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"Do we really know what he would do? Until today I wouldn't have said he would give me such a life-changing ultimatum. But he did."
She squeezes me tight, then the two of them leave me to work out how to tell Heath what's going on and somehow not lose him in the process. He has just given up his entire life for me; this is going to crush him.
HEATH
Itakeashowerwhile the girls say their goodbyes. I can't help but feel like something is wrong. The look on their faces when I walked in was so serious. Like they had just been caught in the middle of burying a dead body. I had such exciting news to tell everyone as well. I was hoping the kids would still be up so they could hear, but I guess I will just have to tell them in the morning.
I come out of the bathroom in just a towel to find Amelia sitting on the end of her bed. Her eyes roll over my half-naked body, and she smiles. "You’re one gorgeous man, Heath Riley."
I go to stand in front of her, reaching down to place a kiss to her lips. "Did you miss me today?"
She runs her hands over my stomach, letting them explore over my ink. "I can't even tell you how much."
"Don't worry, baby, I'm here now, and I have so many ways I need to remind you why you should miss me every time I have to leave the house."
Her hands roam over my back and down to squeeze my ass. "You have no idea how much I want to be reminded, but first we need to talk. You might want to put on some clothes for this chat as well, it's kind of a mood killer."
The sadness in her eyes makes me believe her. "Uh, okay. I don't think I like the sound of this as much as what I had planned, though.” I drop my towel, walking over to my bag and slipping into a T-shirt and pulling on sweatpants.
"You won't like some of it. But hopefully, you’ll like the last part." She winces, and I know I'm not going to like whatever it is.
I lean against her dressing table, waiting to find out what is more important than her body under mine while we make up for lost time.
"My sisters were here tonight because I needed their help. I went to see my parents today, and my dad sprang a marriage contract on me," she says quickly, like ripping off a band-aid.
My body stiffens. "What?" I stare back at her, hoping she didn't just say what I thought she did. But she couldn't have because it makes no sense.
"He and Julian Blanchet have been talking, apparently, and they have decided Julian and I should get married. It was the strangest interaction I have ever had with my dad. I still can't really believe it." The look on her face tells me she's deadly serious. This is no joke.
My skin suddenly feels like it's on fire, and I push off the dressing table, starting to pace the empty space in her bedroom. If I stand still, I might explode. There is suddenly so much tension in my body. "He wants you to marry Julian. Over my dead body! What the fuck is he even thinking? Who arranges a marriage for their daughter these days?" I get out through clenched teeth.
"I agree with you totally," she says, way too composed, watching me with interest.
My eyes narrow in on her. What the fuck is actually going on here? "Why are you so calm, do you want to marry him? Did something happen between the two of you while you were in Paris? If it did, you need to tell me now," I stutter out, almost too angry for words. I feel like my life is about to fall apart in front of me and there is nothing I can do about it.
She stands and closes the gap between us. "I'm not calm. I'm livid." She takes my hands in hers, and I hear the quiver in her voice. “I’ve just had a little time to process, and I talked to the girls about it, and that helped me. This afternoon I was going crazy. Just like you are now."
I pull her into me. I can feel how fast her heart is racing, probably as fast as my own. "This is crazy! It's not fucking normal, Amelia."
"You think I don't know that? I fucking do. I feel like everything I ever thought about my dad is a lie. Until today, I saw him as the doting family man, but that was when I was a good girl doing as he suggested. I never saw it before, but he has been manipulating me my whole life, and today I stood up to him. I'm scared of what he's going to do now." Her sad eyes meet mine, and I feel terrible for her. Why would he put her in such an awful situation?
I stroke her face, trying to comfort her. "What can he do? You're an adult; you get to make you own choices, like who you decide to spend your life with."
"I know, but there was this look in his eyes, one I have never seen before, and that's what scared me. I haven't told you this before but when we were younger, he kept Brandon and Cassandra apart. He said it was for her own good so she could follow her dreams of being a dancer, but I don't think that had anything to do with it. I think he's got an ulterior motive to all of this, I just don't quite understand what it is yet."
"So, he would prefer you marry some French asshole and move to Paris? What about keeping our family together? What did I ever do to him? The whole time I have been with you, I knew he had it in for me."
"His excuse was he thinks I would be safer over there. He told me he knew about what happened at the factory fire and that you were no good for me, that you will eventually get me killed."
The factory fire, that's not even possible. I push her back a little so I can see her face properly. "How the fuck could he know?"
"I don't know. I never told anyone about it, not even my sisters, but he did, and he blames you for me being there." She looks at me like she is still thinking it all over, her mind going crazy with the possibilities. "Unless he was there and saw us… that is the only thing I can think of, but if he did, why didn't he say anything or do something to help? I nearly died that night," she utters, like she's about to burst into tears, but she is trying to keep it together.
"I don't know, Millie, it makes no sense to me, but none of this does. This all sounds like a nightmare. What is the good part?"
"What happened today got me thinking about us and where this is going." She gestures between us. "My dad, he said he always tried to keep you away from me, but you just kept coming back."
"I knew I was in love with you a long time ago, Amelia."
