“She’s not going anywhere.” I cut through the noise and look at her parents. Her mother isn’t saying a word, and her lips are pressed together in a thin line.
“You don’t have a say in that.” Her father finally turns his eyes on me. “I heard your proposal, and the answer is no.”
“Dad.” Glenda’s quiet shock is almost as loud as his declaration. “Why not?”
“That’s not for us to discuss here,” he tells her, finality in his voice.
“If it’s money you want, you can take it all,” I say angrily. I mean it. He can have every dime if it means I get Glenda.
“You can’t always buy your way into something,” Glenda’s father hisses.
“So your son was good enough for our daughter, but not the other way around?” my father asks, and even I can hear the cut in his voice.
“They didn’t have control of him,” Glenda says softly. “They couldn’t force him into an arranged marriage.”
“Well, they can’t force you into one either,” I say to her and pull her closer to my side. “It’s too late for negotiations anyway. She’s already pregnant,” I announce to the room, and her mother’s face pales while her father’s gets redder.
“Oh god,” her mother whispers and closes her eyes. “She’s ruined.”
“I knew she shouldn’t have come here,” her father says and clenches his fists. “With any luck, we can have a quick wedding and pass the bastard baby off as Travis’s without him knowing.”
“What!?” my father and I shout at the same time.
“Travis Rollins has a controlling share in my company, Glenda. He’ll sink it if you refuse his hand.” Glenda’s father is talking directly to her, and all I see is red.
“Over my dead body.” I move in front of her now so that she’s completely behind me.
“That can be arranged,” he says as he takes a step toward me.
My father moves between us now, but I don’t need his protection. I’ll rip this man apart with my bare hands.
“Time to cut the cake!” My mother comes straight into the library all smiles and cheers as she takes in the sight before her. “Looks like something else is going to be cut first, I see.”