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His eyes glinted with mischief. “Actually, what I want is to make you a generous offer. I won’t ask you for the share of your businesses that many would say I deserve. Instead, I’ll give you a way to ensure that no harm will ever come to anyone you love.”
“And how’s that?”
“By uniting our families.” He gestured to the young woman standing beside him. “I want you to marry my daughter, Eris.”
I stared at him stunned, then laughed. “You’ve gotta be kidding.”
Armand’s face hardened. “This is not a joke, Remy. Marry my daughter and our families will be connected by more than just business. I don’t offer this deal lightly. Refuse and I will take it as a great insult.”
My gaze traveled from Armand to the beautiful woman beside him, then to Dillon, who was watching intently from across the room. I knew what Armand was suggesting, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t.
“Look, I appreciate the… offer, but I can’t marry your daughter.”
His eyes narrowed. “I suggest you reconsider, Remy. You don’t want to insult me. Not about this. If you did, there will be… consequences.”
Hearing his threat, my heart raced. Quickly weighing my options, I looked around the room again. I was in an impossible position. I couldn’t risk the safety of my family, nor could I put Dillon in danger. But marrying Eris would mean giving up any chance I had with Dillon, the man I loved.
How could I do this? I couldn’t do it. But how could I not do it?
Armand’s meaty hands clutched my bicep pulling me aside and snapping me back to reality. I was about to tell him to go to hell and face the consequences when he lowered his voice speaking from one man to another.
“I can see that you’re torn. Maybe there’s someone else you would prefer to be with?”
“Get to your point,” I insisted not about to discuss my feelings for another guy with him.
“My point is that we are men. And men like us can’t be contained. I wouldn’t expect you to be. All I would expect from you is a wedding and an heir. Past that, who is to say what you do? Live your life without insult to me and I wouldn’t care what you get into.”
I stared at Armand stunned. Was he proposing that I cheat on his daughter?
“In my family, it’s a tradition,” he confirmed making me hate him more.
My mind raced fueled by anger and helplessness. I again considered refusing when I looked at his henchman and the barrel-shaped man pulled back his jacket revealing the butt of his gun. Armand had come ready for bloodshed. I couldn’t let that happen in a room full of people I cared about… and Cali.
With my thoughts racing towards panic, I gritted my teeth and said, “All right!” It came out before I knew what I was saying.
“What was that?”
My jaw clenched after taking a moment to consider the situation. He had me.
“I’ll marry your daughter,” I told him stunned by the words coming out of my mouth.
Armand’s smug smile returned. Quickly walking away from me, he addressed the room commanding everyone’s attention.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have great respect for the man we are here to honor today. We might have had our differences but the time for disagreements is over.
“To that end, I would like to announce happy news on an otherwise sad day. It is the engagement of my daughter, Eris, to Remy Lyon, a union that will allow peace and prosperity to flourish for all. Let our once bitter rivalry end here and let our great families now become one.
“Let’s hear it for the new couple,” he demanded smiling from ear to ear.
Polite, confused applause filled the room. Disbelief was etched on my family’s faces. It was surreal. What had I done? The reality of my decision didn’t hit me until a shocked Dillon caught my eye. His disappointment and hurt were inescapable.
The tingling excitement I’d felt about talking to him was gone. Replacing it was a hollow, aching emptiness. I’d given up my chance at love. And for what?
But staring at him, I realized that after coming so close to having him, I couldn’t just let him go. Even if I couldn’t be with him, I had to have him near me. I knew I had to offer him something.
“Dillon,” I called out, as he headed for the back door looking like he was about to cry. He stopped. Catching up to him, I wrapped my hand around his bicep. He was so small. Pulling him close, he refused to look at me.
“Is that what you were gonna tell me? That you were gonna marry that woman?” he spat mired in jealousy.
