Chapter 8 Burning The Leash

Chapter 8 Burning The Leash
Odessa's Pov

I watch as Damien slowly pulls away from Sarah, his arm dropping from her shoulder like she's suddenly on fire. He's obviously shaken by what was unfolding, his eyes darting between my mother and Daphne like he's looking for an exit that doesn't exist.

Bastard.

My grandfather's face is red with rage, the kind of deep crimson that spreads from his neck to his forehead. He's never argued with my mother before, usually she's his favourite, but this could be easily interpreted as my mother simply enabling one of my bad outbursts again. That's how he'll spin it. That's how he always spins it.

"Rebecca, what is this about?" He asks, his voice low and dangerous.

"Yes, Rebecca." Daphne snaps, crossing her arms over her chest. "First your daughter does this and now this baseless accusation!"

"Shut it, Daphne." Mom cuts her off without even looking at her. Her focus is on the tablet she's grabbing from the table, her fingers sliding through the screen frantically. "Since you won't give the explanation, I'll do the talking now."

She finally clicks on a file, something she's had ready, something she's been holding onto. She hands the tablet to my grandfather without a word.

I watch his face as he scrolls. Damien and Sarah kissing on my 18th birthday. A sex tape at a frat house of both of them, grainy but unmistakable. Repeat sightings of both of them in romantic positions while he claimed to be mine. The dates are stamped on each image, a timeline of betrayal that stretches back further than I want to think about.

I bite my lower lip as I watch them all scramble while the colour drains from their face. Sarah is crying harder now, real tears or fake ones, I can't tell anymore. Damien looks like he's seen his own ghost.

A smirk curls on my lips. I had no idea it went on for that long. Eighteen. He was kissing her on my eighteenth birthday while telling me I was the only one.

"I found out about the affair during the fitting," I say calmly, giving my mother the backing she needs. My voice doesn't shake. That's the miracle of already dying once, nothing here scares me anymore. I give Damien a cold stare, the kind that makes him shift in his seat. "The engagement is off, Damien."

He rises from the couch, then falls to his seat again, heaving as he tries to gather his lies but fails terribly at it. His mouth opens and closes, opens and closes. "I... I.. Odessa, it isn't.."

Daphne hits his side, nudging him to rise. A sharp jab that makes him flinch. He moves immediately and tries to approach me, his hands reaching out like he wants to touch my face, to convince me with his fingers the way he always has.

Mom doesn't let him get close. She strikes him across the face, a clean hit that echoes through the room, and shoves him to the couch. He lands hard, bouncing once before settling.

"You don't get to lie to her face when evidence is here," Mom snaps. Her chest is heaving, her ponytail slightly crooked from the effort. "It's been almost a year since she started seeing you. Three years since your family made the deal with this family. All you had to do was bloody love her, Damien. What do you do? Run around with her cousin!"

Sarah stands up, her hands clasped in front of her like she's about to give a speech. "Aunty, it isn't what you think, really. We should've known better."

"They're fated mates, Rebecca." Daphne clears her shaky voice, trying to sound authoritative but failing. "Sometimes you really can't fight that bond."

"Are you really trying to gaslight me now?" Mother scoffs, her hand still raised like she's ready to swing again.

Daphne rolls her eyes, the gesture slow and deliberate. "It should explain why the De Luca brothers still can't help but lurk around Odessa. Didn't she drive off with one? She's not that innocent either, is she?"

"Are you nuts—"

"She's right."

My grandfather's chilling voice comes from the couch, calm and agreeing with her like he's just decided the weather. The room goes silent.

"What?" I and my mother chorus in disbelief. I can feel my heart drop into my stomach.

"Just let Pa Bern talk, Rebecca. Gosh." Anika's husband, Lucas, scoffs from the corner where he's been pretending to stay out of it.

"Fuck you." Mom snaps at him without missing a beat.

"Another disrespect from you or your daughter, Rebecca, and I'll kick you out." Grandfather snaps, his finger pointing at her like a weapon. "Odessa, have you forgotten our agreement?"

