ULTIMATUM

Blair

I have had enough.

I had spent years doing everything they asked. I had kept quiet when Pearl barked orders at me. I had stepped aside whenever Leah wanted something. I had accepted Dave’s weak excuses when he stood by and watched it all. I told myself it was easier that way, that peace mattered more than fairness. But as I stood in the living room with Pearl blocking the doorway and Dave hovering behind her, something inside me finally reached its limit.

“No,” I said. My voice shook, but I stayed firm. “I won’t do it.”

Pearl froze. Her face twisted as if I had insulted her in public. She stared at me like I had no right to speak at all. The room fell quiet for a single stretched breath before she moved.

Her hand came fast.

The slap hit my cheek so hard my vision blurred. My head jerked to the side. The sharp sting spread across my skin, but the pain in my chest was worse. It burned deeper. It reminded me how small she believed I was.

“You ungrateful brat,” she spat. Her voice sounded sharp enough to cut. “Do you even understand what you’re doing?”

I looked back at her. My eyes stung, but I refused to cry. I kept my chin up even though my cheek throbbed.

“I’m not doing anything,” I said. My voice came out low. “You’re the one selling me.”

“Selling you?” She let out a cruel laugh. “Aedrick Mcsilver is richer than Eric ever was. You should be thanking me.”

I tasted blood where I bit the inside of my cheek during the slap. I let out a bitter laugh.

“Why isn’t Leah marrying him?” I asked. “Why am I the one forced into this?”

Pearl’s jaw tightened, but then she shrugged, as if the answer didn’t matter.

“Because she refused.”

The words hit me harder than the slap.

Leah refused. Leah had a choice. Leah always had a choice.

I stood there, feeling cold spread through my chest. Leah got to say no. Leah got Eric. Leah got my place. And now, once again, I was expected to clean up the mess she left behind.

“No,” I said again, clearer this time. “I won’t do it.”

Pearl laughed at me. It sounded harsh and sharp. “And who will?” she asked. “Tell me, Blair. Who else is going to do it?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out. I knew the truth. She knew it too.

Dave stepped forward at last. His face looked worn, tired in a way I had never seen. He stared at me like he expected me to fall apart.

“Blair,” he said softly, “please. Listen.”

I turned toward him. My hands shook at my sides. “No,” I said. “You listen. Just once.”

He blinked, stunned.

“I lost everything today,” I said. “My wedding. My future. Eric. And now you want me to marry a stranger? A man I don’t even know?”

Dave’s shoulders slumped. “Aedrick is not a bad man,” he said. “You just… need time to know him.”

I laughed, empty and tired. “That doesn’t make any of this better.”

Dave sighed and looked at the floor. Then he spoke again, and his voice sounded strained.

“It was a promise.”

I frowned. My heart thudded hard.

“What promise?” I whispered.

He hesitated. Pearl smirked beside him, enjoying every second.

“Tell her,” she said. “Go on.”

Dave dragged in a breath. “Years ago, I made a promise to Maxim Mcsilver,” he said. “A promise to join our families.”

My stomach twisted. I shook my head. “You promised me away?”

He winced at my tone. But before he could speak again, Pearl stepped closer.

“And here’s what you really need to know,” she said with a smug smile. “Your dear father is bankrupt.”

Her words knocked the air from my lungs. I stared at Dave, waiting for him to deny it. Waiting for him to shake his head and say she was lying.

He didn’t.

“Maxim helped us,” Dave whispered. “He kept the house. He kept the business from collapsing. He only asked for one thing in return.”

I stepped back, feeling the floor tilt beneath me. “A marriage,” I whispered.

He nodded.

My body went numb.

Pearl folded her arms. “Leah refused,” she said again. “So now it’s your turn to save this family.”

The room felt smaller. The air felt thin. My heartbeat pounded in my ears.

Then Dave swayed.

I barely understood what I saw before it happened. His hand flew to his chest. His face twisted in pain. He stumbled forward with a strangled gasp.

“Dad!” I rushed to him as his knees buckled. I caught his arm, but his weight pulled both of us down. He hit the floor hard. His body shook with uneven breaths.

My voice tore from my throat. “Help! Somebody help him!”

He gasped again and his face drained of color. His shirt clung to him with sudden sweat. I grabbed his hand. It felt cold.

“Dad, stay with me!” My breath came fast and broken. “Look at me!”

A staff member ran into the room, already holding a phone. “I called an ambulance!” she said. “They’re coming!”

“Dad, talk to me,” I begged. His eyelids fluttered. His breathing rattled. I held his hand with both of mine, trying to steady it.

Pearl didn’t move. She stood a few steps away, frozen, staring at him like she didn’t believe what she saw. She didn’t kneel. She didn’t touch him. She didn’t speak his name.

Dave’s lips trembled. He forced out a weak sound. “Blair…”

I leaned close. “I’m right here,” I whispered. “I’m with you.”

“D-don’t…” His voice broke. He sucked in a sharp, pained breath. “Don’t let… them… control you…”

Tears filled my eyes. My throat tightened. “Stop talking,” I whispered. “Please. Save your strength.”

He tried to lift his hand, but it shook too hard. His eyes rolled back for a moment. My heart nearly stopped.

“No,” I breathed. “Dad, stay with me. Please.”

The staff member ran outside to direct the ambulance. Somewhere far away, I heard a siren.

I kept my focus on Dave. I held his hand tight, as if that alone could keep him here. My cheek still burned from Pearl’s slap. My body still shook from everything she had revealed. But none of that mattered now.

His eyes opened again, only halfway. He stared at me with so much pain. So much regret.

“Blair…” he whispered.

“What?” I asked. “Tell me.”

He tried to speak again but coughed instead. His entire body tensed with the effort. I held him as best as I could.

His breathing grew weaker. Slower.

“No,” I whispered again. “No, no, stay with me.”

But the fear in his eyes told me he didn’t know if he could.

The sirens grew louder, racing closer, but all I could feel was his hand slipping from mine.