by Nora Cobb
I look to Taylor, but she won’t look at me as she clutches a wineglass in her trembling hand. She’s quiet and looking down at the carpet. Her other hand is balled up into a fist as she bites her thumbnail. I look to my father, but his scowling gaze is hard and unblinking. He’s the one I have to reason with if I want this to end.
“Sir, we didn’t break the agreement,” I reply calmly. “Their actions broke the agreement. Arielle was engaged to Troy Saunders. That should have made the contract null and void.”
“That’s over, Lucas,” Arielle tries to take my hand, but I pull it away. “I realized my mistake in time, and with our parents’ joint consent, I’m willing to marry you.”
“I’ll marry you when hell freezes over.”
Arielle stands up and leans in close. “Well,” she whispers, “grab a pitchfork because the wedding is today.”
I step away from Arielle. I look at Taylor, whose eyes are shining as she looks at me. They know this is wrong, so why are they doing this? I head for the front door, but Wiley steps in between it and me. I lift my fist, and Wiley looks anxious. He’s a big man, but I’m sure he never thought guarding our family would require watching the inmates. My fist is in the air, and my father grabs me from behind, tugging me into his office off the hallway. Taylor steps inside with a quick step before he slams the door shut.
“Sir,” I pant, shaking out my fist, “I cannot do this. I cannot marry Arielle Blackwater.”
“Lucas,” my father shakes his head. “We don’t have a choice. Despite what has happened, the agreement wasn’t broken and is still legally binding.”
“But Arielle was set to marry Troy,” I shout.
“And I wish that she had,” he replies, sitting down behind his desk. “But legally, that agreement is still active. And the Blackwaters would prefer us to the Saunders.”
It’s hard, but I control my voice. Shouting will lessen my argument. “Sir, Arielle is not what she seems. She’s been unfaithful and devious. You should see what Arielle does to kids who cross her at school. Allowing her into the family would be the wrong move.”
Taylor slumps into a chair and cries softly. Dad’s face is flushed. He never sweats, but perspiration is gleaming on his brow. I’m certain that they don’t want this marriage. But I can only think of Natalie, how only minutes earlier, I was with her and deeply in love. I couldn’t wait for time to pass, so we could be together again and forever. A chill races through my body. Love is going to be taken away from me if I don’t fight for it.
My father’s rough voice rouses me. “In the event of a breach, the offending side will be forced to transfer fifty percent of its holdings to the other side as compensation. Carson Blackwater intends to collect, even if his daughter marries Troy Saunders.”
“So, he’s playing us,” I ask. “Troy and Arielle will still marry? How can he collect if they marry?”
Taylor wipes her face with her hands. “What your father is saying, darling, is that, even if she had married Troy, we would have had to pay. They’re blaming us for the breach. They claim you caused it.”
“Sir, Arielle is a slut.”
“It doesn’t matter what she is.” He averts his gaze from Taylor. “Lucas, you know that marriage isn’t about love. It’s about alliances and progeny. That is what matters. As long as the Blackwaters are powerful, we have to honor their agreement.”
I sigh, slumping down onto the window seat beside Taylor. Troy’s father came after my father after Natalie helped her uncle, and the fact that our lawyer now represents Phil Page doesn’t look good. Greg Saunders took it personally, as if we were backing new money over old. I should’ve planned better and been more discreet. Maybe it would have saved me from the consequences.
“I’m not marrying her,” I repeat myself again.
Taylor sobs and reaches for my hand. I let her hold it. “Lucas, if you don’t marry Arielle, we’ll lose the house. And we don’t have the capital to buy another.”
I look at my father in amazement. Has Greg Saunders been that ruthless? Can Carson Blackwater be worse? Our family has taken some financial hits because of them, but can this be their revenge for me helping Natalie and her uncle?
“Is it that bad, sir?”
“We have our investments, but as far as capital?” My father shakes his head.
“We’ve never had it,” interrupts Taylor. “It’s always been on paper.” She sobs. “We’ve maxed out credit cards, and the house has been mortgaged so many times that we can’t get another penny out of it.” Taylor wipes her nose on her sleeve, something I never thought I’d see her do. “And yet, your father keeps his mistress.”
We both jump in our seats when my father slams his hand on his heavy wood desk. His face contorts with hatred into a frightful mask of shame. I hold Taylor in my arms to protect her, and she clings to me.
“You think I wanted this?” he hisses, standing up. “You think I want to barter my son off to that family?” He takes a breath, and Taylor holds me tighter. “Blackwater has me by the balls, and he’s squeezing out every dollar. Did you see him looking around like he owns the place? Lucas, it has to be done, or we’re finished. Our family is finished if you don’t marry that girl.”
“Sir, I don’t love Arielle.”
My father collapses back into his chair. The weight of the burden finally brings him down.
“Lucas,” Taylor whispers. “Are you willing to do this to your father? To me? To throw it all away for an upstart? A nobody?”
