AMELIA
The ride back to the Moranos estate was a blur. Amelia barely registered the streets rushing past the car window, her mind too consumed with the man she'd just met. Damien Black. He was nothing like she expected. She thought he'd be smug, overcompensating, maybe even a little desperate to prove his worth. But he wasn't. He was calm. Calculating. Completely in control.
She clenched her fists as the car pulled to a stop in front of the estate. The second she stepped inside, she stormed into her father's study, slamming the door behind her.
"This is insane," she said, her voice sharp enough to cut through the air. "You can't seriously expect me to go through with this."
Her father didn't look up from the stack of papers on his desk. "Amelia—"
"No," she snapped, cutting him off. "You don't get to dismiss me like he did. This is my life we're talking about!"
That got his attention. He set the papers down and sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Do you think I want this for you?" he asked, his voice weary. "Do you think I enjoy watching my daughter be dragged into something like this?"
"Then stop it," she said, her voice softening, though the fire in her chest didn't. "Call it off. Find another way."
He shook his head. "There is no other way. Damien Black holds all the cards now. If we back out, he'll pull his support, and we'll lose everything."
Amelia frowned. "Why does he even care? What's in it for him?"
Her father hesitated, and that hesitation was all the confirmation she needed. "You're hiding something," she said, narrowing her eyes. "What aren't you telling me?"
"It doesn't matter," he said firmly. "What matters is that this marriage will save us."
She barked out a bitter laugh. "Save you, you mean. You're not the one being traded like a bargaining chip."
Her father's face darkened. "Do you think I wanted this for you, Amelia? Do you think I wanted to fail you? Because that's what this is. A failure."
He took a deep breath, his voice softening. "But I'm trying to fix it the only way I can."
"And what happens when this doesn't work?" she challenged. "What happens when he gets bored of playing house with a woman he doesn't even want?"
Her father's gaze hardened. "You underestimate him. Damien Black is not the kind of man who gets bored. If anything, I'm more worried about you underestimating what he's capable of."
His words sent a shiver down her spine, though she refused to show it. "I can't do this," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I can't marry a stranger."
Her father came around the desk and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're stronger than you think, Amelia. You'll get through this. And who knows? Maybe it won't be so bad."
She pulled away from his touch, her chest tightening. "You don't believe that."
He didn't answer. The silence was worse than anything he could have said.
Amelia felt a stinging sensation in her eyes, but she refused to cry. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Instead, she turned and walked away, leaving her father standing alone in his study.
She didn't know how she was going to get through this, but she knew she wouldn't do it quietly. She would fight, she would resist, and she would make sure that Damien Black knew that she was not a pawn to be used.
As she walked back to her room, she felt a sense of determination wash over her. She would not be broken. She would not be controlled. She would rise above this, no matter what it took.
But as she looked out of her window, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was walking into a nightmare, one that she might never wake up from. Damien Black's face haunted her, his eyes seeming to bore into her soul.
She knew that she was in trouble, and she didn't know if she had the strength to fight back.