Mia’s POV
“You’re going to marry Adrain Blackwood.”
For a moment, I was certain I had heard my father incorrectly. I stared at him from
across his desk, waiting for him to laugh or explain that it was some strange joke,
but he did neither.
My hand moved toward my abdomen before I quickly lowered it while my father’s
eyes followed my movements. He had a look in his eyes he tried to mask that I
could only describe as pure disgust.
“What?” I finally asked after a long pause.
My father’s expression remained calm. “You heard me.”
No. No, I definitely hadn’t. Because there was no way my father had just sat me
down in his office and told me that I was going to marry a man I barely knew.
I let out a short laugh, turning away from him. “That’s funny.”
“Mia.”
I turned back to face him, the amusement immediately disappearing from my face
when I realized he wasn’t joking.
“You can’t be serious.”
My father leaned back in his chair, his expression giving nothing away.
Unfortunately for him, I had inherited enough of his stubbornness to know when
not to back down.
“You can’t just tell me I'm getting married as if you’re asking me what I want for
dinner.”
“This isn’t a decision I made lightly.”
“Oh, good.” I stood abruptly. “That makes everything better.”
“Mia, sit down.”
“No.”
His jaw tightened slightly and I looked away.
Normally, that would’ve been enough to make me reconsider my attitude. Today,
however, I couldn’t bring myself to care. Marriage? To Adrian Blackwood?
I began pacing across the room, running a hand through my hair.
“This is insane.” I spoke up.
“Lower your voice.”
“Why? Is someone going to hear me?”
“Mia.”
“Does Dante know?”
He looked away and didn’t reply.
I stopped walking and turned toward him. “You haven’t even asked me if I want
this.” He remained silent, and that was all I needed to hear.
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“Wow.”
“It isn’t about what you want.” My father replied in a sharper tone.
I didn’t miss it when his gaze landed on my stomach. Of course. Even now, that
was all he could see.
I stared at him, and for several seconds, neither of us spoke. Then I folded my
arms across my chest.
“Of course it isn’t.”
“Mia, I,”
“No. Don’t.” I shook my head, cutting him off. “Don’t sit there and pretend this
isn’t somehow for me.”
His expression softened slightly and that somehow made me even more angry.
“Everything I’ve done has been for you.” He said.
There it was. I almost laughed again. The familiar sentence. One I'd heard almost
all my life.
I let out a sigh, deciding internally that this was a battle not worth fighting for.
“Why him? Of all the people you could choose?” I questioned.
The real question I wanted to ask was “Does Adrian know?”. I knew the gravity of
my situation. I knew finding someone who could ignore it would be hard. I was
wondering how my father got a man of such high status to risk his reputation to
take me in. Why would he agree to marry me?
“I do what I need to do to protect this family’s name, Mia. Adrian Blackwood is
powerful and from an influential family. That is all you need to know. You do not
need to bother yourself with the details.” He replied with the same calm
expression.
“You already spoke to him.” I stated, eyeing him suspiciously.
“The arrangements have been made.” Arrangements as in my ‘problem’ is going to
be covered up. He was doing a stellar job hiding how much of an inconvenience
this was for him.
“What? And I'm just being made aware of it now.” I could feel my anger flaring up
again.
“You don’t have to like Adrian, Mia. You simply have to marry him.” He
responded.
I almost laughed. He had to be joking.
But nothing about the past few weeks had felt like a joke.
Not since that night.
One month earlier...
I should have been thinking about my future. Instead, I was standing in front of my
bedroom mirror, wondering why my father had suddenly become so interested in
my grades. I mean not that I was complaining.
For the first time in years, Alexander Sinclair had looked genuinely pleased when I
handed him my final year results.
Distinctions. Every single one.
I smiled at my reflection, running a hand through my hair and smoothing over the
dress I had spent far too long choosing. Tonight was supposed to be a celebration.
A celebration of finally graduating. Of proving that I was capable of more than
being my father’s daughter. And, if everything went according to plan, it might be
the night I finally convinced him to give me a position at Sinclair Enterprises. Even
if it was just an internship. I just wanted a chance.
A knock sounded against my door before I could continue rehearsing the speech I
planned to give my father.
“Mia?” A friendly voice came through. I turned toward the door.
“Come in.” I called.
“Are you planning to stay in front of that mirror all night?” I glanced over my
shoulder to see my best friend, Victoria, walk in, the familiar smell of her perfume
immediately filling the room. She paused at the door, her eyes immediately
scanning me from head to toe.
“I’m making sure I look presentable.” I countered, pouting my lips as I put on lip-
gloss.
“I’m sure you’ve been staring at yourself for the past ten minutes.
”
I glanced at her through the mirror. “That’s not true.”
“Fine. Eight.”
“Still not true.” I responded while rolling my eyes.
She dropped onto my bed dramatically.
“I’m nervous.” I say, turning around to face her.
She sat up. “About graduating?”
“No. About talking to my dad.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re asking him about the company tonight?”
“I’m going to try. I just hope he takes me seriously.
” I turned back to the mirror.
“Mia, you’ve been talking about working at Sinclair enterprises since second year.
He has no choice but to take you seriously.”
I look over at her through the mirror, giving her a smile and letting her know that I
was grateful for her words of encouragement. I knew I needed it.
“You’re not going to waste a good party getting in over your head. We need to get
you downstairs ASAP.” My best friend stated.
I let out a deep breath before doing one last look over. It was now or never.