Chapter 5 - THE MAN WHO THOUGHT BUYING MY DEBT MEANT BUYING ME
Preston requested a meeting.
My attorney recommended against it.
I agreed only under controlled conditions.
Law offices.
Cameras.
Counsel.
Roman was not present.
My decision.
Preston arrived smiling.
He looked at me as though Trinity Church had been an argument rather than the end.
“You've made your point.”
I stared.
“My point?”
“You embarrassed me.”
I almost laughed.
“You tore my clothes in front of five hundred people.”
“You pulled away.”
There.
Blame.
Simple.
Efficient.
Familiar.
“You threatened my sister.”
“I reminded you actions have consequences.”
“You sabotaged my family's company.”
His smile disappeared.
“You cannot prove that.”
“Maybe.”
I leaned back.
“That's why you're here with three lawyers.”
One of his attorneys shifted.
Preston ignored him.
“You think Roman Vale will protect you forever?”
“No.”
That surprised him.
“I don't need him to.”
“You need money.”
“I need lawyers.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
I smiled.
“Money buys lawyers.”
“Evidence gives them something to do.”
His face hardened.
Then he changed tactics.
“You loved me once.”
I almost admired the audacity.
“No.”
“You agreed to marry me.”
“I agreed to prevent my family from collapsing.”
“Same thing in families like ours.”
And there it was.
The worldview.
Marriage as acquisition.
Women as consolidation.
Fear as agreement.
I stood.
“Meeting over.”
He reached toward my arm.
Stopped before touching me.
Maybe he remembered the church.
Maybe the cameras.
Good.
Then Preston said:
“You walk away from me and your father's company still fails.”
I turned.
“Maybe.”
He smiled.
“You're admitting it?”
“Yes.”
That unsettled him.
“DuPont Shipping may fail.”
I swallowed.
“But if saving it requires marrying you, then it deserves to fail.”
May you like
For eighteen months, that sentence had been impossible.
Now it felt like oxygen.
