ChapterTwo
Felipe
“So it’s done?” I stand from the chair in my father’s office as he nods.
“Her father and I made the agreement, and your mother has given her blessing.” He goes back to writing on a paper in front of him and then he hands it to me. “This is what they offered as her dowry.”
“I don’t want it,” I say without even glancing at the paper.
“It’s a substantial amount for their limited resources.” He continues to hold up the paper, and I wave it away.
“Tell them I’ve declined. If she’s to be my wife, I’m responsible for her well-being, and that includes her finances. If they insist, place it in a trust for her or her younger sister. I’m sure they’ll need it when it’s her time.”
“That’s noble of you,” my father says as he places the paper on his desk.
“Careful, Father, or someone might hear you.” I walk over to the mirror nearby and straighten my suit jacket.
“Why must you let everyone believe the worst in you?” He sighs like he’s so tired of my shit.
“Because it makes it easier to sort out the ones who are only around me for the opportunity my wealth affords them.”
He doesn’t disagree as I turn to face him. “Then explain something to me.”
I wait without saying a word because I know the question he’s going to ask. He’s already asked it a dozen times.
“Why her?” He waves his hand to a stack of envelopes at the corner of his desk. “You’ve had offers from two dozen fathers practically begging you to take their daughters off their hands.”
“I have my reasons” is all I say while I fiddle with my cufflink.
“Are you staying for lunch?” my mother asks, stepping into my father’s office. She doesn't look at him, and he doesn’t acknowledge her.
“No, I can’t stay. Give my best to Glenda.”
“Your sister’s been asking for you all week.”
My mother is trying to guilt me into staying for lunch, but the last thing I want to do is sit in that giant dining room with my parents in complete silence while they take turns asking me questions they don’t want the answers to.
I’ll never understand how they were able to be in the same room long enough to make a child, let alone three of them. My little brother River is away at camp this week, which gives my parents even more time to focus on my life and how they think it should be lived. Being the oldest and the heir, the weight of getting married is heavy on my shoulders. I’ve waited a long time for this day, and now that it’s done, I’m ready to sign on the dotted line as soon as possible.
“My sister has already spoken to me this morning.” I raise an eyebrow at my mother, and she presses her lips together in frustration. It’s subtle, but I know her probably better than my own father.
They were an arranged marriage, but it was borne from greed. My grandparents on both sides made the arrangement without their knowledge in order to expand their wealth by joining businesses. While the business thrived, my parents began to dissolve, but there was no way out for them. So instead they’ve lived in separate wings of the house like strangers, and they’ve shown me exactly what I don’t want in my marriage.
“Going to another club?” my dad asks, and I want to roll my eyes.
“Since I own them? Yes.”
“It’s a disgrace for someone of your breeding to have such a low-class investment.” My mother literally turns her nose up.
“Considering this is my money and not yours, you don’t really have a say.”
This is what I think really bothers them. When I was a teenager, I got a job behind their backs and started making my own money. I had wealth beyond my imagination, but even at fifteen, I knew I didn’t want it. There’s no pride in being given money, so instead, I set out to earn my own. Since then, I’ve invested in places I knew my rich friends would blow their fortunes. Night clubs, casinos, and bars were where I put all my money, and it paid off in riches. They emptied their daddies’ wallets into my businesses, and I made my own wealth, independent from my family.
The last and only thing I needed from my parents was this arrangement. My marriage.