Chapter 35
Scarlett
The SUV winds through the paved lane on the Hamilton grounds until we reach my father’s residence.
“Dr. O’Rourke said to wait and bring you right back to his apartment,” the driver reminds me gently from the front seat when the car stops.
“Okay,” I say, not surprised.
“Do you want me to escort you to the door?” he says, looking over his shoulder. He speaks with one of those accents.
“I’m fine.” I glance down and see my fingers are still curled tight in the fabric of my sweater.
He gets out anyway and opens my door. I catch him glancing at the quad across the road. “You have my number, if you need me.”
I nod and step onto the walkway to Dad’s faculty housing, the one I’ve walked a hundred times without thinking. That’s all I’m doing now. Thinking. Mostly, how different everything feels. Like I’m being watched. Like, I’m not just a student anymore.
I’m a wife. A professor’s wife. But I can’t tell anyone until this semester ends and I’m no longer Cormac’s student.
The old carriage has faded gray siding, navy shutters, and lots of windows, very Northeast. My sneakers crunch against red and gold leaves that are scattered everywhere. My pulse picks up the closer I get to the front door.
I told Cormac I needed to do this alone, but I wish he was with me.
A few lights are on inside the house. The front door is locked, and I pause. It’s because he moved in a few students this semester.
I knock and watch a shadow approach through the etched glass. Everything from yesterday rushes back in, sharp and unavoidable.
My father just stares at me like he doesn’t know me. In a sweater and slacks, sleeves pushed up like he’s been trying to keep busy, he just stares at me, and for a second, I just stand there, too.
With my mom gone, he’s all the family I have. That and a new husband who has dozens of family members I’ll eventually meet.
Then a small smile builds on his mouth, and he unlocks the door.
With it open, I step inside. “Hi, Dad.”
A finger against his lips, he turns and heads toward the kitchen and expects me to follow him.
Two med students are sprawled across the living room. One on the couch with a textbook open on his chest, the other cross-legged on the floor with a laptop. They both look up when I walk in.
I smile, give a wave like this is no big deal, and keep moving. Rounding the corner into the kitchen, I breathe in the scent of coffee.
“I was hoping you’d show up,” Dad says, his arms folded across his chest.
I swallow, forcing my voice to be steady. “We didn’t get a chance to talk yesterday. Just you and me.”
“Is Dr. O’Rourke really going to cover your tuition and expenses through your residency?”
“You can call him Cormac. He’s your son-in-law.” I sit and run a hand through my messy hair. “That’s what he said.”
“Did he put it in writing?”
I think about that. He’s admitted to having a lot of money. He’s connected to the mob, but I don’t see them putting forced marriage contracts in writing. “I trust him.”
“Have you slept with him already?” Dad asks through gritted teeth, peering down at me.
Shit…
“We had a one-night stand, like he said yesterday. We met in August. It was the night Pierce and I broke up. I was wandering around in the rain. Cormac brought me to a hotel, paid for a room, and intended to leave. I asked him to stay and—”
“I don’t need the particulars.” My father’s jaw unhinges.
It’s got to be hard for a man to hear his daughter wanted a man to fuck her.
“And since then?”
I purse my lips and lie because now Cormac is his employee and my professor.
“No. The marriage is for convenience.” I cross my fingers behind my back.
He stares at me for a few minutes. I suspect a dad doesn’t know what to say to that laundry list of things a daughter doesn’t usually say to a father.
“Scarlett, you’re an adult. I trust your judgment. Dr. O’Rourke is a good man. Comes from a solid family. I should be thrilled.”
“But you’re not.”
“He cornered you,” he says, trying not to flinch. “He took advantage of your situation with Pierce.”
“I look at it differently.” I swallow. “He’s saving my education.”
“You care about him,” Dad says, studying me.
“What’s not to care about? He’s a good man. And who knows what will happen.”
“Scarlett, you and Cormac cannot separate.”
My blood goes cold. “Never?”
“A divorce would be immediate grounds for Cormac’s dismissal. Fraud. Breach of contract.”
My heart stops. Cormac is under the impression that once he gets his full-time contract, he can let me go. But it sounds like he’s got to make some blood oath to stay with me. Forever.
Should I pull on this thread? This entire situation is spiraling far beyond my control.
I stare at my bare hands. “He read his contract. He’s aware.”
I chose to marry Cormac. Even if it was in a moment of weakness. I could have gone back to Regan’s, and I could have figured out a way to pay for school.
Deep inside, I wanted Cormac.
But if we don’t make this work, there will be consequences neither of us is prepared for, and I’m terrified all over again.