He took another bite of his sandwich. Seemed like he was ready to listen.
“You know I thought it was a shitty rule that you made my access to the trust fund conditional upon me being married.”
“This is not news to me, Parker. I get that you didn’t like it. But you’re married now. And you’ll get access to your fund by the end of the week. So what’s the problem?”
The problem was, I didn’t feel right getting twenty-five million pounds under false pretenses, however much of a good cause I was going to donate it to. My dad wasn’t a stranger I’d never have to face again. I loved him. And respected him. I had to come clean about what I’d done—even if it meant risking access to the fund.
“I didn’t like it,” I said, trying to buy myself some time. How did I tell my dad that I’d lied to him so he’d give me money?
“And I said, you’re not telling me anything I didn’t know. But I had my reasons, and I stand by them.”
I sighed, put my wrap down, and sunk back in my chair. “I don’t see why you have to be concerned about my personal life. I’m twenty-eight years old.”
“It doesn’t matter how old you are. I’m your father and until the day I die, I will worry about you. I will continue to want what’s best for you from beyond the grave.”
“Maybe I know what’s best for me.”
He chuckled. “Maybe you do. Maybe you don’t. I have a feeling we’ll do this dance together, this little power struggle, until the day I die too.”
“Will you stop talking about your death? You’re vegetarian now, for goodness’ sake.” I gestured to the corner of his office. “You have a standing desk. You’ll continue to rule London’s financial world for a while yet.”
He smiled at me. “When you were born, you came out holding your head up like you were determined to plow your own path. I love that about you. You have a fierce sense of right and wrong. You work hard. You’re a good person, always far more concerned about everyone else than yourself.”
I rolled my eyes. I’d heard this story a million times.
“I’m very proud of you, Parker.”
“Daddy,” I said, in a voice that implored him to stop being so kind. Was he trying to make this even more difficult for me than it already was?
“Spit out what you’re trying to say.”
There was no choice, I had to just come out with it and hope for the best. Worst-case scenario, he stopped me from getting my trust. At least I’d have a clean conscience. “I only married Tristan so I could get access to my trust fund.”
He stayed silent, as if he hadn’t heard me.
“Dad?”
“Go on.”
“I wasn’t in love with Tristan when I married him. He agreed to be my husband for ninety days until I got my money.”
My dad nodded like I’d just told him they were out of egg and cress sandwiches.
“Dad, I’m telling you I lied to you. My marriage to Tristan is just pretend.”
My father steepled his fingers in front of him. “I’ve known you a long time, Parker. And I know you well. I’m well aware that when you married Tristan, you were just trying to get your hands on your trust fund.”
It was as if he’d kicked me in the stomach.
“You knew?”
“You’d been trying to get me to change the rules of the trust for years. And then all of a sudden you stopped asking. I know you better than to assume you’d given up. This isn’t my first rodeo. I knew you’d just changed tack.”
“So you guessed about me and Tristan from the start?”
He shrugged. “You’d barely met when you announced your wedding. And anyway, if we’re putting all our cards on the table here, when I saw Tristan after your auction dinner, he mentioned something.”
My jaw dropped and I stood, my napkin tumbling to the ground. “Tristan told you I’d asked him to marry me?”
“Not exactly. I read between the lines. He confirmed it when I asked him straight out.”
It was as if he’d pushed me over. I couldn’t have been more shocked. My father and Tristan had been in on it all along. “So basically, you gave him your approval?”
Nausea swirled in my stomach. I couldn’t even try to deceive my dad without him actually having orchestrated it. There was no escaping his reach.
“Parker.” His tone was warning. “Don’t overreact about this. Tristan was a virtual stranger to you when you suggested your little scheme. I’ve known him a long time. No doubt he felt obligated to let me know about your plans and frankly, so he should have. He’s a loyal friend. He didn’t know that I wouldn’t mind if you were only getting married to get access to your fund. But he didn’t tell me even though I’m sure he wanted to. He was trying to respect your privacy.”