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I swallowed hard. “Mostly…?” I was ashamed of how uncertain I sounded.
He inclined his head. “I think you’re old enough now to tell you. Especially if you’re entertaining ideas of breaking the contract. You may as well know exactly what we’re risking.”
“You haven’t said no…” I pointed out.
He looked at me seriously. “Harlow, everything in life is business. Agreements. Understandings. Negotiations. You can’t make an informed decision to break off the contract with the Callahans without me giving you all the information. If you’re still adamant after I do so, then we will discuss.”
“Okay,” I said, thinking it sounded more fair than I was expecting.
“It is understood that you marrying Apollo gives him better legal claim to your inheritance, yes?” he asked, and I nodded. “Good. What you may not realise is that Archer is not above taking that inheritance by force.”
“Force?” I clarified and now he nodded.
“If you don’t marry Apollo, then Archer will not hesitate to have me killed and take over my holdings with whatever force is necessary.”
“What’s stopping him doing it now?” I breathed.
“There is a tentative truce between the families of our world, Harlow. Have you heard of the Nameless?”
I nodded slowly. “I’ve heard them mentioned once or twice.”
“The Council of the Nameless governs our world, as much as we can be governed. We have unspoken understandings about what is and is not above board. We have…for lack of a better word, laws we are expected to follow as members of the Nameless. A code. Archer Callahan has been plotting to get his hands on the Vanguard fortune since before you were born. If he has to take it by force, he’ll be starting a war.”
So, Apollo had chosen his words well, and clearly did know more about the situation than me. Valen and I being togetherwasrisking actual war.
“I won’t be the only casualty,” Dad continued. “It won’t just be our personnel who die, our suppliers, but O’Malleys and Kincaids–”
“Kincaids?” burst out of me as my heart strangled uncomfortably.
Dad looked at me like I’d just confirmed something. “Mmhm,” he said.
“What?” I asked, failing at any kind of nonchalance.
“This is why you want to break the contract.” It wasn’t a question.
I tried to steer him away from that train of thought. “Apollo and I are poorly suited to anything more than friends. It will never work. We’ll keep trying to make it, and keep failing, resenting each other more and more as the years go by. It won’t work and it won’t last. We cannot marry.”
Dad raised a single eyebrow. “Mmhm,” he said, and I knew he didn’t believe that was the only reason.
I took a deep breath. “It… It doesn’t help that I fell in love with Valen…”
Dad was surprised now. “Love?”
I nodded and felt my cheeks blush. Somehow, talking about love felt taboo. “Yeah. I didn’t mean to. It just…”
“Took you by surprise,” Dad finished for me, like he had some understanding of the concept.
“Yeah,” I answered.
“Does Apollo know?”
“He does. He… He actually brought Valen here this week to…”
Dad held up a hand. “I don’t need the details.”
I smirked. “Not what I meant. There was a…misunderstanding of sorts. Apollo brought Valen here to make amends.”
Cue even more surprise. “Valen returns your feelings?”
