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“Don’t be such a little bitch. The contract is signed, the girl is ruined, the boy is still a bastard, and the Astrids will do whatever we say. Tonight, you will join me. We’ll go to the club for a proper celebration. But until then, we need to discuss what our plans are for the new distilleries.”
My father kept talking, but I was still looking into the hallway, sure I heard something.
“I still want to move up the wedding.”
“Give me one good reason.” My father rolled his eyes.
“My sisters. Olivia. She will need to be settled soon. She shouldn’t marry until I do. Charlotte is also of age. We need to prepare them for their own matches.”
I kicked myself for not bringing them up first. All I ever had to do was show why something would be good for him and he would go along.
My father stroked his chin as he thought that over. “That is a valid point. Okay. We will move it up to this fall or winter.”
“Fall. Let’s just get it over with so we can move on. I will have Henry make a list of wedding planners for Amelia to call and get everything started.”
There was another sound further down the hall.
It was probably a cleaning lady, letting herself in.
Amelia was safe in bed, still asleep. Right now, I just needed to get rid of my father, then go back to bed and spend some more quality time with her, getting to know every single inch of her body.
Later, we’d discuss moving up the ceremony and what she needed me to do to help her plan the wedding of her dreams. I suddenly didn’t want to leave all the plans for her and my sisters. I wanted to be involved.
My sisters were another concern. I had to find matches for them that were advantageous enough for my father to agree but to men who would actually treat them right. I didn’t want them to end up with men who would treat them like I had first treated Amelia, or worse. They deserved better. I wanted them with honorable men, and those were few in my world.
Amelia Mae Astrid was more than I could have ever dreamed. I had nearly ruined any chance of happiness with her, but after last night, I believed she was giving me a second chance and I wanted to prove to her I deserved it.
When I heard the front door close, I got a sick feeling in my stomach.
The cleaning lady was probably just letting herself out.
She usually came in the mornings to check the fridge, then went shopping.
That had to be it.
CHAPTER 30
AMELIA
Hot tears flowed down my face as I crept back through the condo to Luc’s bedroom.
I was so stupid.
I had believed his honeyed lies.
He had told me he wanted to be with me.
I thought we’d bonded over s’mores and sex. The sex had been different from all those other times. It had felt intimate, affectionate, and just so much more than it had been before. He had been sweet, gentle, and it was deeper, more personal. It felt like an expression of affection and intimacy, instead of the previous carnal shows of possession.
It had all been an act.
Now I just needed to figure out what to do with all this new information.
After hearing what Mr. Manwarring said to Luc, and how he didn’t deny it, I felt ill. He’d laughed. He’d thought I was still asleep in his bed, and he was sitting in his office with his father, laughing about how I was a stupid, ruined little girl.
He was only trying to make me happy to placate me into marrying him faster, so my brother didn’t stop the wedding. No, they weren’t worried about him stopping the wedding. They were worried about my brother insisting on more favorable terms. That’s what I was, a bargaining chip, just another line on a contract. They wanted this contract done so they could move on and arrange his sisters’ marriages next.
Just the thought of more young women having to go through all of this made my stomach roll. Listening to them talk about his sisters made me realize once this was done, my family would likewise move on to the next Astrid daughter.
