Chapter 59
CHAPTER 59
BETH
I ’m not at all surprised by the request. Nolan and my mother were already working it out amongst themselves before she went to rehab and it sounds like a fair trade. I already came to terms with the idea of that months ago when I had time to think about it.
He’s the only one I’ve actually thought about marrying in any capacity and the idea doesn’t scare me at all.
“What?” Martin says as his father stabs a green bean with his fork and shoves it in his mouth.
Nolan glances at Martin, but mostly ignores him. He looks directly at me when he says, “I want you to marry my son in exchange for releasing Nigel O’Reilly from jail. We can discuss the details later, but that’s the quick answer..”
“You can’t be seri–” Martin starts, but I quickly cut him off.
“Martin, stop.” His gaze darts to me as I sigh. “It’s fine.”
Martin’s expression relaxes as if he really thought I would throw a fit about being betrothed to him. It’s better than other alternatives. It’s actually the best case scenario.
“Actually, I was not referring to Martin.”
My eyebrows fly to the sky from his add-on. “Then, you mean Michael?” I’m unaware of any other sons, but for all I know, Nolan Gray has a second family, and there’s some dude I’ve never met that he wants me to marry.
But, why would he want me to marry Michael ? The betrothal was supposed to be between me and Martin.
Wait. Isn’t Michael gay? I thought he was. He has a thing for Nigel, but he could be bi. That’s a relatively common thing as far as I know. Not very many people, especially from religious areas, are accepting of people from the LGBT community, or if they are, they don’t talk about it–not that I’ve heard, anyway. Nolan Gray gives me the feeling that he wouldn’t support Michael’s lifestyle choice, which is truly sad. Now, I just want to hug Michael and tell him that I support his choices. He’s worth more than having to hide who he truly is.
“Yes, Michael. He’ll be taking over everything once I retire–”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me, Dad!” Martin groans as he tosses down the cloth napkin straight onto the big plate of food in front of him.
My face pales from what Nolan said. Oh, no. That was Martin’s chance to get away from his father and all the abuse and control.
“And that is exactly why I carefully decided on it being Michael to take over for me and to be the one to marry Miss Mercer. You are run by your emotions, Martin. You take everything as a personal attack and have zero self-control. I can’t have you as the head of the family business. You would explode at some executive who looks at you wrong. You’re volatile, which is not a good thing to be in business.”
“My opinion doesn’t exactly matter, but Martin does have a point,” I interrupt.
“Really? Have you run a multi-billion dollar corporation before?” Nolan grumbles.
“Dad, manners. Miss Mercer is our guest.” Martin throws his father’s condescension back at him, and I can’t help feeling a bit proud of that move and thoroughly entertained by the lashing Nolan is getting during this meal.
“I may not have run a business before, but my dad did, and you can learn a lot just by listening to what others have to say, like how experience in the field and having the right mentality for a job are equally as important, but I have also seen people that didn’t seem like the right fit to run a business thrive just because someone said they couldn’t do it. Motivation is always an interesting factor. Just because Michael has the right mentality to go into the business field doesn’t mean he’s actually business savvy or wouldn’t run your company into the ground. Like I said, mentality and experience are both important, but neither are a guarantee that things will work out.”
I just need to shut up because my mouth will get me into a lot of trouble, especially around that man. Even though Nolan gives me the side-eye, Martin sends me an appreciative look.
I send him a subtle wink that his father can’t see.
“I’ll take that into consideration,” Nolan mutters as he lifts his glass of water to his lips, taking a slow sip before replacing it on the tablecloth. “The terms are for twelve years of marriage. That’s the low end of time Mr. O’Reilly is facing. It seems like a fair trade. You provide us with at least one heir, don’t make us look bad, and Mr. O’Reilly gets to walk free. I’ll have a contract drawn up, and when you sign it, Mr. O’Reilly will be released.”
A contract to give my life away to the Gray family for twelve years? He’s right, though. It is a fair trade. This family is a prison for someone like me to an extent, and I set the events in motion that led to the accident. It only makes sense that I spend twelve years in my personal version of hell. It would’ve only been made better if he made me marry Martin.
