7. Her Savior, Her Jailer
seven
Her Savior, Her Jailer
"Exactly what are you insinuating, Nash?" Ash's voice was razor-sharp, his gaze darting between Nash and their now ashen-faced father. When Nash remained silent, her brother's eyes shot to their father. "Dad? What is he talking about?" Both men remained silent, and Ash grew visibly upset.
Nash eventually sighed, "Are you going to tell your son? Or shall I?" He asked before casually spearing a piece of beef with his fork and popping it into his mouth. When her father still said nothing, he shook his head and sipped his wine.
"Your parents have always viewed their daughters as little more than high-end assets. You were the heir, valuable by yourself. Your sisters, however, were a different story." Disgust turned his lips up at the corner ever so slightly.
"Explain." Ash demanded, his hand reaching for his wife's on the table.
A telling move that Iris knew Nash did not miss.
She internally shook her head, her brother should know better than to let his emotions be so easily discerned by the enemy.
And while it pained her to admit Nash is an enemy of her family, she saw no other recourse.
"They struggled to find a match for their darling Holly, because no one who would have her was considered good enough for their little princess.
" Nash's words were slow, intentional. That his meaning went far beyond the words themselves was clear.
By the flinch in her father's eyes, his barb landed perfectly.
"Well, at least that's what they said. But in truth, it was because your father was running the company into the ground.
And he was much too busy squandering what was left of his family's fortune to try to do anything about it.
He preferred the easy solution, simply sell off his daughters to a wealthy man.
There was only one slight problem with his plan.
No one with deep enough pockets was willing to step in to marry sweet, precious Holly. "
"That is enough!" Her mother cried out. Her skin red with anger. But Nash merely inclined a brow at her. Mocking her with how little power she truly held.
"What is he talking about?" Holly's pale face stared daggers at her parents. Who, once again, remained silent. "Mother?" Augusta did nothing but turn her head to the side, staring down Nash as best she could. Desperate to hide her terror. But it was too late for that. Far too late.
Gone was the powerful, regal queen she always pretended to be.
And in her place was a small, frail woman with trembling hands she lowered to her lap.
Her eyes, as they met Nash's, were wild.
If looks really could kill, he would have fallen from his chair.
She sat there and looked every inch of a desperate woman.
Praying and hoping that something, anything, would stop Nash from revealing each and every one of her sins.
Her father seemed more resigned, less crazed. He sat there calmly, awaiting his fate. He might have hoped his misdeeds would never come to light, but he never believed it.
Nash nodded his head at her parents, as if giving them one last chance to answer. To confess. When they remained silent, he let out a humorless chuckle before turning his attention to her siblings.
"What I am talking about is your parent's last hope to save the family was to marry you off to someone with enough money to save them.
That kind of money is hard to come by. Only a very few families have it.
Mine, of course. But a few others as well.
But no one accepted your parents' offers.
Everyone knew how deep in the hole the company was, no one wanted to take that risk.
None of the truly wealthy families wanted anything to do with saving the Blackworths by marrying their eldest daughter.
" Nash paused here as if waiting for someone to interject.
The silence grew tense, and Nash once again chuckled.
"Figures, you're holding out, betting that I won't tell it all. That's a bet you shouldn't have taken."
"You won't come out of this unscathed, either." Her father rasped out, finally speaking.
"No, I won't. But the only reason I wanted my part to stay a secret was to prevent some notable persons from finding out. That complication has since been sorted out, and I no longer care if my actions come to light. I am not ashamed of what I did. Can you say the same?" Nash challenged.
"Please, they were never meant to know." Iris gaped at her father's quiet, desperate words, she had never seen him so defeated.
At this time, Holly and Ash both lost patience.
"What are you both talking about?"
"What weren't we supposed to know?"
They both demand, looking to Nash for answers this time. It was more than clear that he was the only one willing to give them answers.
"I'm talking about your family's last hope.
" He bit it out, as if the words somehow offended him personally.
"There was one family they were close enough with to beg a union from.
The Ackery's." Here Iris withheld a gasp, she knew them.
Nash and her discussed their son on their flight from Arizona.
"They agreed to sink the hundreds of millions that would be necessary to save your father's company.
All they wanted was their daughter. But, it wasn't Holly they wanted.
" He raised his glass to his lips, taking a slow sip, savoring the shocked gasps that came from the table.
One by one, her siblings and their spouses turned to stare at Iris.
"In fact, many suitable men approached your parents for Iris's hand.
Dozens offered to save them from their own choices, by marrying their youngest daughter.
But they refused to give Iris to any of these eligible beaus.
They wanted you, Holly, betrothed to one of these worthy men, they made that very clear.
But, apparently, they didn't think Iris deserved a good or worthy man.
As they turned down no less than seven proposals that I am aware of.
Each of them would have been more than enough to save them.
It was common knowledge that Iris was not to wed until you were suitably matched.
They didn't care to arrange a suitable match for Iris.
In fact, it was made abundantly clear that the esteemed Mrs. Blackworth did not want Iris marrying a match that was 'better' than the match they arranged for Holly. "
A hush fell upon the room. Silence reigned, not even breaths were heard.
Iris found her own voice, quiet yet carrying the weight of years of suppressed anguish.
All the insults, the punishments, all of it built up within her.
It threatened to overflow, but she pushed it all down by sheer force of will.
She could break down over finding out her parents truly did dislike her later. For now, she needed answers.
"What about the Ackery's?" she asked, eyes wide, but she refused to let any tears fall.
And if they were a tad shiny with the sheen of unshed tears, well then, she'd never admit it.
The picture Nash was painting was one she had hid from for years, and now she feared it was worse than she ever thought.
She was afraid to face the heartbreak she was sure was coming.
But, stubbornly, she knew she had to confront the truth.
Even still, she held onto the hope that her prediction was wrong.
Nash turned his head slowly towards her parents, who were statues of frozen dignity, choosing cowardice over admitting their guilt. He turned back to face Iris, his eyes soft. Almost as if he regretted what he was about to say. Dread sunk low in her belly. It must be bad.
"You were sought after. That was no secret.
Dozens of families wanted you for their sons, for many reasons.
" Here he paused, looking at no one but her.
As if he wanted to make sure she knew the words were true.
"Your grades were superb. Almost unbelievable, to be honest. You were a prodigy, and everyone knew it.
You volunteered in countless charities run by the wives of powerful men.
No one spoke your name except to remark on your virtues.
Selfless, brilliant, kind." Nash's eyes softened in a way she'd never seen before.
"More than that, you tutored their children.
Your insights into business trends and picking good investments outperformed experts quarter after quarter.
When you were only eleven, I heard your name mentioned for the first time.
A side comment about how the 'youngest Blackworth girl' was adamant that a certain tech startup was going to be ground-breaking.
It was said with condescension. A few years later, and you were proved right.
Everyone who laughed at the little girl who thought she understood the business world was realizing how wrong they were.
Soon, your name was popping up all over the place. And no one was laughing anymore."
Iris felt tears well up in her eyes at this. If everyone admired her so much, why did her own family seem to despise her?
"Many good families wanted you." Nash cut his eyes over to her parents with disdain.
"Offered their sons up as a husband to you.
Desperate to have you locked into a betrothal contract early.
But each and every offer was denied. These families were too good for Iris, apparently.
" Nash's eyes stared daggers at her parents.
Ash opened his mouth, but Nash held up his hand.
With a sigh, he revealed the damning truth.