Page 58 of My Horrible Arranged Marriage (Bancroft Billionaire Brothers #20)

ISAAC

T he house was quiet now. I changed into the shorts and tee I had worn over this morning. It was so crazy to think twelve hours ago I showed up here with a tux hanging over my arm and dreams of a bright future.

I sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at my hands, I couldn’t believe how empty they felt. I was supposed to be sporting a black band on that finger by now. I was supposed to be dancing with Mina under the starlight right now.

I remembered driving over, windows down, some upbeat song playing that matched my mood. The sky had been perfectly clear, like even the weather was celebrating. I’d stopped for coffee on the way, and the barista had asked why I looked so happy.

“Getting married today,” I’d told her, and she’d given me my coffee for free.

I’d been so fucking excited. Not nervous—not the way most grooms probably are.

Just impatient. Ready. I couldn’t wait to see Mina walk toward me.

Couldn’t wait to say the words, to make the promises I intended to keep.

I’d practiced my vows in the mirror that morning, making sure I had them memorized even though I knew once I saw her, they might fly out of my head.

I’d been thinking about our honeymoon. The small villa I’d rented in the South of France, right on the water.

I’d imagined her face when we arrived, how she’d race to the balcony to see the view, how I’d watch her instead of the sunset because nothing could be more beautiful than she was.

Tomorrow, I was supposed to be on a beach soaking up the sun with my wife.

My wife would have been wearing a sexy bikini and sipping on a fruity cocktail.

A virgin cocktail.

She was pregnant. “Fuck,” I groaned.

I couldn’t miss out on that. I had to be there.

I just didn’t know how to make her forgive me.

To give me another chance. Hectar offered to let me stay in the guest room, but I didn’t think I could stay the night.

It felt too weird to be here without her.

And if she wanted to come back, I didn’t want to be the reason she couldn’t feel welcome in her own home.

There was a knock on the door, pulling me from my thoughts. “Isaac, we need to talk.” Hectar’s voice came through the door. “I’ll be in my study.”

Of course we did. I had paid the vendors and then made my escape. I knew Hectar was pissed at me after my little speech. I honestly didn’t care. It was the truth.

I left my tux on the bed and left the room.

The house felt so quiet and eerie. I knew there were still a lot of guests in residence, but they seemed to all be hiding. The long hallway with doors on either side felt a little like a hotel. I could hear muffled conversations behind the doors. I didn’t have to guess what they were talking about.

I glanced up just as Kathy emerged from one of the guest bedrooms. She looked small in her pale blue pajamas, her hair pulled back in a loose braid.

Her face was bare, and there was something mournful in her eyes.

She looked like she’d been holding back tears for hours and had finally run out of strength.

She’d been absent most of the day, leaving me to wonder where she’d gone after Mina walked out. Maybe she’d needed space. Maybe she hadn’t wanted to witness the fallout.

But here she was now, and the sadness written all over her face just about undid me.

She wasn’t my mother, but she had stepped into the role without any of us really recognizing it.

She didn’t try to be our mother. We were too old for that shit.

She was just there taking care of us just like she took care of her own sons.

We stopped a few feet apart.

Neither of us said anything at first.

“I should’ve listened to you,” I said quietly.

Kathy smiled softly. There was disappointment in her eyes. She reached out, her fingers curling around my arm. She gave it a gentle squeeze.

No words. Just that.

But it was more kindness than I deserved.

“Thank you,” I said, voice hoarse.

She nodded before she let go and moved past me down the hall. I found my way back to the study. The door was cracked open.

Inside, Hectar and my father stood facing each other like two pit bulls ready to rip each other’s throats out.

“Isaac,” Hectar said, waving me in. He looked like hell.

My father gave me a nod. He looked grayer than usual. Tired. Frustrated. And I was pretty sure he was pissed. That wasn’t something I expected.

“Any updates?” I asked, even though I knew the answer.

“No,” Hectar said curtly. “She won’t take my calls.”

“She’s with Tori,” I said, as if that somehow mitigated things. “That’s a good sign. She’s not alone.”

“She left her own wedding,” Hectar snapped. “You think her being with Tori means anything right now? I don’t even know if she’ll come back here.”

“Then maybe she shouldn’t,” Dad replied, folding his arms. “You pushed her too hard. We both did.”

“Excuse me?” Hectar turned to him fully now, the vein in his temple pulsing. “You think this was just me?”

“You were the one who suggested the arrangement,” Dad said evenly.

“You came to me and said our children needed direction. That maybe, if we gave them a push, they’d both find something worth holding on to.

You thought this was the way you could cash in that favor.

When I agreed to repay you, I never meant to offer up one of my sons! ”

“You chose him,” Hectar shot back. “I would have taken one of the others.”

