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“Emma?” Robert growls out, snapping me from my thoughts. He is clearly displeased that I hadn’t said anything right away.
“I understand, Sir,” I quickly respond, hoping my voice stays confident as I try to sound pleased with his decision. “Alexis and I will do whatever you see fit. I will marry whoever the winner of this tournament is.” By the end, I know my voice has gone flat. I hate this, playing whatever game he wanted. The last thing that Alexis and I needed was for me to marry someone who didn’t actually care about us. I was really starting to hope that marriage would be off the table since I’m now twenty-eight and have a child.
“Good. Be ready by nine this evening. The first fight takes place tonight.” With that he goes back to focusing on his work, dismissing me. “Oh, and Emma, please do get in touch with your sister. She can help you pick out your dress and will watch your spawn for the evening.”
I stand and begin to leave his room, shutting the door behind me, not even gracing him with a reply. Letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding, it takes everything in me to not sink to the floor right outside my father’s office. I knew it was only a matter of time before my father pulled something like this. He hates that he still has to support me and now my daughter. As soon as he can offload us onto someone else he will. Truly I’m surprised he even waited this long before marrying me off. I can only hope that whoever this winner is will be someone who won’t hurt Alexis. I would die for my daughter before allowing any harm to come to her. I almost gave up my life to protect her before she was even born.
I make my way back to the chambers of my suite and quickly text my sister to see if she is available to help me shop. I already know that none of the dresses in my closet will be appropriate for this fight. No, my father would expect me to wear something brand new and there wouldn’t be many chances for someone else to have the same dress as me.
Glancing back down at my phone I see that Nora already replied saying Father told her a while ago and she was ready when I was.
I move quickly throughout the bedroom gathering some items I know Alexis will need for the night as well as a few things I’ll need to get ready. I throw our items into a bag and then make my way out of the room and to the garage.
Once in the garage, I grab my keys off the hook and approach my Jeep. Thank goodness I was the weird one in the family who wanted a four-door car for my sixteenth birthday instead of the sports car everyone else got. I wanted to be able to drive all my friends around to cheerleading practice instead of having to take separate cars all the time. Well, okay, and maybe I wanted it to make rendezvous with Trevor a tad easier since some of the places we would meet would have been rough on a sports car.
If I didn’t have my daughter, I would definitely consider my Jeep my little baby. It’s a deep purple Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with all the bells and whistles. I even tend to take the doors off in the summer when the weather is nice enough. My father hates the damn thing with a passion, making me love it even more.
When I found out I was pregnant with my sweet girl, my father cut me off from all the money. He told me I would only receive an allowance that he felt was reasonable enough to get by with. He refused to even give me money to buy things Alexis needed as a baby. Many times, I would only have enough clothes and burp clothes because our housekeeper took pity on me and would buy some items. She also would sneak in some things that Trevor’s father would buy for us. Father always said that he would not buy me a new car, so I should be thankful that I already had one that worked for a car seat.
Really, I’m shocked I’m even allowed to still have it parked in the garage, considering that it looks run down and ragged compared to all the other fancy vehicles it houses. My father likes to collect expensive things, especially cars, though I have never seen him drive half of these.
I take off down the driveway before making the short drive to my sister’s place. She only lives about three blocks away, but it takes almost fifteen minutes to make it from my front door to hers. Stupid long ass driveways in rich people's neighborhoods.
If I ever could make it out of this hell and live on my own, I can promise you I would take my daughter and move to a whole other country and live in either a small town in the countryside where no one could bother us, and Alexis could run free. Or live in a large city where it would be impossible for anyone to find us, like Paris or London. It will never happen, but a girl can dream every once in a while. I just want to live far away from anyone that would know my name and put confines on Alexis and me.
Pulling up to my sister’s house, I see her already outside with her son, Charles, sitting on her hip. She took well to being a housewife. She loves her life and loves her kids, or at least that's the impression she has always given me. My sister has always been hard to read. I have no clue how she can handle it every day. I hate being trapped in the house all day, every day. My only saving grace for the longest time was homeschooling my daughter, but now that's gone.
“Emma!” She beams at me. “I am so glad you’re here! We have so much to do today. I already called the nanny. She will be here shortly, and then we can head into town and get some shopping down.
