“You’re not going to put me off by being an asshole with me,” she says after I give directions to the hostess to bring it to my house and to make sure the strawberries are sent every night to Sophia until further notice. “I grew up with my father and my brothers who might have a worse attitude than you. If my mother put up with Daddy for ten years, I can do the same with you.”
“Why would you want to live with someone you can barely stand?”
“What else am I supposed to do?”
I look at her stunned because she believes that there’s no other option for her than to stick to this ridiculous arrangement. In order to what? Have money?
“What do you do for a living?” I ask, wondering if there’s more to her.
“I head charities, help Mom with some of her parties, and go out with my friends,” she states.
“Who pays for your expenses?”
“Daddy, but he’s going to cut me off the day we get married,” she states. “If I don’t marry, he’s still cutting me off. Now do you understand why this isn’t optional?”
No, I don’t, because even in a world where I can buy pretty much everything and do whatever I want, I was also raised to work hard if I want to keep my status. Searching for someone to just support me is like…well, being a parasite. I’m sure that’s not the way she sees it. She learned from her parents who don’t know any better.
When I raise my daughters, I’ll make sure they learn to earn everything they have and will need. I have no doubt their mom will help me with it. I can see Sophia waking them up early and having them do their chores right after breakfast and before playtime.
“Life is full of choices. You have options, and you should never resign to follow what someone else decided for you,” I speak from my own experience. “We’ll get through this three-month trial because that’s the only possible way I can get out of it. However, it might be wise for you to use this time to think about what you plan in the future.”
“Mr. Parrish said that if you fall in love with me, the outcome will be in my favor.”
“He’s right.” It’s all I say because I’m not going to share anything about myself or my feelings.
It’s three months. I can do this without fucking up, right?
Henry
It’s Sunday, and the third day of this ridiculous trial. If Sophia was around, she’d be narrating everything and even keeping score. Unfortunately, she hasn’t come to the house at all. Everyone in this house misses her, even Buster and Daisy, Leyla and Pierce’s mutts. She’s not too close to those two. She’s not a fan of Buster, who brings her dead mice as presents, and Daisy ignores her most of the time.
Martina on the other hand is beginning to understand that if she doesn’t help around the house, we don’t help her either. She also learned that leaving her dry cleaning on the floor can be counterproductive. Beacon put them in the washer and her clothes shrunk.
“They hate me,” she says as I help her change the sheets of her bed. She didn’t care about fixing it today. Arden and the dogs came into the house with muddy clothes, boots, and fur. Needless to say, her entire bed suffered the consequences. “Even the dogs hate me.”
“Give them time. They don’t know you,” I reassure her, because what else can I tell her?
I'm not her keeper, and she’s an adult. She should be more responsible.
“It’s not like I asked for this. Daddy just…he told me it was the best for me. What else can an art major do?”
I look at her and shrug. If she’s trying to have a conversation with me, I’m not in the right place. If we don’t resolve this, I might lose the most important person in my life. I haven’t had much time to mourn the loss, but today it’s hitting me hard.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” I ask once the bed is made and grab the dirty sheets and pillows.
“Goodnight,” she says, heading to the half-bathroom we have on this floor.
I climb the stairs to my room, take off my clothes, and slip inside my bed. Sophia’s pillow still has her scent. The taste of her lingers in my mouth, and I’m afraid I’ll never be able to touch her again. It’s not because I’ll fall for Martina, but because I might lose Sophia forever. I pound on my pillow, angry at everything and everyone. After a couple of hours, I realized that for the third night in a row, I won’t sleep. Maybe this will be the pattern for the next three months. Everything changed in just seconds, and my mind goes back to my conversation with Parrish and his last words.
You remind me of William. Don’t let this break you.
Was William intending to break me, turn me into him, or save me from making the same mistakes he did throughout his life?
After hours of tossing and turning, I get dressed and leave the house. I walk around with no destination in mind, but I end up in front of her house. She’s sitting on the swing I installed last weekend.
“Having trouble sleeping?” I ask.
She hands me her phone and there's an engagement announcement. Edelstein Electronics have announced the engagement of their youngest daughter Martina, to Henry Lloyd Merkel Aldridge.
My gut clenches because they’re pushing for this to happen. “I didn’t know.”
“Eva texted it to me,” she mumbles.
“Your parents know?”
She nods once.
I feel like I’ve lost the little trust they had in me. Everything I worked for while they visited us is gone. Who the fuck gave those assholes the right to post something that’s not true? I want to make them suffer because they are playing with people’s lives just so their daughter can have a good cushion. How about giving her a career or teaching her how to fend for herself?
“Did you explain to them?”
“That you have some previous engagement? Yes. They want me to go home because, according to them, I’m pretty heartbroken.”
“Are you?” I ask stupidly because if she feels like I do, she’s more than broken.
“I don’t know how to be, Henry. Leyla and Blaire stayed with me on Friday afraid I’d cry myself until the end of the year. I’ve yet to shed a tear. I’m disappointed.”
“But not surprised.”
“Danny Howard,” she says. “He gave me a promise ring, but he met someone less complicated and more to his style. He dumped me with the typical ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’ Aiden Mattis. We were engaged for a year before he moved to California. When my best friend back then received his wedding invitation...well, it’s obvious it was over. He didn’t have the heart to tell me he had moved on. I love to watch people fall in love. It’s beautiful to follow their story, but I’m always skeptical about the outcome. I won’t lie to you—even when I was falling, I was waiting for this moment.”
“You didn’t believe in us?”
“Don’t take this the wrong way. It wasn’t you, but me,” she continues. “I love my parents, but I think my destiny is to take care of them. That’s my life, and I accepted it a long time ago. Any guy who happens to like me usually leaves immediately when they take a look at what my life implies. Long hours at the office, taking care of my parents, and focusing on how to keep Mom alive. I don’t blame them; it’s daunting to be with someone like me. What you and I had was magical, but momentary. Some loves are just meant to last a beat. I think that was ours.”