“I was having a really bad day when we got married, and from the sound of it, so was your son. You need to talk to him.”
Her shoulders slump. “I wish that it were that easy. Even before this debacle, he barely returned my calls.”
“Maybe if you’d stop trying to control his life, he’d pick up the phone more.”
“Do you think it’s easy being the mother of an heir to a billion-dollar fortune? Having to guard him from everyone?”
“He doesn’t need guarding.”
“Of course, he does! If he’s not, then the people he surrounds himself with will all be after his money!”
“Like the woman you tried forcing him to marry?”
“That’s different!”
“Oh, because she also has money.”
“It’s less of a risk when they have something to lose.”
“Mrs. Branson—let me tell you about risk. If you force him into a loveless marriage, you risk him hating you. Will that be worth it?”
“With a fortune like ours—”
“A fortune you’ll never make your way through? Let’s say that something happens, and I’m granted half his money—half your estate—what really changes for you? You’ll never miss a meal. You’ll give up a house or two, but Roderick says you own estates you haven’t visited in five years! Don’t you see that by protecting your fortune, you’re risking his happiness.”
Tears slide down the matriarch’s cheek, and I feel suddenly bad.
“I’m sorry!” I blurt out. “It must be hard raising a son.”
“Why don’t we sit down and have a drink,” she suggests.
Chapter 7
Natasha
“I never wanted to hurt him,” Irene says two glasses in, “and love is never lasting. I figured, a couple years down the road, and he’d be thanking me for finding him such a suitable match.”
“I think, in time, he’ll realize you had good intentions.”
“Who knows, maybe you’ll help bring us together.”
I snicker. “I doubt that.”
“I don’t know, I seem to like you, and if I’m not mistaken, you’re warming to me as well. We could grow close, in time.”
“The problem is that this isn’t what you think,” I say, staring down at my glass. “Roderick doesn’t love me.”
“Then why’d you marry? Was it a gush of hormones when meeting that made you two so reckless.”
“No. I was hurt. I told him what happened, and he shared his own story about being left at the altar. I told him I pitied him because he didn’t believe in love, and well, in not so many words he told me he pitied me because I do. He offered to show me the benefits of what a relationship based on financial gain would look like. It’s not meant to be forever.”
“So, this is all for show? It’s not meant to last.”
“It was supposed to be for show, but of course, I fell for him. I told him as much this morning, and he left right after.”
“That asshole.”
My eyes widen in surprise.
