Page 54

Colton

I stare out the window of one of the Grand Hotel’s smaller conference rooms. Fresh green is everywhere—leaves on trees, the meticulously manicured lawn, the decorative hedges on the property. Flowers bloom in the gardens, but the colors are dulled to me.

It’s been four months since Isaiah showed up in town again. I didn’t want to check with Haven that she was actually okay with me killing him, but in the end, I did. Her trust has become one of the most precious things I’ve ever held. I don’t want to break it.

Of course, she was horrified by what she’d asked me to do in her nightmare-induced state. So I went along with her suggested plan and sent Gerard and Brandon after him again. Isaiah hasn’t made another reappearance since.

Just because he’s been gone for four months doesn’t mean he’ll stay away forever. We know that. The break has been nice, though. We’ve been able to let Haven out of the house more, although only if she’s with one of us. A good thing, considering Athelia came back after only a few months of enacting the revenge plan Haven secretly told me about.

“Thank you for staying,” Mark says as he crosses the conference room toward me.

“Of course. What do you need?”

We just finished up a board meeting for the Glass Rooks a minute ago, and the last member just left. As usual, my father asked me to stay late. I’m used to it. He’ll give me his routine lecture about spending time getting to know Delilah. There’ll be something about how it’s “important to his overall influence” and “essential to my future.”

It’s all bullshit.

“May twentieth,” Mark states.

I roll my eyes. I fucking hate when he’s vague like this.

“That sure is a day, Dad.”

“It’s about to be the most important day of your goddamn life.”

“Oh?” I ask boredly. “Why is that?”

“Because it’s the day you’re getting married.”

My eyes snap to his. “What?”

Mark sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I told you I wanted you two to get married before graduation. This is my compromise.”

“That’s not even two weeks away!”

“Delilah and her wedding planner already have everything booked. Invitations went out a few weeks ago.”

“No.”

“Yes.” He gives me a scolding glare. “I’ve been telling you for almost a decade that this would be happening. You’ve had plenty of time to prepare.”

“I’m not marrying her.”

“You will,” Mark says lowly, “or you’ll lose your future position as leader of the Rooks.”

I go still. I was worried it would come to this. No, I knew it would come to this. It’s why Charlotte and I came up with a backup plan. I was hoping it’d stay a backup plan, though.

A timeline forms in my mind as I stare at Mark, jaw tight. He thinks he has me cornered. Little does he know, it’s really the other way around. I didn’t spend the last year collecting evidence of his wrongdoings for nothing.

“Fine,” I say, forcing resignation into my tone. “May twentieth.”

“Good. You can contact Delilah for more details. Do it quickly, please. She’s been waiting to hear from you, and Bill is getting impatient.”

I nod. “Am I free to go?”

“As long as you keep me updated as you and Delilah iron out your plans.”

Standing, I adjust the rolled-up sleeves of my shirt. “Of course.”

His gaze burns the back of my neck as I move to the door. Just as I’m reaching for the handle, he stops me.

“Oh, and Colton?”

I stop, barely looking over my shoulder as I wait for him to go on.

“I advise you to remember what happened the last time you tried to gain the upper hand over me. Don’t try to sabotage this.”

“Trust me, I won’t. I know my place.”

I leave the room at a leisure pace and stride through the hallway with my head down. I can’t give Mark more fuel for his suspicions. If I look like I’m anything but resigned about this marriage, he’ll know something is up for sure.

Charlotte is still in the parking lot. She’s standing next to her black Bugatti in a tasteful cream dress. As I approach, she tilts her head to one side, watching me. She’s one of the few people I don’t bother hiding my emotions from, so she sees every ounce of the fury burning inside me.

Before I can get a single word out, Charlotte opens her arms and pulls me into a hug. My anger recedes just enough to make room for the ache that grows whenever I’m near her.

If Mom was still alive, everything would be different.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” she says. “I know this isn’t how you wanted things to go.”

“He told you?”

She smiles sadly. “He tells me everything, dear.”

“He’ll forge the documents if I don’t marry her. I know he will.”

As her smile turns ironic, Charlotte looks me up and down. “Well, that’s why we’re doing it first, aren’t we?”

My gaze flicks down to the pavement. “Yeah.”

“Hey.” She tilts my chin up so I have to look at her. “It doesn’t make you like him. He’ll do it because he’s drunk on power and to feed his greed. You’re doing it because he’s leaving you with no other choice.”

“But what about Haven?”

“It saves her, too. You know that.”

My fists clench. “I don’t want to hurt her more, Char.”

“You won’t.” Charlotte pats my chest. “I already made the appointment with the judge. Now go, or you’ll be late.”

“I’m going to have to force her. What if she hates me for this?”

She laughs before cupping my cheek. “My darling boy. Only you could look love right in the face and mistake it for hate.”

Love.

I want Charlotte to be right. She always is, so it would be easy to believe her, but she doesn’t understand what I’ve done. There’s nothing I could do to make Haven love me, let alone forgive me.

Especially after today.