What about my baby, though? I’ll figure something out.
“And that’s twelve years starting today or…” I trail off, leaving it open for him to add to it.
“No. Starting from the day you marry my son,” Nolan says as if this shouldn’t have even been a question.
“When you have the contract drawn up, I’d like my lawyer to look at it, and I may have some suggestions for it as well.” Holding my head high, I don’t let it show how truly tragic this is for me, but if I’m going to do this–sign my life away–I’m going to get as much out of it as possible. If I have my way, this deal will protect not just Nigel but every past, present, and future Bastard from this ever happening again.
“If you wish, Miss Mercer. Do we have a deal?”
“Yes,” I mutter before my gaze moves to Martin, who pleads with me not to go through with this. “We have a deal.”
* * *
Martin guides me into the same room he had taken me to the last time I was in this house and as soon as the door is closed, he turns to me, his face a mixture of so many emotions I can’t fully decipher them. Definitely anger and shame though.
“I’m sorry,” I frown. “I know you told me to stay away here and keep my head down, but I couldn’t. I had to do something.”
Martin pulls me into his arms and runs his fingers through my hair as I cling to him. This is one of the things I missed the most–being in his arms.
“I know, baby,” he whispers against the top of my head. “This is a bad situation all around.”
“Yeah.” I dig my fingers into his shirt, clinging to him with all the strength in me. I don’t want to let him go, not now, not ever. “I went to see Nigel. He’s in bad shape. Your father already has people trying to hurt him. He’s going to die in there.”
“Fuck,” Martin groans as I look up into those beautiful eyes. “I know. This isn’t right. I know he needs to be out of the picture, but…”
“Not like this. If he has to die, it should be for an actual horror he did. I know he hit you…”
“It’s not enough to warrant a death sentence. I get it, little rabbit. It sucks, but I know you need to do this. The only good part of this is you’ll actually get away from Nigel, but I’m not sure spending any time with this family will be much better.”
A small smile pulls across my lips. He’s always looking out for me and yet I’m keeping two big secrets from him, but I can’t tell him about the baby, not yet. Not until I can rule out and narrow down the possible baby daddies. Once I get to a doctor, they can tell me how far along I am and that will exclude at least one of the three.
But, what about what happened with Casey? Would there be a similar reaction to my pregnancy?
Wouldn’t it also fix some things? If it came out that I’m having Martin’s baby, maybe Nolan would reconsider the groom he picked and have me marry Martin instead? Either that or he would make me pretend the baby is Michael’s.
There’s one other possible reaction, which scares the fuck out of me.
“You’re a part of this family and I rather like spending time with you,” I admit. That’s one positive. There couldn’t ever be a negative to being around Martin. The rest of his family is debatable.
He presses his forehead to mine with a long breath leaving his lips and I almost break from how much I needed this, just a moment with him without any prying eyes.
“You can’t trust anything he says. Unless you get it in writing and have some financial or business ramifications attached. He’ll do whatever he can to get away with as much as possible. Hit him where it hurts and make him fucking bleed, little rabbit.”
I smirk from his dark words. “You know me so well.”
“I also know him and, if he hurts you, I can’t guarantee I won’t kill him with my bare hands.” He presses a soft kiss to my lips, his breath ghosting over my face. “And, don’t let him weaponize you as much as you can. I promise, he will try to use you as a weapon against anyone he can, including me.” He sighs as he gives me another kiss, this one more powerful than the last. “He isn’t making you marry my brother to punish O’Reilly. He’s doing it to punish me, to make me watch you and not be able to have you. This is what he does. He uses people to hurt his enemies and make no mistake, that’s exactly how he sees me.”
He sees his son as the enemy. Why?
Martin is a good man, but his father is the opposite of that. I could sense it the second we were in a room together.
Only God knows how Martin turned out the way he did while being raised by that vile creature.
“Why would he use me to punish you?”
He frowns. “He knows I’m protective of you and he has a few reasons to choose from. I’m the one who refused the arranged marriage between us and let’s just say he was mighty pissed about that. Then, there’s Casey and me disappearing for a week and the accident. Take your pick.”
In other words, I’m the reason for every single thing that Nolan has to be mad at Martin about. It’s all my fault.
