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“You okay?” Sierra asks, walking up to me with Lex in tow. I nod, and she rubs my arm before sitting down and instantly stealing Raven’s attention from Ares, earning a glare from our eldest brother.
“Seriously, are you okay?” Lex asks as he takes a seat next to me. “I saw the articles. The Herald is literally covering every detail they can dig up about Celeste, right down to the wedding dress they think she’ll wear. It’s fucking insane. I’m surprised they never found out about you two.”
I nod absentmindedly. Back then, The Herald wasn’t what it is today. They wouldn’t have had the resources to spy on us the way they do now. For one sickening moment, I wonder what Clifton’s expression would be if he found out I dated her, that I’m the first man she’s ever been with.
“I’m fine. I don’t give a fuck about her or her wedding plans,” I tell him, even though I sabotaged every single thing The Herald reported on, right down to her wedding venue. They’d planned to get married at one of the Emerson hotels, and I got the entire place shut down on a building code violation that probably doesn’t even exist. It’ll take them a while to wade through the paperwork — long enough for them to have to move the entire wedding.
The closer the date gets, the more restless I become. I was sure she’d heed my warning, but it looks like she’s forging ahead and forcing my hand. She must think I’m the same person she left behind, the one who had a weak spot for her. She’s about to find out the hard way that I meant it when I told her I’d destroy her if she ever appeared in front of me again.
“Kids!” Grandma calls as she walks in, her cheeks rosy, as though she’d been rushing to get here. I frown when she grabs an empty wine glass and swipes a spoon off the table. “Kids!” she repeats, tapping the spoon against the glass until we all fall silent.
“I appreciate this is not our formal drawing room, and you do know I prefer to keep our dinners a safe, drama-free space, but I happen to have an announcement for you tonight that cannot wait.”
Her gaze roams over Ares, Luca, and Dion before settling on me.Fuck. She can’t be serious. This can’t be what I think it is. “Zane,” she says, and my heart drops. “Dion has been happily married for quite some time now, and it’s about time you follow in Ares, Luca, and Dion’s footsteps.”
I stare at her in disbelief. I’d known I’d be next, but somehow, I thought I’d have more time. I’m not ready — I’m not sure I ever will be. Marriage isn’t something I’d ever dare fuck around with. If there’s anything my parents taught me, it’s that marriage is sacred. How am I supposed to devote myself to my wife when I can’t stop thinking about destroying Celeste fucking Harrison for more than a day or two? If I ever get married, I want my wife to be the only one I have any kind of strong feelings for.
Grandma smiles, and I raise my wine glass to my lips, emptying it before slamming it back down on the table, resigned to my fate. Maybe this is exactly what will finally force me to let go of the resentment that threatens to consume me every fucking waking moment. Maybe it’s time I shift my focus and try my hardest to move on like Celeste has. “Honestly, Grandma? I really don’t give a damn who I marry,” I lie, knowing this is inevitable. “You do you.”
She nods sharply and grins. “Excellent. You’ll be marrying Celeste Harrison three weeks from now.”
My entire body stills as the words wash over me without truly registering. One beat passes, and then another, my mind replaying her announcement as confusion slowly makes way for shock.
“Last I checked, Celeste was engaged to someone else,” Dion says, his tone cautious.
I rise to my feet in a rush, my ears ringing. “I won’t marry her,” I tell Grandma, feeling sick to my stomach. “Anyone but her.”
Grandma crosses her arms and stares me down. Gone is the sweet grandmother she portrayed in my observatory last month. In her place stands the woman who built the empire we now own, the woman who won’t take no for an answer. “You once begged me to marry her, didn’t you? So youwillmarry her. Her family are among the best hoteliers in the world — there’s no way we can sit back and let them join hands with the Emersons.”
I stumble back, unable to comprehend what she’s telling me. She can’t expect me tomarryCeleste. Not after everything she put me through. I take another step back before turning and walking out, my mind reeling. Grandma was the one who bailed me out, the one who made all the evidence Celeste planted disappear. She knows better than anyone what Celeste is capable of, so why?
Two sets of footsteps resound behind me, and I don’t have to look back to know it’s Sierra and Lexington. “Zane!” Sierra calls, but I don’t slow my pace until I’m outside and halfway down the walkway to my house.
“Zane,” Lex repeats, his tone much calmer than hers had been, but not any less concerned.
I turn around, unable to suppress my anger. “Not her,” I snap. “I can’t marry her. I’ll fucking murder her if she doesn’t stab me in the back all over again first.”
Sierra looks at me with such pity in her eyes that I can’t hold her gaze. I run a hand through my hair and stare up at the sky instead, unable to get my thoughts under control. “I hate her with all I am,” I whisper, my eyes closed.
“No,” Lex says, his voice soft. “You don’t. And that’s the problem, isn’t it?”
ChapterForty-Two
Celeste
My heart aches as I swipe through the different wedding cake designs Clifton sent me, my mind involuntarily drifting back to the vision board I set on fire five years ago. Zane and I spent hours flicking through wedding magazines on the sofa, and at the time I’d thought our dreams were aligned. When he told me he’d propose as soon as we had our family’s approval, I believed him.
How much time did we spend debating back and forth about the tiniest details, envisioning the wedding of our dreams? How many cake designs did we look at back then? It was our way of focusing on the future and everything we were looking forward to. Or so I’d thought.
I still remember the one we ended up choosing, and for one single moment, I’m tempted to order it, even if it’s just so I can imagine the look on Zane’s face when The Herald inevitably publishes a photo of Cliff and me cutting the cake. My need to hurt Zane is insatiable and all-consuming.
My phone buzzes again just as I walk into my parents’ house for dinner, and my stomach turns when I open another one of Cliff’s messages, this one filled with honeymoon destinations. In return for his financial help, he asked me to make our marriage look real, and this is part of it. Rationally, I know that, but at the same time I can’t help but worry that he hopes a romantic honeymoon will turn our friendship into something more, something I warned him I couldn’t give him.
“Celeste?” Mom calls.
I look up to find my family seated in the living room, and then I do a double take, realizing that they’reallhere — Mom, Dad, Grandpa, andArcher. I haven’t seen the latter two in the same room in years, and the fact they are seems ominous. My heart instantly beats a little faster, a sense of unease washing over me.
“Come sit,” Dad says, his tone terse and his expression conflicted.
