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Noah was silent.
“The way I see it,” I added, “marriage is a lie. I’m already disillusioned. Couples never stay faithful. I’d rather die an old maid.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Have you reached that conclusion based on what’s been going on with us?”
I shrugged.
“Aria, I want to be a good father to you because that’s what you deserve: someone to love you unconditionally, with no self-serving motives. I want to see you succeed and be happy in life.”
“I’m never gonna commit.”
“Well, as your father, I have no problem with that. It actually eases my mind to know that you won’t be parading a boyfriend around the house soon.”
I rolled my eyes. “I said I wouldn’t commit. I didn’t say I wouldn’t date.”
“I don’t mind you dating.” He seemed to hide his sadness with a smile. “It’ll help you get over your feelings for me.”
No way. Impossible.
“But seeing as you’re a reflection of myself, I can tell you exactly why you don’t want to commit.”
“Enlighten me.”
“You’re not scared of commitment, you’re just afraid of committing to someone who won’t commit to you.”
Damn it. I hated how he was always right. Disturbing as it was, I was prepared to give him all of me forever. It hurt being rejected. Somewhere deep inside, my heart found its voice and whispered,if I can’t have you, then I want no one else.
“I probably shouldn’t discuss this with you,” he went on. “But it’s a harsh reality, and I want you to learn how to protect yourself when you make a lifelong commitment.”
“What do you mean?”
“Before Vanessa and I got married, we signed a prenuptial agreement. There was an infidelity clause in our documents, to be specific. Vanessa was the one who wanted it. If I ever cheated in the marriage, she would receive a financial reward, followed by a divorce.”
I wondered exactly how much that financial reward was. Big bucks, no doubt.
“And if she ever cheated on me, then I’d get to keep all my assets. We would sell the house, split the money in half, and she would have no choice but to give me a quick and easy divorce. The purpose of a prenup is to protect you. Everything is sorted out ahead of time in the event of a divorce: division of property, spousal support, infidelity, and so on.”
It surprised me she hadn’t demanded him to give up all his assets if he committed adultery—probably because she knew he would never sign it. That financial reward must have been a ballpark figure of… millions? Maybe that’s why he had beenso paranoid about crossing boundaries with me because my stepmom had dug her claws in deep. It made sense that he’d want to protect himself. Noah had inherited a huge chunk of money, and his salary was higher than hers. If it were up to me, I’d give her nothing and go my separate way. I wondered what other assets he had… dream houses across Europe?
“Doesn’t that make things awkward and destroy the whole meaning of marriage?” I asked. “Kind of like: ‘I love you, honey, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you… Will you marry me?… Great! I need you to signhere, here, andherebecause I don’t want you screwing me over down the road—just in case we—you know—wind up with a divorce.’”
Noah laughed. “Well, I’ve never heard a marriage proposal done like that before. I’m sure if I had proposed to Vanessa your way, I would have got a slap in the face then left high and dry.”
“I doubt she would have left you on your knee, regardless.”
“I never got down on my knee and proposed,” he admitted.
“Why not?”
“I don’t know That’s not how it happened.”
“How did you propose to her, then?”
He seemed uncertain of how to respond as he said, “Are you sure you want to have this conversation with me right now?”
“I’m just curious.”
Noah released a lengthy sigh. “It wasn’t anything huge, Aria. It was more like a conversation. We’d often had discussions about settling down because we felt we were compatible… And then one night, I took her out for dinner, flashed her the ring, and popped the question.”
