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“Take a seat, princess,” Granddad says, indicating for me to take a seat opposite him.
But I can’t. I’m frozen in the doorway. He called me princess. Only my father ever called me that.
Tears I didn’t even know still existed threaten to fall as my eyes fill with moisture. I thought I had cried all the tears out.
Granddad immediately realizes his mistake. His arms are quickly around me in a hug, but it doesn’t stave off the tears. They fall fast and hard. My body moves from a frozen statue into uncontrollable trembles. I feel my grandfather guide me over to a chair. I feel my body collapse into the chair, but it doesn’t stop the trembling or the tears.
He hands me a handkerchief before moving back to his seat across from me. I wipe my eyes, and then I stare at him. Nobody would know he is eighty-five years old. He looks sixty, tops. It’s the lucky Felton genes. He doesn’t work out or eat any better than I do.
“We need to talk about your future.”
I nod, expecting this.
“We need to figure out who is going to run the company.”
I nod again.
“As you already know, your father and I argued a lot. We never agreed on anything.” He sits back in his chair, smiling a little at a memory.
When he looks back at me, he frowns. He agrees with me. He thinks I’m the reason his son is dead. I don’t think he’ll ever forgive me.
Maybe he would if I gave him everything he ever wanted?
“But we did agree on one thing,” he continues.
I already know what that one thing is.
“That you want the company to stay in the family,” I say, completing his sentence.
His frown deepens. “Yes. Your mother isn’t capable of running the company. And, frankly, neither are you.”
Now, it’s my turn to grimace. Although I already knew that’s how he felt, it hurts to hear that my father felt the same way, that he didn’t have any more confidence in my abilities than my grandfather did, that I was never even considered for the job even though I was family. I’m the only heir to the empire.
“We all agreed that what is best for the company is that you marry someone who is capable of running the company—a man your father and I would choose after years of scrutiny.”
I nod. I already knew all of this. It’s why I never really dated. It doesn’t matter whom I want to be with. It only matters who is best for the company. I’ve been told enough times to know that and that it would eventually happen. I’ll marry for my family, not for love.
It’s always been years into the future though. I’m only twenty-one. I haven’t even officially graduated yet. I haven’t even met the guys my father and grandfather have been considering. I haven’t tested out the guys myself to at least make sure whomever they might choose would be a good fit.
“Well…” Granddad pauses, like it’s hard for him to say the next words because he knows how much I’ll hate them. “We found him.”
My mouth falls open. I wasn’t expecting that. I didn’t know he and my father had already chosen a man for me. I thought I still had time left.
“You’ll meet him tomorrow.”
I nod. It’s all I can do.
“And then you’ll marry him in six months.”
My eyes grow wide at his words. Six months? I can’t marry someone I’ve never met in six months. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to tell if I like the guy in six months. I won’t even be over mourning my father in that amount of time.
“I can’t…” I whisper. The words feel strange falling from my mouth. I don’t think I’ve ever said those words to any member of my family, even my mother. I’ve always been the good girl following their every order. I’ve always been their princess who never disobeys. Right now, I don’t know if I can ever be that girl again.
Granddad walks over to me and rests his hand on my shoulder. It’s meant to be comforting, except that it’s not.
I can’t get married in six months. I just can’t. A few years maybe. That was always the plan—do the modeling and acting thing for a little longer, and then in my late twenties, they would match me with a guy who they felt was capable of running the company but would also be a good match for me. We would date like normal people and then marry by the time we were thirty.
I’m only twenty-one. That’s nowhere near thirty. And I can’t focus on anything right now, except my father being gone.
