walking straight to the door.
“Stop right there, young lady!” I can hear his footsteps behind me. “How dare you insult me like this? You’re my fucking daughter!”
“Yes, Father,” I say, spinning on my heels to give him one last piece of my mind. “I’m your daughter. Your daughter. A girl you should cherish. Instead, you’ve given me nothing but pain. And now you want to give me away,” I reply. “How dare you.”
“It’s already been arranged,” he says as I turn around again.
“I don’t care. I’m not going to be there, so good luck,” I say, sticking my middle finger up in the air.
“Charlotte! Come back here!” he yells as I stomp out the door and slam it shut behind me.
I don’t give a damn what he says or if he even follows me outside. I’m not about to sacrifice my life so he can have his. No way. He may be my father, but he’s not responsible for my life any longer. I will make it on my own, and I will not let anyone dictate my life for me.
Charlotte
Present
This flight is taking forever.
Easton takes a sip of his champagne. “We’ll arrive soon. I’m sure you’ll love my home.”
“I doubt that,” I reply with a condescending tone. I want him to know I’m upset. Who even does this and gets away with it? People are still dictating my life, and there’s nothing I can do to change it.
“You will,” he says with a deadly stare. “Whether you want to or not.”
“Gee, how nice to be invited into someone’s home under the guise of a threat.”
“You’re not invited as a visitor, Charlotte,” he says, placing his glass on the table. “You’re my captive.”
Finally, he says the words. The actual goddamn truth … that I’m a prisoner of a devilish man with sinister goals.
“I’m glad you admit that you took me against my will. It’ll make it easier to explain to the cops once we land,” I quip.
A dark smile mars his face. “It’s amusing that you think you’ll actually have a chance to speak to anyone except me.” The tip of his tongue darts out to wet his lips, and for some reason, it has every drop of my attention. “Make no mistake, Charlotte, I won’t let anyone come close enough to touch you. You’re mine and mine alone for the rest of your life. And if you even dare to try to talk to someone, you’re responsible for your father’s life and what happens to it.”
His dark, gleaming eyes tell me this isn’t an empty threat. He means it.
My nostrils flare as I suck in a deep breath. In a fit of rage, I grab my champagne glass and throw the contents all over his nice black suit. “Asshole,” I curse under my breath.
“Really, Charlotte? Did you have to do that?” he murmurs, wiping himself down with a napkin. “Don’t answer. You’ll only make a bigger mess for yourself, and I assure you that’s the opposite of what you want.” He narrows his eyes at me, and the smile disappears from his face completely. “Because you know you’ll be punished for this, don’t you?”
The implications of what he said send a chill run down my spine.
“Do you like seeing me in agony?” I ask, biting the inside of my cheeks. “Do you get off on hurting me?”
“Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to, Charlotte. It’s unbecoming of you, and you know better than to waste my time,” he says arrogantly, tucking the napkin into the bin below the table.
“So the answer is yes. What did I ever do to you to deserve this?”
“You father is the cause of your misery, remember?” he hints as if it’s not at all his idea.
“But you were the one who took me, and now his debt is repaid,” I say. “So you agreed to all of it.”
“Correct … as long as you remain mine, of course. Otherwise, the debt remains, and he will pay for that with his life,” he replies as if murdering my father is not at all a big thing.
“You’d really kill him?” I sneer.
He narrows his eyes at me but doesn’t respond. Typical. Talkative when I don’t care, and completely silent when I need answers. I take a deep breath and ask my next question. “You have an unhealthy obsession with my family, don’t you?”
I don’t think this was a random deal. He must’ve known about my father’s financial trouble, and he jumped in like a shark sniffing blood.
“Very smart, princess,” he says, cocking his head.
“Stop calling me that,” I spit. Constantly belittling me probably makes him feel powerful, bigger than he really is. But nothing he says can bring me down. Nothing. I won’t let it happen.
His brow lifts as if he’s amused by my outburst. “What? Spoiled little princess?”
I make a face. He thinks he knows me? “That’s not who I am. At all.”
He’s wrong. Dead wrong. And I will prove it when I escape his grasp and beat him at his own game.
“You don’t even know how lucky you are, how lucky you have been all your life,” he hisses. “But you’ll learn soon enough.” The seat belt sign illuminates above our heads, and he immediately moves into action. “Now buckle up, princess. We’re about to land.”