I let Taylor go and stand facing both my parents. Taylor knows how I feel about Natalie, and she knows that I’m resisting Arielle because of Natalie. If it weren’t for Natalie, I’d marry Arielle and wait for a year for her to divorce me. Troy’s wrong; we’re stepping stones on Arielle’s path to success. But I’m in love, and that makes me impatient. I can’t expect Natalie to wait for me while I marry another woman.
“Natalie Page is somebody,” I reply, “and if you knew her, you’d realize that. We wouldn’t have to beg the Blackwaters for anything.”
“Lucas!” my father shouts. “Don’t be rash. You will lose. Just like us, you will lose everything.”
I grab the door handle. “I’m not marrying Arielle. I’m going out there to tell them that they cannot take our home, and they can keep their daughter. Sir, we can turn our losses around. We don’t have to answer to them.”
I step out into the hallway as Arielle takes a quick step back.
“Hear anything useful?” I sneer.
She gives me a sullen look. “I was coming from the bathroom. I had something in my eye.”
I grab Arielle by the upper arm and deposit her on the sofa in the living room. My contempt is impossible to hide, and I can’t even picture an amicable marriage between myself and Arielle. Taylor has wiped her face and rejoins us along with my father. I had hoped Taylor would be my one ally. But her marriage has taken all the energy out of her, leaving her a faded beauty.
“Lucas, I know you think you can have things your own way,” Taylor says, “but you can’t win alone, and you’ll never win if you risk it on that girl.”
“Natalie is special to me.”
Arielle scoffs, jumping up and approaching me so quickly that Taylor stands behind me. “I know what you did,” says Arielle. “I know you contacted your family lawyer to help the Pages. And the Saunders know it too.”
My gaze goes immediately to my father, and his mouth tightens into a thin line. He didn’t know why Greg Saunders was after him until now. Arielle will betray me to get whatever she wants. I grimace as I look at her beaming at me. Treachery is a beautiful quality in a loving spouse.
“I only referred her,” I reply.
“Referred her? You sent her over to the meeting.”
“Lucas, is this true?” my father asks. Taylor takes a step back, leaving me alone as my father closes in. I look him straight in the eye and tell the truth. I’m proud I helped Natalie.
“I made a suggestion,” I speak calmly, “and they took i
t seriously. They take everything I say seriously, sir.”
My father looks to the ceiling, shaking his head. “The day you asked me about stocks, that wasn’t for you, that was for that girl.”
The silence is physical as I stand motionless, surrounded by people I once considered closest to me. They have turned on me. I won’t marry Arielle, not while I love Natalie. I have true love with Natalie. I can’t give up the one thing I want most, and that is her love. My parents can’t see the truth apparent to everyone in the room. They don’t understand that money can’t compensate for a loveless marriage. I have love, and I’ll do everything to keep it.
I walk to the door and shove Wiley out of my way. He tumbles to the floor as people shout my name. I open the door, and they reach for me as if I’m about to flee, but I stand there and wait by the open door.
I push it against the wall. “It’s time for the Blackwaters to leave.”
Arielle walks toward me, taking slow and measured steps. She reaches for my arm and tugs me outside onto the doorstep, closing the door behind us. I didn’t expect that, and I grab the doorknob, ready to sprint back inside and away from her.
“Not yet,” Arielle steps between me and the closed door. “If you walk away from the agreement, I will own fifty percent of your family’s wealth. My parents don’t need it, and they already planned to add it to my dowry. But I won’t use it for my dowry. I will use it to take everything away from Natalie. I will use it to make her life unlivable. Death will be a blessing to her because I will send her back to the dirt where she belongs, and keep you with me.”
I stare at her icy expression and step away. I’m repulsed by her, and that will never change. Her hate is disgusting. “What is wrong with you, Arielle?” I ask. “Why are you like this? Why do you hate her?”
“She took you from me, Lucas.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “You didn’t want me, nor have you ever wanted me.”
“That’s not true.” Arielle tries to touch my face, but I back away, avoiding her hand. “I always planned to marry you. The other boys were nothing, but I knew I’d always come back to you. Natalie is a fling. Let her go. Marry me.”
Arielle tries to kiss me, but I push her away and enter the house. Arielle is insane and she’ll go after Natalie. I believe every word she said. She will hurt Natalie until Natalie hates life. I can’t let that happen, and I realize that I have no choice. But I refuse to say yes to Arielle.
I walk over to my father. “I’ll do it, sir. For the family.” For Natalie.
My father holds me for so tight and for so long that I wonder if he plans to let go. His eyes are shining, and it’s apparent that this has taken its toll on him.
My father nods to Carson Blackwater, and he approaches the center of the room. “Now, we’ll have a formal ceremony after your graduation,” he smiles, “but there’s no reason why we can’t have a civil ceremony right now.”
“What?” I shout. “You can’t do this now.”
“Why not?” He gestures toward Judge Joel Blackwater as he stands by the archway. “That way we can avoid any more misunderstandings. Now, maybe the young couple can stand by the mantle.”
“No,” I say bitterly, “let’s just do it here in the hallway.”
