Chapter 90: Nothing but the truth

I stared at him in stunned, disbelieving silence. "Christian... Harlow?"

"You heard me," Ernest replied calmly.

"That doesn't make any sense," I scoffed, shaking my head. "Christian is an Alpha heir. It was already a stretch for his family to allow him to be my escort for the Debutante Ball, but marriage? The Harlows would never allow their future Alpha to marry someone like me."

Ernest let out a soft, dismissive chuckle. "You severely underestimate my influence, Iris, and how far I am willing to go to secure your future."

My stomach curdled at his tone. Whenever Ernest started acting like a devoted, protective father, it meant he was about to do something deranged. I knew that well by now.

"Alright... what's the catch?"

"What catch?" Ernest asked, blinking with fake innocence.

"There's always something more with you," I said, crossing my arms. "Nothing is ever too simple when it comes to you and your schemes..."

"There is no catch, Iris," Ernest replied smoothly, leaning back. "I simply made a deal with young Christian. He pleases his family with a marriage... Slightly below his station, yes, but a good marriage nonetheless considering you're the absolute delight of the social season and, of course, my stepdaughter. The wedding will be very well-funded and sponsored. And he... he gets to stay completely free to do whatever he wants, with minimum obligations to his future wife. As I personally assured him that I would keep you under my care until he felt ready to take over his responsibilities as a husband."

My breath hitched. "So... he knows? He knows about..."

I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence. It was too hard to actually say it out loud. What word was I even supposed to use? How could I precisely describe the situation? Affair? Abuse?

Ernest just gave a nonchalant shrug. "To some extent, yes."

I didn't know why I felt so sad. I barely even knew Christian.

We had rehearsed the gala's waltz together and shared a cigarette here and there between breaks. He had talked about his travels abroad, his studies... he seemed like such a good guy.

I had a hard time believing in good guys. I thought Marcus was a good guy once, and he ended up inviting his friends to gang rape me. The closest thing to a good guy I knew was Cole, and to be fair, he did bully me for years and was barely just starting on the whole decent person thing. But for some reason, I thought Christian was okay. His biggest flaw was sharing Jessica’s DNA.

I wasn't in love with him, and I definitely wasn't projecting any grand ideals of romance or salvation onto him. I was just happy to be paired with a handsome guy for the ball and simultaneously make Jessica foam at the mouth, since she naturally considered me completely undeserving of something like that, taking it like a personal offense. And God knows how much I enjoy offending her.

But yeah, they weren't the fruit of different trees. Christian had made a deal to marry me and basically pimp me out to my stepfather in exchange for some... Freedom to fuck around a little more while securing his trust fund?

Well... I wasn't devastated about that specifically. But I was a little disappointed.

Everyone really fucking sucks.

I let out a slow, tired breath. "Is that all?"

"Yes," Ernest replied softly.

"Can I go now?"

He got up from his desk and walked over to me. He reached out, his hand cupping my cheek. "Did I upset you, dear?"

I looked at him as if I could shoot blades straight out of my eyes. What kind of fucking question was that?

"What?" I choked out.

"You've been... skittish lately," Ernest murmured, his thumb stroking my skin. "Irritated. Moody... Is that that week of the month? I wonder where my sweet girl went..."

He leaned in, inhaling the scent of my hair, trailing a line of wet, lingering kisses down the side of my neck. I took a deep, steadying breath.

"I'm going to be crystal clear with you right now," I said, my voice cold and unyielding. "I said it once, and I'll say it again. I don't want this. I don't love you, and I never will. Maybe once I almost loved you as a father, but you decided that wasn't enough. You're sick and disgusting, and I know my mother is turning in her grave because of what you're doing to me."

Ernest pulled back slightly, a sickly cynical look washing over his face. "Don't bring your mother into this, Iris. God rest her soul. I might have pushed it a little, but you wanted it... You were afraid, but you wanted it. You never pushed back."

"You just made sure to get me when I was in a position to be too afraid to react, and it worked," I fired back, holding his gaze without blinking. "And even when I tried to push back, you made sure to remind me of how much you could hurt me... And the boys. Call that love if you want. At this point, I don't give a fuck about what you think. Because I think you're sick, and you should check yourself into the nearest mental hospital, or go to the vet to get yourself neutered. My point is... I don't care if you choose to ignore it. I want you to know I'm only doing this for Cole, Damon, and Nate now."

My chest heaved, every word slicing through the heavy air between us.

"I dissociate and let you put your hands on me so you won't hurt them," I continued. "I was afraid for myself too at first, but at this point I don't even care because death might now be as bad as your disgusting mouth on my skin. That's how miserable you've made me. You can lie to yourself and play pretend as much as you want, but I want you to know that I fucking despise you."

Ernest stayed silent, his gray eyes fixed on me, studying every line of my face.

Saying all of that out loud felt incredible—the best I had felt in a long, long time. I had fawned around him for so long, so terrified of his temper and so lost inside my own head to ever react. It was intoxicating to finally put the truth into words, plain, clear, and simple. No delusional distortions of reality. Just the truth, and nothing but the truth.

"You claim it's all for the boys..." Ernest finally murmured, shaking his head slowly. "That is why I don't buy it. I know damn well they never treated you well. They almost killed you with their rejection. They never showed you a shred of love or kindness, and now suddenly they're the reason for everything? Bullshit!"

A bitter, quiet chuckle broke from my throat.

"What can I say? Some things don't make sense..." I whispered, tilting my chin up. "What you said is true, but... Maybe I care too much because they're my mates."

Before I could say another word, Ernest slapped me across the face.