I hold his gaze. "No." I answer bluntly, fighting back my red rimmed eyes. I won't cry in front of him. I won't give him that satisfaction. "I remember it clearly. No mate, no position at MAM. No heir, I don't inherit the company."

"Exactly." He leans back into his couch, satisfied that I recall the terms of my own captivity. "As the heiress you've brought dirt to the company in one day. Your boyfriend's sleeping around and? I expected you to handle it better. He messed up once. He's still young and could improve. Think about the company, Odessa. You've rejected your fated mates and now you dump your chosen mate? What impression would our investors get?"

Think about the company. The same sentence that had me killed. The same words that justified every compromise, every swallowed feeling, every night I cried alone while Damien was God knows where. I spent my whole life building something that would go to my enemy. Every late night, every early morning, every sacrifice I made for MAM, and for what? To be blown up in a parking garage?

I can't let him do this to me again.

"This meeting is dismissed." Grandfather waves his hand like we're servants. "We've had enough drama for one day. Damien, see me after this. The engagement remains. Lucas?"

"Sir." Lucas rises from his seat like some soldier in battle, his back straight, his chin up.

"You'll no longer be part of the coaches for the national team. Next season, you'll be transferred to our team at Madison College. A lesson to teach your daughter better."

Anika opens her mouth to protest, her lips parting with what I'm sure would have been a string of curses, but she closes it after as Lucas' fists tighten at his sides. She knows better than to push him when he's like this.

My eyes drop to my mother's tablet on the coffee table. An ad is playing on the screen, a short clip for Moonlit Bonds. The reality dating show she had spent her life producing with my dad. They had both fallen in love over their shared preferences of dating shows, something my mom continued after their wedding with her resources from MAM. I watch the clip for a few seconds, the bright colors, the smiling faces, the promise of romance and drama.

In the spur of the moment and my mother's attempt to refuse my grandfather's decision, an idea forms. Not fully baked yet, still raw at the edges, but there.

Odessa Montgomery's life was never really hers. Odessa Gracia? She spent her whole life trying to prove herself worthy for a company that only wanted her to be their version of acceptable. Good girl. Quiet girl. Girl who marries who she's told and produces heirs on command.

It all ends today.

"What if I don't want to think about the company?" I say loud enough for my grandfather to hear. Everyone turns their heads to me, some confused, some angry, some just curious.

"Then you don't deserve it." He answers coldly, like the words mean nothing.

"Then being married to a cheat would make me deserving?"

His jaw tightens. "Having a mate and having a child in a loving marriage would prove stability. It's good for the company, Odessa. I hope you understand me."

My mother tries to speak but he raises his hand, signalling her to shut up. She obeys, but her eyes are shooting fire.

"I don't love him," I say plainly. Just the words, no decoration, no explanation.

Damien stands up again, his hands shaking. "W.. what.. Odessa, you don't know what you're saying. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I should've done better, but baby, you love me.."

My mother shoots a glare at him and he stops talking, shrinking back into his seat.

"But a few months ago, you begged me to approve of him." My grandfather leans forward, his eyes narrowing. "You swore that you love him."

"My feelings have changed." I keep my voice steady. "If you require a chosen mate to give me the company, I'll give you one."

"She'd probably hire someone!" Daphne mumbles under her breath, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Get those De Luca brothers to play pretend with her."

"Indeed, I plan on announcing your mate at the gala, Odessa." My grandfather nods like the matter is settled. "I've shown Damien to top investors. You will marry him, end of story. It's either that or you're out of the company. Choose. Your inheritance or some whimsy childish dream."

The memory leaks in slowly like a reminder. The sight of MAM's building as I drove from the hospital after my cancer diagnosis. Years of work all useless. It stole my youth, stole my life, put a leash so they could control me, and strapped a bomb so they could eliminate me.

I take a breath. The deepest one I've taken all day.

"Keep it, then."

"What?" Everyone yells at once. My mother grabs my arm. Sarah stops crying. Damien's mouth falls open. Even the maids in the doorway lean forward.

"I forfeit my inheritance of Montgomery Athlete Management."