l, immobile form. The beep of the monitors filled the silence, a monotonous soundtrack to my life falling apart. His

ly audible over the machines. "Wh

pressed my lips together, my throat tightening with every breath he didn't take on

you?" I asked, my voice cracking. "You'd

what she wanted. And Dad had never been good at stoppi

is. We were good my father and I. Then suddenly this violent illness came, eating him up slowly, forcing me

he entered the room, her presence sharp and invasive, like a

as silk but laced with steel. "I tr

Let's not pretend." I hadn't spoken to her this way before, a

ay the bills." She moved closer, her perfume wafting through the air-

age to stand firm. "You're asking me to ma

ng* you to marry Levi Vanderbilt. And you should b

incredulous. "It's my dad Aunt Livia, yo

r isn't in any condition to save you, and you sure as

chair screeching against the floor. "Marrying a man I've

so dramatic. This makes it easier. No messy emotions, no

ously on my dad's skin.

ou do that?" She

say cautiously. I look up to meet h

suddenly care about tabloid

t I feel so hopeless, I just wanted to find out what type of person he w

rated. "Fine, s

he knew, and she is still forcin

ement doesn't it. The name, the fortu

urned. "You'r

l bills stacking up by the hour? The creditors knocking on your doors? I'm not the only one you owe Eliana and I sure am not set

eight of his condition dragging me down further. S

," I said through gritted teeth, b

e situation speaks for itself. Either you marry Levi

t sits in your chest and festers, poisoning every breath. But there was no es

•

my mind. He'd been dead for years, a phantom billionaire everyone whispered about but

never-ending storm. The air smelled like burnt coffee and old wood. I sat in the corner, s

idiculous. Foreign. Like it didn't belong anywhere near my life. And yet, her

d who couldn't demand anything from me. Maybe I could endu

ed to dangerous secrets. What kind of secrets? And why

•

my father's side. His breathing was shallow, his skin p

closer. "If I do what Livia wants, maybe I can s

, gripping it tightly. "You always told me to fight,

etched, heavy a

lled it out, my stomach twisting when I sa

rbilt: Sti

blurry photo of a man who looked eerily

ickening. "That's not possible

. If Levi Vanderbilt was alive, what d

into a trap? The screen dimmed, but the headli