Page 38 of My Horrible Arranged Marriage (Bancroft Billionaire Brothers #20)

ISAAC

I didn’t even hear the elevator doors before she stormed in. One second, I was reading song lyrics to see if I could find the right one when Mina burst through my penthouse like a damn hurricane. Something was wrong.

“Mina? What?—”

She held up her phone and held it toward me. I could honestly say I had never truly seen her pissed. This was pissed by any standard. She looked downright murderous. I got the feeling I was the source of the anger. I just wasn’t sure what I did. I was working on picking a song.

“You want to explain this ?” Her words were laced with venom.

I got to my feet and took a few steps forward. “Okay, what’s going on?”

Her hands shook as she turned the screen toward me. “Read it,” she spat. “Or should I read it for you?”

I blinked. “I can read it,” I said. I took the phone and read the headline in big, bold letters. Cold dread washed over me as I read.

“What the hell is this?”

“Oh, it gets better,” she said, her voice trembling with fury.

She snatched her phone back before I could read the rest of the article.

“Sources close to the Bancroft family say the youngest son, Isaac, has been looking to clean up his image ever since rumors of wild nights and mystery women started affecting his eligibility to work in any of the family businesses,” she said.

“Mina, come on?—”

“Enter Mina Duvall, the perfect pawn in a larger game. Wealthy, beautiful, and conveniently in need of a reputation fix of her own.” She looked up from the phone, eyes blazing.

“Is this what I am to you? A pawn? A means to an end. All of this is a bunch of bullshit to make you look good in your perfect little family.”

My chest constricted. I reached for her, but she took a sharp step back. “No,” I said. “Hell, no. That article is trash, Mina. You know that. I love you. I believe you love me.”

She shot me a dirty look that had me taking a step back. “They say she’s only getting a ring, not a marriage. Once a Bancroft, always a Bancroft.” Her voice cracked as she finished. “Tell me this isn’t true. Tell me this wasn’t a setup. That you didn’t propose to make yourself look good.”

I was stunned into silence. She was breathing heavily, holding herself like she was trying not to unravel in front of me. I realized that nothing I said would matter unless I was brutally honest. This was the moment I knew was coming but had somehow hoped it wouldn’t happen.

“Can we sit?” I said.

“You can sit,” she snapped. “I’m pissed. I don’t want to sit.”

I expected that.

“Mina.” I took a deep breath, stalling for time while my brain searched for the right words. “I proposed because I wanted to marry you. I do want to marry you. I love you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “So you’re saying this wasn’t orchestrated? That our fathers had nothing to do with it?”

And there it was. I was standing at the crossroads. Lie again and keep her or tell her the truth and risk losing everything. Lying would be the easy way out. Lying saved her the heartbreak and me the shame.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “It started with them. Yes. But you knew that.”

Her face fell. The silence between us suddenly became cavernous. “Oh my god.” Her words were barely a whisper. “It’s true.”

The pain in her voice tore at my chest.

“But listen to me,” I said quickly. “That’s how it started. It’s not why I proposed.”

“You lied to me.” Her voice was quieter now. Wounded. “You let me believe this whole thing was some whirlwind, some fairytale—and the whole time, it was… what? A business deal?”

“No.” I crossed the room, desperate now. “It was supposed to be. At first. But you changed everything. The more I got to know you, the more I realized I didn’t want a fake anything. I wanted you . For real. It happened ten minutes after meeting you.”

She shook her head. “I knew it. I knew this was all bullshit.”

“It’s not bullshit. This is real.”

“I can’t believe it.” She turned and walked toward the couch. She sank down like her legs would no longer hold her up.

I moved to sit down beside her but she glared up at me. “Don’t touch me.”

I sat down on the coffee table in front of her, keeping my distance but staying close enough to make sure she could hear every word. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat. This was it. The moment I’d been dreading since the day I realized I was falling for her.

“Mina,” I started, my voice low and steady, “I need you to listen to me. Not to the article, not to whatever bullshit they’re spinning. Just me. Okay?”

She didn’t respond, but she didn’t get up and leave either, so I took that as a sign to keep going.

“It’s true that our fathers set us up,” I admitted, watching her flinch at the words.

“Your dad asked mine for a favor, to set me up with you. It was repayment for something from way back when they were younger. Your dad asked me to take you out. To charm you, I guess. He thought if you fell for one of us, it would help you settle down. And get over Sampson.”

