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She took the word right out of my mouth.
“We had an arranged marriage as well.”
“You’re lying,” Belle scoffed.
“I have no reason to lie to you, but if you don’t believe me, then ask her the next time you see her.”
“I can’t believe this. Grandmother has always been madly in love with you.”
“Case and point, Belle.”
She considered what he shared for a minute, staring down at the contract.
With her eyes now on me, she spoke with conviction, “I won’t ever love you, Tristian.”
I narrowed my intense stare at her. “Challenge accepted, kitten.”
She ignored my retort and looked at her grandfather. “If I agree to this… How soon—”
“A month.”
“A month? Why so—”
“We’re not getting any younger, Belle. The sooner, the better.”
For a moment, I thought she was going to tell us all to fuck off.
I was more shocked than either of them when she actually replied, “I want my lawyer to look at the contract before I sign it.”
Our eyes locked again.
Except this time, she argued, “There’s no challenge, Tristian. This is simply another business deal I can’t pass up.” With that, she abruptly stood. “I assume I can take this contract with me.”
I nodded.
“You don’t need it for your lawyers?”
In four words, I rendered her speechless when I revealed…
“I already signed it.”
Chapter Four
—Belle—
Then: Sixteen-years-old
My laptop dinged with a new message in the teen motorcycle chat forum as I was getting ready for my first day at a co-ed private school.
Full Throttle: How nervous are you?
I smiled as I replied to the guy I’d been talking to for the last year on this forum I’d entered on a whim one night when I was bored. Being the only granddaughter of the great Chance Montgomery didn’t allow for much freedom in my life. It was one of the reasons I was only allowed to attend an all-girls school until now.
My family was royalty around these parts, and I had to play the role of the innocent, sheltered little girl who wasn’t permitted to do much. I was expected to always act like a lady no matter what.
My families expectations were that I behave and abide by their my rules and orders that had been passed down for generations. Especially my grandfather’s demands. He was still the patriarch of our family, and whatever he said was law. As much as I craved to change that, I couldn’t.
My debutante ball was a year away, where I’d be introduced into society. It was my rite of passage, and the closer we got to the date, the more anxious I became. On top of the many plans my family had for my future, it didn’t help that I was the only granddaughter of the Montgomery dynasty. I was the baby girl they'd always wanted, and a big part of me had yet to figure out if my last name was a blessing or a curse yet.
