crackled with unspoken tension. Her father, Edward Morgan, perched at the head of the table, emanating authority that she began to detest

sued seemed deafening. Ivy had hardly managed to grasp the gravity of her father's remarks. "It

hat they'd come to? Was she just a p

couldn't even remember consenting to this-one moment she was being informed of Gabriel's proposal, and the next she was wearing his ring. How h

oth, like the practiced tone of someone who had never once second-guesse

e man she'd seen in the media: the ruthless billionaire, the heir to Steele Industries wh

pire she was tethered to. Ivy was just the final pawn he needed to checkmate her father's pride a

Ivy for a split second before he returned his focus to her father. "I will marry your daughter, and in exchange,

in her as a woman, but as leverage. And worse-he was right. Her "What if I don't want to get married to you?" Ivy's voice was shaking, jus

humorless grin. "I don't think

father's sneer sharpened like a sword. Ivy gulped hard, attempting to

t you want, right?" To sell me off to settle your gr

ettling grudges, Ivy. It's about survival. You'll do your duty. You'll ma

o aggravate him any further, especially with so much at stake. But deep down,

any longer. "I need some air," she said before turning

ting to clear her head. The metropolis spread before her, the skyscrapers of Washington, DC standing in stark con

briel's cold eyes. Th

id just beyond her grasp. What had her father done? What had he dragged her into? This was no longer just about busin

n off so soon," a voice

hlighted by the gentle lighting from within. His presence was imp

" Ivy shot back; her tone

tant step toward her, his gaze sharpening as h

hing more. You're here for business, and I'm here because my father p

t it vanished as fast as it appeared. "You're right," he said, his voice frigid. "I do

t callous? Did he not even see her as a person S

than to him. "My father struck a bargain with you, and I'm meant to simp

g-perhaps curiosity, but perhaps s

s hiding something. I overheard him talking about a deal, something t

iced a spark of something-anger, perhaps? -in his

ngine revving in the distance. Her heart leaps a

me to a halt just outside the gates. In the short moment before the door open

ordered, his tone sha

efore she realized it, she was walking back in

he following name, which sent shive

tched. No...

or fle