揝o you could say exactly what you抳e been telling everyone all day: you had no idea.?
揧ou should have told me. I抦 supposed the future CEO!?
揘othing future about it. I抦 stepping down. It will be official by the end of the week.?
揑梐re you fucking kidding me? You抮e handing me the keys to the castle厀hile it抯 under attack??
揇on抰 be so dramatic. The company will be fine.?
揂nd if it抯 not??I snap. 揥hat the fuck then?
揟hey can抰 touch our personal fortune, Crew.?
I exhale and sit up, relieved the walls stay where they should. 揇id you do it??
揘o.?My father抯 answer is swift and sure. 揃ut卛t happened.?
揥hat do you mean, it happened??
揃eckett Stanley was leaking information. I found out what he was doing, and I took care of it.?
揘ot by telling the authorities, I gather.?
揧ou know the issues that would have caused. I got rid of him and appointed Isabel to the board in his place.?
I scoff. 揑ssues. Sort of like the issues we抮e dealing with now??
揟here抯 no evidence. They won抰 be able to do anything.?
I press my palms to my eyes and groan. 揓esus, Dad.?
My father studies me like I抦 a science experiment. 揥hat抯 the real issue??
揟here needs to be another issue than being investigated and having stock in free fall and棓
揅rew.?
揝he married me for my money,?I bite out. 揝he married the future CEO of a billion-dollar company. Not卼his. She抣l get questions. It might even affect Haute and rouge.?
My father blinks, appearing genuinely off-guard. 揟his is about Scarlett??
揇o I have another wife??I snap. I look at my hands, clenching them into fists. 揑 love her, Dad. I love her so fucking much. I抦 pissed at you and I抦 worried about the company, but I抦 fucking terrified this will change everything between us.?
A slight raise of his eyebrow is my father抯 only response to the whiskey-fueled declaration. Normally, I抎 rather chew on razor blades than discuss this with my father. 揧ou have more to offer her than money, Crew.?
One of the nicer things my father has ever said to me. But?揝he married me for my money,?I repeat.
揝he抯 the sole heir to billions and is making tens of millions off that magazine and clothing line. You really think she married you for money? She didn抰 need to get married, and she didn抰 need the money. Scarlett picked you. She chose to marry you.?
揌er father told her to,?I mumble.
揃ecause they抮e so close? Because she抯 easily manipulated??
I scoff.
My father knows how to employ sarcasm. Who knew? 揧ou must have wondered why the engagement was between you and her, not Oliver and her??
揙liver needed to travel and manage the international holdings, while I would make New York my home base and strengthen the family business brand.?I parrot the line he told the two of us for years.
揑 decided that later. When Hanson and I first spoke about a potential arrangement, the agreement was that Oliver and Scarlett would get married. He抯 oldest and stands to inherit just as much as you do. It was the logical choice, on the face of things.?
I look up. 揥hat??
My father strokes his chin, looking at the fire, not me. 揌anson came back to me a year later, when you were sixteen and Oliver was almost an adult. Said he would honor the agreement, but only if it changed to you and Scarlett. He was adamant about it. Something梥omeone梒hanged his mind. The only reason I ever figured he changed the terms was卙e told her.?
I抦 the reason you抮e first in line.
I thought she meant our marriage when she said that.
揇on抰 assume she didn抰 choose you, Crew.?
With those parting words, my father leaves me in his dark study with a head spinning from a lot more than just alcohol.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
SCARLETT
I wake up alone. Crew抯 side of the bed is empty and cold. If he came home last night, he didn抰 sleep next to me. I tossed and turned most of the night, so I抦 confident I would have heard him come in. The realization he didn抰 creeps in slowly, with plenty of other doubts I try to push aside.
I shower, then dry my hair and apply a light layer of makeup. Enough to cover the dark circles below my eyes and, of course, some red lipstick.
Armor feels especially important today. I pull on a pair of black tights and a gray sweater dress. It抯 off-the-shoulder and loose without being baggy, camouflaging my small bump. At this point, my pregnancy is somewhat of an open secret. I doubt anyone I work with has missed the fact that I stopped drinking coffee, walk around carrying a granola bar, and occasionally run to the bathroom at inopportune times. Despite how strained our relationship is, it feels strange to tell my employees I抦 pregnant before my own father. He was sleeping when I visited him yesterday, which was honestly a relief. My father and I don抰 have much to say to each other under the best of circumstances.