Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
“I did what I had to…” My mother's voice breaks. “For justice.”
“Justice?” I laugh. It sounds harsh even to my own ears. “You call arranging your daughter's marriage to a murderer justice? You call selling your daughter to someone for your own gain—”
“He loves me!” The words burst out of her, raw and desperate. “He's been courting me for months. Wants to marry me. Once you married Marcus, we would have been a family again.”
The room goes deadly silent.
“There it is,” Erin says quietly. “That's what I thought.”
My mother's face crumples. “You don't understand. After your father died, I was so alone. For years, I’ve been alone. And then, Mr. Crowning started paying attention to me. Made me feel special again.”
“So you sold me to his murderous son,” I finish, hollow.
“It's not… it's not like that.”
“It's exactly like that.” Ashland's voice could cut stone. “You sacrificed your daughter for your own happiness. Even now, you want to deny the truth about who he is and what he would do.”
“I would never let anything happen to my daughter,” my mother says, but her theatrics are wearing thin.
“You arranged for her to marry a man who's killed.” Ashland flexes his hand on the table, and my mother flinches. “You knew what he was. You let him belittle her. You let him ridicule her. Don't stand there and pretend you're anything but selfish in your own desires.”
“How dare you—”
“No. You raised me to be dutiful, to sacrifice for my family, to put others first, reminding me every damn day how much I owed you. And all along, you were the most selfish one in my life.”
“Bianca—”
“I have witnesses from the restaurant,” I say, my voice shaking. “Bruises on my wrist and evidence that Marcus threatened to hurt me and tried to keep me from leaving. If he comes after me, if any of them come after me, I will testify in court, and I will tell them exactly what kind of man you tried to force me to marry.”
My mother's face goes white. “You would testify against him?”
“In a heartbeat. You made your choice,” I say quietly. “And it wasn't me.”
The words seem to echo in the silence. My mother's eyes narrow on me, and for the first time, I don't see a mother feigning love. I see calculation and resentment… disappointment that I didn't play along with her plan.
“You've changed,” she says, her words like an accusation. “They've turned you against me.”
“No.” I shake my head. “They helped me see the truth.”
Ashland's hand finds mine under the table and squeezes in reassurance.
My mother straightens, gathering her purse. “Fine. That's how you want it. Don't you come crying to me when this falls apart, Bianca White. Don't expect me to pick up the pieces.”
“It's time for you to leave.” We look up. Caitlin's standing in the doorway. “You're no longer welcome here.”
My mother's eyes flash, but she nods. “Gladly. I can't stand to be here another moment.”
She turns to leave and pauses at the door. “Your father would be so disappointed in you, Bianca.”
The words are meant to cut, to make me feel small and guilty, as always. But this time, they don't work.
“My father would have been nothing but proud of me,” I say quietly. “He worked for the McCarthys, and so will I. Whatever it takes. I don't know what I have to offer them, but they are my family now. They are. And you're a woman who tried to sell her daughter for her own gain. I think I'll survive any disappointment from you.”
My mother's face twists with rage. But Declan is at her elbow—I don't even know when he came in—guiding her firmly toward the door. He’s big, like Ashland, strong and certain.
I hear the door close behind her and exhale. I feel something in my chest break open, and I pinch the bridge of my nose. I will not cry. Not here. Not now. Not again.
“I've got you,” Ashland murmurs in my ear. “You did so good. Such a brave girl.” His hand is gentle on my back. “You're safe now, love.”
Erin stands and comes to sit beside me. “You did the right thing.” Her voice is detached and pragmatic, but she places her hand a little awkwardly on mine and pats me reassuringly.
“I hope so,” I say with a sigh. “I hope so.”
Caitlin walks toward the stove and puts the kettle on. “You're family now, love. We're a family. The kind that protects each other.”
I look up through welling tears at Erin, Ashland, and Caitlin. For the first time in my life, I think I might actually know what that means.
I'm still trying not to cry against Ashland's chest when Declan appears in the doorway, his face grim.
“Ash,” he says quietly.
“What’s the problem now?” Ashland's arms tighten around me protectively. “What is it?”