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“I want to marry you.”
I don’t believe them. I don’t think I ever will until I see him down on bended knee. And even then, it won’t be because that’s what he really wants. It will be because that is the only way he can become CEO.
“What were you doing with that boy, Kinsley?” my grandfather asks.
Our waiter interrupts us, and my grandfather orders wine for the table. He asks Killian for his opinion but not mine.
When the waiter leaves, Granddad turns his attention back to me, waiting for my answer.
“He was nice. I met him at the shoot earlier. I didn’t realize I wasn’t allowed to date while I waited for Killian to decide if he wanted to marry me or not.”
I feel Killian’s eyes on me, but I still don’t look at him. I’m too pissed to look at him. He did the same thing an hour earlier with a woman. Why can’t I?
“You know the rules, young lady. The same rules still apply as when your father was alive. If you want to date, you run the guys by me. I will tell you whom you should or shouldn’t date. You’ve made too many horrible decisions in the past to allow anything else. You shouldn’t have been on a date with Cedric.”
“I’ve made one horrible mistake. One,” I say, glaring at my grandfather for bringing it up.
My eyes dart to Killian, but he doesn’t seem to know what mistake we are talking about.
I move on. “What was wrong with Cedric? He seemed like a perfect gentleman if you asked me.”
“Tell her, Killian.”
Killian takes a deep breath. “Cedric is a scam artist. He only dates rich women and then scams them or steals money from them.”
I turn to him. “And how exactly do you know this?”
“We do background checks on all our employees, including the models. There were some suspicious things when his returned. The suspicious information didn’t touch my desk until after the shoot. Otherwise, I would never have let him do the shoot. He’s a wanted felon in three states. We called the police. He was arrested as soon as he left the premises.”
Fuck! How the hell am I supposed to make my own decisions in my life when I keep making the wrong ones?
The waiter pours us each a glass of wine, and I down my glass in one gulp. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me as I do, but I don’t care. The waiter pours me a second glass.
“This is why you can’t make your own decisions without consulting me or Killian. You are too naïve, too easily taken advantage of, sweetheart. We are just trying to protect you.”
I don’t respond to Granddad’s words, but I can’t believe them. I didn’t do anything, except go on a date with Cedric. I didn’t make up my mind about him yet. If they had just given me time, they could have seen that I would have turned Cedric down on my own.
“Are you ready to order?” the waiter asks.
My grandfather nods. “I’ll have the sirloin, medium rare. Kinsley will have the same.”
I don’t hear Killian order. I’m too busy sulking. This is what my life will be like. Everything will always be decided by these two men. I will never get a choice in what I eat or drink. I will never get a choice in what I do. I will never get a choice in when I have children or what their names will be or what they do with their own lives. I will never get a say. I’ve never had a say.
I quickly sip on my wine, and before I know it, I’ve finished another glass. The waiter immediately fills it again.
“Regardless, I have some good news to share with you, Kinsley,” Granddad says.
I’m not hearing him though. My head is spinning. I’m dizzy. I’ve felt this way once before, and I know what’s going to happen next. I can’t be here when it happens.
“Excuse me. I think I’m going to be sick,” I say as I stand from the table.
I rush to find the restroom that is back on the first floor. I run, barely making it to a toilet stall before the contents from my stomach come back up.
God, I hate alcohol, I think as I heave into the disgusting public toilet.
A few seconds pass, and I hear the door swing open. Great.
Now, whoever has walked through that door will get to hear my embarrassment as I puke into the toilet.
