Chapter 24 #2
“Fuck the contract.” Eleanor’s curse is so unexpected I almost laugh. “Legal documents only have power if you don’t know the right people. And despite what Sebastian thinks, that contract isn’t as airtight as he believes. I’ve had lawyers review it.”
“You what?”
“As soon as I heard Sebastian had made a purchase at the auction, I had my personal attorney pull the contract. Don’t tell Caroline I have someone other than her dealing with sensitive legal matters.
They all think I’m oblivious to life around me other than the parties and charities, but, dear, I make this place run.
Nothing happens here that I don’t know about.
” She reaches for her wine and takes a sip.
“I wanted to know what kind of agreement he’d signed.
” Eleanor’s eyes are hard. “It’s enforceable?
Yes. But there are clauses, vague language about ‘reasonable accommodations’ and ‘mutual respect’ that could be challenged if you had good legal representation.
And, darling, you’d have the best.” She smiles slyly, and I can’t help but smile back at her.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I want you to know you have options. You’re not as trapped as Sebastian wants you to believe.
And if he continues down this path, treating you like property, threatening you, using that contract as a weapon, there are ways to fight back that don’t involve you staying miserable for two years.
At least you were smart enough not to sign a lifetime contract.
” She shifts on her chair and crosses her legs.
The information settles over me like armor. Not enough to feel safe, but enough to feel less powerless.
“Thank you,” I say quietly.
“Don’t thank me yet. Because here’s the hard truth, Lennox.
” Eleanor leans forward. “If you want Sebastian to change, you have to be willing to hurt him. Really hurt him. Make him face consequences for treating you this way, otherwise he’ll just keep doing it because he’s never learned any different. ”
“How do I hurt someone who doesn’t see me as a person?”
“You make him see you. You prove you’re essential to something he cares about.
And then you threaten to take it away.” Eleanor’s smile is sharp.
“Walker doesn’t care about losing a wife.
But he cared more about losing his partner than about building an empire.
His equal in every way that mattered. Once I proved I was that, once he saw what losing me would actually cost, he changed. ”
“I’m not essential to anything—”
“Aren’t you? You recovered twenty-three head of cattle that had been written off as lost. You’ve impressed Walker, though he’d never admit it, you won over Caroline, and charmed the twins.
In a few weeks, you’ve made yourself valuable to this family in ways Sebastian doesn’t even know.
” She takes my hand. “Use that. Make him see that treating you like property means losing something irreplaceable. Make the consequences real.”
“And if he doesn’t change?”
“Then you leave. Two years or not, contract or not. Because no amount of money is worth destroying yourself for a man who refuses to see your worth. Especially when it isn’t your debt to pay.
” Eleanor squeezes my hand. “I nearly lost myself to Walker’s control before I stood up to him.
I won’t watch Sebastian do the same thing to you. ”
Before I can respond, gravel crunches outside. A truck door slams. Heavy footsteps approaching.
Sebastian’s back.
Eleanor and I look at each other, and I see steel in her eyes. “Remember what I said. You have options. You have power. Don’t let him convince you otherwise.”
The door to the conservatory opens, and Sebastian stands there, his face dark with fury.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he demands, looking at me. “I told you to stay at the house.”
“And I told her to have lunch with me,” Eleanor says calmly. “Unless you’ve started dictating where I eat as well?”
“Mom, stay out of this.”
“No.” Eleanor stands, moving between us. “You don’t get to come into my space and bark orders at your wife like she’s livestock. If you want to have a conversation like adults, fine. Otherwise, get out.”
Sebastian’s jaw clenches, and I can see the war playing across his face. The urge to assert control versus the reality that he can’t command his own mother.
“I need to talk to Lennox. Alone.”
“Then ask nicely. Like the civilized human being I raised.”
The silence stretches, taut and dangerous.
Finally, Sebastian looks at me. “Will you come back to the house so we can talk?”
Not a demand. Not a threat. An actual question that gives me the choice to say no.
I look at Eleanor, who gives me a slight nod. Your decision.
“Yes,” I say. “We can talk.”
Because Eleanor is right. If I want this to change, I have to make him face consequences. Have to prove I’m not going to roll over and accept whatever treatment he decides to dish out. I’m over trying to prove myself to him. It’s time to make him see just how dangerous I can be.
Sebastian waits while I say goodbye to Eleanor, then we walk out of the house in silence. His truck is parked haphazardly near the front, like he rushed back when he realized I was gone.
Good. Let him worry.
Once we get back to his house, I don’t wait for him to be chivalrous; I walk ahead of him and wait for him to follow. When he closes the door, I turn to face him and see something in his expression I didn’t expect.
Not anger. Not dominance.
Fear.
“Were you planning to leave?” he asks quietly.
“Where would I go? You made it very clear what would happen if I tried.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
I meet his eyes steadily. “Yes. I was planning to leave. To break the contract, face whatever legal consequences came, and get as far from you as possible. Because this morning you proved that nothing between us is real. That I’m just property you’ll use and threaten and control forever.”
“Lennox—”
“But then your mother told me something interesting.” I move closer, slightly happy when he’s the one to tense. “She told me that the contract isn’t as airtight as you think. That there are ways to challenge it. Ways to fight back that don’t involve me just enduring your abuse for two years.”
He flushes with anger at the revelation, like he knows exactly what I’m referring to. “She had no right.”
“She had every right. Because, unlike you, she actually gives a shit about whether I survive this marriage.” I’m in his space now, refusing to back down.
“So here’s how this is going to work, Sebastian.
You want me to stay? You want me to be your wife, not just property? Then you’re going to have to earn it.”
“I own you,” he says through gritted teeth.
“You own nothing.” The words come out cold, final. “You have a contract that binds me here for two years. But you don’t own me. You never will. And if you keep treating me like you do, I’ll find a way to break that contract and disappear. Legal consequences be damned.”
“You’re bluffing.”
“Try me.” I hold his gaze. “Keep threatening me. Keep reminding me I’m property. Keep being the monster you were this morning. And I promise you, Sebastian, I’ll find a way out. Even if it destroys me in the process.”
We stand there, inches apart, neither willing to back down. And I see the exact moment he realizes I mean it. That I’d willingly burn everything down instead of living like this.
“What do you want?” he finally asks.
“I want you to treat me like a human being. Like someone whose thoughts and feelings matter. Like more than just something you bought.” I step back, waiting for his answer.