Her eyes narrowed, and I could see the hurt simmering just beneath the surface. “So what? You were just doing your dad a favor? Playing along with some stupid plan?”

“No,” I said quickly, leaning forward slightly.

“That’s not how it went down. At first, yeah, I was pissed.

I didn’t want to be some pawn in their little game.

But then I met you.” I paused, searching her face for any sign that she was still listening.

“You walked into that restaurant, and you were… you. You were bold and sharp and so damn beautiful it knocked the air out of me. And then you got mad at me and stormed out, and I knew right then that this wasn’t going to be some fake date or some arranged thing.

You weren’t what I expected, Mina. You were better. ”

She blinked at me, her expression unreadable.

“I didn’t propose because of them,” I continued.

“I proposed because I couldn’t imagine not having you in my life.

Because every second with you feels real in a way nothing else ever has.

Yeah, it started with them, but it ended with us.

With me falling for you so hard I didn’t care about their plans or their favors or any of it.

I never even considered what they might think.

They were the farthest thing from my mind. ”

She was quiet for a long time, her gaze fixed on some point over my shoulder. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft but laced with pain. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Because I was scared,” I admitted. “I thought if you knew how it started, you’d walk away before giving us a chance. And I couldn’t risk that. Not after I realized how much you meant to me.”

She looked at me then, really looked at me, and for the first time since she walked in, I saw something other than anger in her eyes—uncertainty maybe, or doubt.

“Do you really love me?” she asked quietly.

“Yes,” I said without hesitation. “More than anything.”

Tears welled in her eyes. She looked down at the ring on her finger like it burned. “And you didn’t think I deserved to know?”

“I was going to tell you,” I said. My throat hurt. It felt like I’d been screaming at the top of my lungs for days. “I wanted to tell you a hundred times. But every time I looked at you, I got scared. I didn’t want to lose what we had.”

“You should’ve told me anyway,” she whispered.

“I know.” I closed my eyes, hating myself. “I know I screwed up. Keeping secrets is wrong. But I love you, Mina. I love you so damn much, and this—” I gestured between us. “This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

She didn’t respond. I could see her brain working overtime, trying to process all of it. The article. The lie. The truth.

And then, finally, her shoulders dropped. She looked up at me through blurred lashes. “Do you want me for me , Isaac? Or do you want the idea of me? The convenience? The image?”

“I want you ,” I said without hesitation. “I want to do life with you. I want to protect you. Take care of you. Fight for you.”

I moved toward her again, slowly this time. When she didn’t back away, I cupped her face in my hands. “I don’t care what the world thinks. I care about us . I should’ve told you everything from the start. But you’re not a pawn. You’re the whole damn game, Mina.”

Her lips parted like she was about to say something, but no words came out. Instead, tears spilled down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

She broke then. A sound escaped her throat—half a sob, half a laugh—and she launched herself into my arms. I held her tight, burying my face in her hair, and felt her shoulders shake as she cried against me.

“I was so scared,” she mumbled.

“I know, baby. I know.” I kissed the side of her head. “Don’t believe that bullshit. I swear on everything that what I feel for you is real.”

Eventually, her sobs softened into sniffles. I got up and moved to sit on the couch with her, pulling her into my arms.

“I didn’t want to believe it,” she said, voice hoarse. “But it just—it hit me so hard. After everything with Sampson…”

I nodded. “I get it.”

“And the worst part is—I do believe you. I believe it’s real for you now. That’s why it hurt so much. Because I love you, too.”

“Then let’s shut the world out. Just for tonight. You and me.”

She managed a small smile. “And tomorrow?”

“Same thing. You and me. Screw what people think. I don’t care. I know what we are. I know what I feel.”

“Fuck them,” she muttered.

“I meant it,” I said against her temple. “I want to marry you. I want a family with you. I want… everything.”

She didn’t respond right away. Just nestled deeper into my side, her fingers tracing circles on my chest.

Finally, she whispered, “Okay.”

I slid my fingers under her chin and raised it. I looked into her eyes, hating the residual tears I saw still clinging to her lashes. I kissed one eye and then the other. I vowed in that moment to never hurt her again.

I kissed the tip of her nose and then her lips. It was just a brush of my lips against hers at first. I didn’t want to push. I didn’t want her to think sex was the big attraction. It was important, but I’d be celibate for a year if it meant I could have her at the end of it.