“I’m so sorry.” My face twists with guilt as he pushes my hair out of my face.
“God, don’t cry, baby.” He pulls me back into his chest as I return to clinging to his body.
Tears fill my eyes. “If I thought for a second that he would take out us staying in Hempstead on you, I–”
“Hey,” he whispers as he tilts my chin up, the tears falling down my cheeks. “None of this is your fault, okay? You can’t blame yourself for his crap. I told you that you never know what is going to piss him off. This is exactly what he wants. Don’t give it to him, baby. Promise me that. Promise me you won’t let him poison your mind against yourself. You’re good, Beth. Don’t let him make you think you’re anything but that. You’re a fucking saint. I can’t think of anyone else who would willingly sign their life away to protect the person who hurt them. That makes you ten times better than my father could ever be.”
“I promise.”
Then, he gives me another kiss and I really hope he’ll give me more, an added boost that erases all the negativity of this afternoon.
I want to just live in this moment with him in my memory.
Nothing else.
Just us.
* * *
When I step outside into the fresh air, my knees buckle, but luckily, Oliver catches me, and I huddle into his strong embrace, needing whatever strength he can give me.
“Beth, what happened?”
“Let’s get out of here, and I’ll tell you.”
Oliver doesn’t fight me to tell him, and I’m so glad because my body needs time to catch up with what happened inside that mansion. I need to get as far away from this place as possible and maybe some real food. The bunny chow they put in front of me was egregious.
He helps me down the steps and into the front seat of his car before he runs around the hood. While Oliver is getting in the car, I chance a look up at the mansion and swear a figure stands in the shadows within the structure, watching us leave. Grabbing my sweater from the dash, I wrap it around my body, trying to shield myself, as Oliver turns the car around and leaves Nolan Gray’s property.
In ten minutes, he pulls into the Sonic near our neighborhood and parks in a stall before turning to me.
“Why do you look freaked out?” he asks, his tone cautious.
“Because…” I trail off, taking a deep breath to keep from breaking down. “I just signed my life away in exchange for Nigel being released.”
“What do you mean you signed your life away? What the fuck did he want for that deal?” Ollie demands, and tears fill my eyes.
“He wants me to marry Michael and be in their family for twelve years, basically taking on Nigel’s sentence as my own.”
The car is silent as my words thicken in the air and make this small space stifling. He’s not saying anything. Why isn’t he speaking? He should be yelling at me for making such a stupid deal and begging me to back out. He isn’t, though.
He finally speaks barely above a whisper. “Twelve years.”
I nod and barely hold in a sob. “From the point of me marrying Michael, yeah.”
“This is so beyond fucked,” he growls before punching the steering wheel.
A small sob leaves my lips. “I couldn’t just let him die. I had to do something.”
Next thing I know, Oliver pulls me across the center console and cradles me in his lap as I press my face against his chest, loud sobs breaking through. My ribs vibrate, and the pain spreads from my bones through the muscle and soft tissue until it consumes me.
We both know what this means. It’s the end of me and Nigel forever, but it’s not a start for me and Ollie either. It’s an end to everything that brings me joy and fills my heart with warmth. It’s the end of my life as Bethany Mercer, and Oliver is holding me like I’m still the most precious thing in the world to him.
“I know you couldn’t, crazy girl, and eventually, he’ll understand that, too.” He kisses the top of my head as his fingers trail up and down my back, reminding me of the night I went to his room, and he wouldn’t let me speak about the way I feel. His gentle yet demanding touches. The way he made me scream for mercy and beg for salvation. It’s a comfort. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Beth. I’m here, and I’ll always be here. Are you with me?”
A small smile tugs at my lips as I look up into his icy blue depths and take in the lock of blonde curls out of place, amiss his black spirals.
“I’m with you, Oliver. Always.”
Then, he leans forward and presses his forehead to mine, breathing me in like the redemption he denies himself but allows himself to taste. See but never touch. Touch but never hold. Hold but never claim.
“We’re in this together, baby. You and me. I’ll stand by you to the end, and when your twelve years are up, I’ll be the one to punch my uncle in the fucking face.”