“Eeepp,” she kind of shimmies a happy dance as much as she can with a baby on her hip. “It’s about time you join us in the happily married world. I am so excited for you!”
I roll my eyes at her. She got everything she could have asked for even if it was an arranged marriage. Of course, she would think that. For me, it just feels like another set of chains being placed around my wrists.
I follow her inside, placing the overnight bag I packed next to the door. I already know her butler will take care of it. If I even tried, she would have my head. I guess it's time to settle in until the nanny gets here. Moving through the house, I find myself going right to the couch in the family room. Two of her kids are sitting there playing with their toys, watching what looks to beSesame Streeton tv. I plop my butt in my usual spot and snuggle into the pillows, sighing, closing my eyes for even the tiniest nap to escape my life.
TWO
TREVOR
Iknew this time would come. I’ve spent ten years waiting for the moment that I could make Robert pay for his deeds. He beat his own daughter for spending time with me, to the point that she almost died if I didn’t leave. I left to protect Emma. She has always been my first priority, but I promised him my leaving wasn’t the end. I wanted to keep tabs on her over the years, but my father rarely would give me an update. The most he would say was that she was alive. I never knew what she was doing or if she was with someone.
When the email came across my computer and I saw the news about a large fight, the winner getting to marry the youngest daughter of Robert Delcoure, I knew it was my chance. The government agencies I had been working closely with over the last three years to bring Robert in had forwarded the email to my company as our ticket in.
There was no other option but for me to win this fight. Forget trying to take him down piece by piece with evidence. I will fight and win his daughter. Not that Emma is a prize, she isn’t, but if it means getting her back in my life and protecting her from her father, then I will do whatever needs to be done. After I win her hand in marriage, I’ll keep working on taking Robert and his company to the ground, piece by piece. My priority has always been Emma; destroying Robert in the process is just a plus side.
To an outsider, this would probably seem like a fucked-up world I live in. You wouldn’t be wrong; it is. This is just how the town I grew up in works. Robert runs the whole thing. His money is the reason the town is even still standing. Too bad he uses the money to pad his pockets while making everyone bow down at his feet to even receive a cent.
The last ten years of my life have led up to this moment. As soon as I left Evercrest, I joined the Marines, spending six years in their ranks. When I got out, I created my own Security company. I have spent all this time training every skill imaginable for this moment, from combat to taking computer classes and intelligence lessons. I was a part of the boxing tournaments during my service, and now I am the lead instructor for my company in MMA.
Most of the people who work with me I met during our time in service. They are a great group of males and females, who thankfully never questioned my orders when I wanted surveillance on Evercrest twenty-four-seven. They know I came from the town, but only three are privy to the information that I left Emma behind and that I am determined to take down her father. With this fight though, it means I will need to fill in those who will be working on the details.
Speaking of the devils, my partners Knox and Steel walk into my office, bickering once again over something.
“Yo partner, did you see the update about the fight? The prize is Emma’s hand in marriage and a million dollars in cash,” Knox announces as he walks in, taking his usual position on the couch along the far wall. Neither of them bothered to knock and announce their presence, as usual. We all got comfortable having no personal boundaries while on missions. “That million bucks sure would go a long way. We could pull even bigger clients and expand the company with money like that.” Knox always thinks about the bigger picture and how to further the company. We wouldn’t be where we are without his head for business.
“I was just reading through the email. You’re not wrong; we could use that prize money. Think you both can cover my part of the business while I do this? It’s the opening I’ve been waiting for. I can register as a fighter under a different name. No one in town has seen my face in ten years. I doubt they’d even be able to recognize me anymore.” I lower my laptop screen to give the guys my attention. All of us know how important this fight will be. Within the email we were sent, our contacts asked us to do security and also gather intel on others attending that are possibly under investigation. These fights are about to be a lot bigger than I think anyone had expected.
“You don’t even need to ask, man. Anything you need, we got you covered. Register, win, get your girl, and bring that asshole to his knees.” Steel responds from his spot leaning against the bookcase on the right. “It’ll be fun watching these men fall to their knees. Man, I kinda wish I got to join the fight also. It’s been too long since I’ve used those skills.” Steel cracks his knuckles on both hands.
