Ep 5

My last date tried to rope me into a seance to contact his dead mother so

she could “meet me and give her approval.” Needless to say, I never saw

him again.

But my parents didn’t need to know that. As far as they were concerned,

I was dating handsome trust fund scions left and right.

“We’ve given you plenty of time to find a proper match these past two

years.” My father sounded unimpressed by my spiel. “You haven’t had a

single serious boyfriend since your last…relationship. It’s clear you don’t

feel the same urgency we do, which is why I took matters into my own

hands.”

My tea froze halfway to my lips. “Meaning?”

I thought the important news he’d alluded to had to do with my sister or

the company. But what if…

My blood iced.

No. It can’t be.

“Meaning I’ve secured a suitable match for you.” My father dropped the

bombshell with little to no warning or visible emotion. “It took quite a bit of

work on my end, but the arrangement has been finalized.”

I’ve secured a suitable match for you.

The fragments from his declaration blasted through my chest and nearly

cleaved my outward composure in half.

My teacup clattered back onto its plate, earning me a frown from my

mother.

For once, I was too busy processing to worry about her disapproval.

Arranged marriages were common practice in our world of big business

and power plays, where marriages weren’t love matches; they were

alliances. My parents married my sister off for a title, and I’d known my

turn was coming. I just hadn’t expected it to come so…so soon.

A bitter cocktail of shock, dread, and horror sluiced down my throat.

I was expected to enter a lifetime contract after “quite a bit of work” on

my father’s end.

Just what every woman wants to hear.

“We’ve let you drag your feet too long, and this match will be

enormously beneficial for us,” my father continued. “I’m sure you’ll agree

once you meet him at dinner.”

The cocktail turned into poison and ate away at my insides.

“Dinner? As in, tonight’s dinner?” My voice sounded distant and

strange, as if I was hearing it in a bad dream. “Why didn’t you tell me

earlier?”

Being ambushed with news of an arranged marriage match was bad

enough. Meeting my future fiancé with zero preparation was a hundred

times worse.

No wonder my mother was being even more critical than normal. She

was expecting her future son-in-law as a guest.

My stomach lurched, and the possibility of expelling its contents all

over my mother’s prized Persian rug inched closer to reality.

Everything was happening too fast. The dinner summons, the news of

my engagement, the impending meeting—my mind whirled from trying tokeep up.

“He didn’t confirm until today due to…scheduling complications.” My

father smoothed a hand over his shirt. “You’ll have to meet him eventually.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s tonight, a week, or a month from now.”

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