Taylor holds in tears as Joel Blackwater reads the vows of marriage. I don’t have a ring for Arielle, so her mother gives me hers. Arielle pulls a face at the small diamond. Her father hands Arielle his gold band, and she reaches for my hand. I snatch the ring away from her, and put it on my own finger.
“I pronounce you man and wife,” announces the judge, as her clueless father beams. “You may kiss the bride.”
Arielle waits expectantly, thinking I wouldn’t dare embarrass her further, but I’ve had enough of this farce. I turn my back to her and head upstairs to my room, to change my clothes. I return downstairs and refuse to speak to a single soul. My father shouts for me, but I ignore him. Wiley gives me a helpless shrug but steps quickly away from the front door. How much longer will he work here?
I drive to the edge of the property and sit in my Camaro, thinking not about the future with Arielle, but how I will tell Natalie.
CHAPTER 17
Natalie
The hallways of Montlake are buzzing before second period. A group of girls clusters around Arielle as I walk down the hall toward physics class. The queen bee is holding court as the girls swarm in and out around her. Lexi and Cora giggle, admiring something in Arielle’s hand. It’s probably something stupid on her phone. I wonder what poor soul took a hit for her amusement this weekend.
Arielle never talks to me, unless it’s to call me names. And we’ve been avoiding one another since she ambushed me in Cromwell’s office. Her plot to have me expelled crumbled into dust. Neither one of us came out the winner in that episode, and Beth ended up as collateral damage. Beth hasn’t been around much either. But I have noticed that Mancuso and a few of the jocks are still friendly toward her. Arielle can’t control all of them without a captain, and if what Troy said is true, Arielle is on her own.
Arielle spots me, and she nudges Lexi, who looks in my direction. Lexi narrows her eyes on me, and then her sly look morphs into a smile. I have to tremble at that. It’s creepy to see someone so phony.
“Natalie,” Lexi purrs. “Come look at Arielle’s ring.”
I roll my eyes and walk toward the classroom door. “Why should I look when I don’t care?”
“Because Lucas gave it to her.”
My feet stop moving, and I’m stuck in place. My body freezes in mid-step. Lexi runs over and quickly turns my body toward a beaming Arielle, who is holding out her hand for my inspection. On her hand is an enormous diamond ring on a platinum band.
I gasp when I see it, and my reaction obtains a gleeful and snide response. The girls watch me closely, feeding off my shock and surprise. They watch hungrily as my eyes widen, and I can’t understand why Lucas would have given Arielle a ring. My mind races as thoughts speed around in my head.
Arielle’s smile twists into a cruel smirk as she holds her hand out toward me, twisting her finger so the light bounces off the obscene diamond. Frowning, I look away from it at the faces of the girls taking more pleasure from my shock. They look like a pack of sheep surrounding a grinning wolf, all except Cora, who looks away.
“It’s a wedding ring,” announces Arielle, standing tall. “Lucas and I are married.”
I gasp louder, placing my fingers on my lips, and my reaction prompts laughter from the girls crowding us. My gaze is caught on the ring, and I want to look away, but I can’t make myself. The boy I love is married? This can’t be true.
“You’re a liar,” I hiss at Arielle’s rude face. “This is another one of your tricks.”
“No, you’re the liar. You’ve always been, and you’ll always be. Nothing and no one will ever come between Lucas and me.”
“What about Troy?” I reply. “You were very tight with him up until now.”
Arielle rolls her eyes as if I’m the simpleton. “Troy and I were only friends.”
“Only friends?” I scoff. “You practically sucked his face off in front of me. You threatened me when you thought I wanted him.”
Arielle narrows her eyes; she obviously doesn’t want a replay of her past love history announced in the quiet hallway. All sound has stopped as eager eyes watch us argue. I scan the crowd checking for phones and I see a few out. It’s a hard hike up to the high road, but I better get on it unless I plan to be on the internet again tonight.
“You must be mistaken,” she says, “but that’s not a surprise since your brain is oversexed.”
“You’re lying,” I reply softly.
“You keep saying that.” She places her fingertips on her shoulder, draping her hand so the diamond is seen better. “But I’m not. Considering your track record. Shouldn’t you be on to the next boy by now?”
“I don’t have a schedule like yours.”
“Done with Jacob so s
oon?” Arielle’s face twists as her hands rest on her hips. She looks unusually fierce, as if she wants to provoke. “You can’t have them all, you greedy girl.”
There’s a shift away from us as the small crowd parts, and Lucas appears. His shoulders are slumped, and his face looks pale. The light, secure manner is missing as he comes to a halt and looks from Arielle to me. All eyes are on us, but I refuse to entertain these kids. For a second, I look at Lucas, and then, turning away, I rush into the classroom.
No one is paying attention as Mr. Yeats drones on cluelessly about biodegradable cardboard at his desk. He’s lecturing today about earth science; I catch that much. Lucas and I were sitting together, but Arielle has rearranged the students so Lucas is seated next to her again. The way they sat on the first day of class.