Chapter Two

Nobody said a word.

It was like time paused, the air thick with disbelief… and disappointment. Everyone seemed stunned by my reaction, like it was me who had stepped out of line.

My brother leaned in, gave me a subtle nudge beneath the table, as if silently pleading for me to just go along with it. My mom… she lowered her head, shame or guilt—I couldn’t tell which—pouring off her in waves.

I sat frozen. My heart thumped against my ribs like it wanted to escape. My throat was dry. Everything suddenly felt too loud. The clinking of glasses, the rustle of clothes, even my own breathing.

“Yes. Wife, Kelly.” Elias’s father smiled as though announcing something joyous. “Didn’t your dad tell you we’re here to arrange a marriage?”

Marriage?

So that’s what all the cryptic glances and hushed arguments in the car were about? The tension, the unease, mom’s trembling hands. They had been planning this all along, and not once did they think I deserved to be in on it? Instead, they let me walk in here clueless, like some pawn being played on a board I didn’t even know existed.

I felt small. Humiliated. Betrayed.

“You need help, don’t you?” Elias’s dad continued, voice firm and heavy. “Your company is teetering on the edge. One wrong move and everything your family built could vanish.”

I bit my lip hard, just to keep myself grounded. So the whispers I'd overheard, the odd behavior from Mom… they weren’t just business rumors. They were real. Our company—the very thing I’d grown up admiring—was falling apart.

Why didn’t they tell me?

Why wait until tonight, like some twisted surprise?

And then the word circled back again, sharp as glass.

Marriage.

I was nineteen. A sophomore in college. I had midterms, group projects, dreams of traveling… and here they were, trading me off like a business deal.

Dad glanced my way, voice clipped. “We’ll talk more at home.”

That was it. No comfort, no explanation. Just a command.

I sat down because I didn’t know what else to do. My fingers found the stem of the wine glass in front of me, and before I could think, I drank. It tasted bitter—too strong—but I welcomed the burn. At least it drowned out the noise.

The rest of the night passed in fragments. Nods, forced smiles, responses whispered when prompted. I felt like a mannequin—posed perfectly, emptied out. They had taken away my right to choose, to react, to feel.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to disappear.

I had a quiz tomorrow. I had notes to review. I wasn’t supposed to be here, in this room full of strangers planning a wedding like my future was some corporate strategy.

“When’s the wedding?” Elias’s mom chimed in, her smile tight, rehearsed.

Our eyes met. I forced a smile, but it didn’t reach my eyes. Her family was composed and polite, but I didn’t care about that. A few relatives seemed stern, controlling. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t looking to win them over.

“September,” my dad said, voice cool and final.

I blinked. September?

It was already July. Two months to plan an entire wedding… to rearrange my life?

“We don’t have the luxury of time,” Dad added, staring me down. “Like Mr. Fenwick said, the company’s hanging by a thread.”

He didn’t even try to disguise it anymore. It wasn’t about love or compatibility or me. It was about saving what was left of the empire he treasured more than his own daughter.

My chest tightened.

Elias’s sister—tall, poised, and visibly annoyed—spoke sharply. “Shouldn’t they at least have time to know each other?”

Thank you, I thought. Finally, someone with common sense.

But I didn’t look at her. I couldn’t bring myself to acknowledge any of them. I didn’t want to know Elias. And from the way he was glued to his phone, texting God-knows-who, he clearly didn’t want to know me either.

Not even out of courtesy had he looked up.

What burned more was that nobody seemed to care. He could act disinterested, disconnected, and still be granted grace. But I? I had to sit straight, smile at strangers, answer questions, move like a doll on strings.

Why was I the only one being held to perfection?

“They’ll have plenty of time after the wedding,” Elias’s dad laughed, as if this were the most normal situation ever.

My stomach turned.

I considered running. Just standing up and walking straight out the door. But I couldn’t. My mom’s gaze held me in place. My brother’s silent support kept me from losing it. And Dad? Dad made sure I remembered what was at stake.

Our family’s future. Our name. Everything.

Even with my brother’s new company offering some hope, it wasn’t enough. It was too green… too small to support the weight of a collapsing legacy.

“Tomorrow we start planning,” Dad said with a cheerfulness that didn’t match the room. And Elias? Still smiling faintly at whatever was on his screen, like none of this mattered.

Like I didn’t matter.