It was only a little offensive to have them talk about me like a bull to be traded or used for a stud. I was pissed at both of them. They had traded flesh. Me and Mina.

“And you agreed!” Hectar shouted. “You helped me set it up.”

“I regret it,” Dad said quietly. “I never would have agreed to it if I didn’t think I had to. I was a coward. I don’t owe you a damn thing. I owed you a favor. Inside information or money. Not my son and certainly not your daughter.”

The silence that followed was like thunder.

Hectar’s face reddened. “We did what we thought was best.”

“No,” my father said. “We did what you thought was best. And I went along with it because I wanted to repay the debt. I thought I might help Isaac finally find a place in this family that didn’t leave him looking for an exit.

But we shouldn’t have meddled. We shouldn’t have played matchmaker.

We were arrogant, Hectar. This was not our business. ”

“You’re saying that now ?” Hectar’s voice cracked on the word. “Now that my daughter has vanished in a cloud of scandal and pain? My daughter is the one that will have to bear the gossip after another failed marriage.”

Dad’s mouth tightened. “I’m saying it because the only people who mattered in this whole damn scheme were the ones we thought we could control. And we were wrong.”

I stayed quiet. Let them yell. Let them finally realize what I’d known for weeks.

I knew this was never going to end well.

It hadn’t been built on truth. It had been built on secrets and pressure and unspoken expectations that neither Mina nor I had ever asked for.

Yes, I loved her and I believed she loved me, but that didn’t matter.

She was convinced I was only with her because of the arrangement.

I wasn’t sure how I could convince her otherwise.

She gave me a chance. One chance. I fucked it up.

And now here we were. A ruined wedding. A broken engagement. A woman I loved, gone. I leaned back and let them go at it. Maybe they’d knock each other out. I wished I could be the one to knock them both out. But they were my elders. I had to have some respect for them.

But not much.

They kept arguing. Back and forth, louder, sharper. My dad was growing angrier by the second. Was it weird that I was happy my dad was finally sticking up for me? He was going to bat for me. That was kind of cool.

They exchanged barb after barb. Talking about shit from thirty years ago. And I let them. They did this to themselves. Mina and I were collateral damage.

Then finally they both turned to me.

“Well?” Hectar demanded. “Are you going to contribute something useful, or just sit there brooding like a sulking teenager?”

Dad glanced at me. “Son?”

I looked at them both, the weight of the day crashing down like a tidal wave.

“You want me to contribute something?” I asked, my voice low. “Here’s a contribution: I’m not talking about Mina without her in the room. Ever again. You two set this shit storm in motion. You two and your selfish bullshit created this disaster.”

They both stared.

“Your ideas are what caused this mess,” I said. “You want to fix it? Step aside. Let her speak for herself. Let me speak for myself. Stop trying to fix everything with business deals and strategy.”

I got up and walked toward the door.

“I’m done talking behind her back.”

I didn’t wait for a response. Didn’t give them a chance to argue. I walked out and let the door click softly shut behind me. I didn’t bother going to get the tux. It could burn for all I cared.

It was dark outside. I walked down the driveway to my priority parking spot.

I had planned to leave my Porsche here while we went on our honeymoon.

We had a car that was supposed to take us to the private airstrip and then off to France.

I rubbed the back of my neck, my muscles tight with exhaustion and fury.

And then I saw her.

Tori.

She was at her car, trunk open, arms loaded with a bag and what looked like Mina’s laptop case. She was in jeans and a sweatshirt, hair pulled back.

She looked up when she saw me approaching.

I stopped a few feet away. “Hey.”

She didn’t say anything.

“I just… is she okay?” I asked. My voice came out softer than I meant. “I just want to know if she’s safe.”

Tori shut the trunk, stepped around the car, and met my eyes.

“I’m here to pick up some clothes,” she said. “That’s all.”

I nodded slowly, throat dry.

“I’m not here to deliver messages or give you updates,” she added. “And I’m not going to answer any questions on Mina’s behalf.”

“I understand,” I said. And I did. “She’s lucky to have you.”

Tori’s eyes flickered, but her expression didn’t soften.

“You’re not a bad guy, Isaac. But you hurt her.

And whether you meant to or not, that’s what she’s dealing with now.

You destroyed her. And she told me she told you about the baby.

Think about that. She’s got a lot more on her plate than your stupid agreement with her dad. ”

She moved toward the driver’s side door.

Before she opened it, she paused. “Take care of yourself, Isaac. You fucked up. I liked you. I believed you, but this? This is bad. I’m taking care of her. Whatever you’ve got going on with Hectar is your deal. Mina doesn’t need to hear it.”

Then she got in and pulled away, the car’s headlights cutting through the night as she disappeared down the drive.

I stood there for a long time. It wasn’t a complete brush-off, but it certainly wasn’t her inviting me to talk to Mina.