The Marriage Sacrifice
“Dominick, I think you want to take this visitor.”
He looked toward the door as Alice moved out of the way, and Sage stood behind her. She was dressed in a business suit, looking every part the woman ready for business. She held files in her arms, and she smiled at Alice.
“Come in,” he said, getting to his feet.
Blue was also wagging his tail, clearly remembering the woman that gave him snuggles.
“I’ll leave you two alone.” Alice closed the door as Sage stepped inside.
She looked amazing. Her hair was all around her, coiled, and she looked so beautiful, so refreshed.
“You still went and picked him up.”
“Of course. He’s our dog. I wasn’t going to leave him there. I’m not a complete monster.”
She smiled.
“Sage, I really want—”
“I don’t want to do any of this.” She stepped forward, interrupting him. “Before we go any further, I want to apologize.”
“Why?”
“I realized, after a few glasses of really bad wine, that I didn’t give you even a second or a moment that could make you believe you could tell me the truth. The fact is, I’ve been fighting against my parents my entire life. I’ve never been like them. I think it was probably down to being around nannies my whole life.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because, my dad couldn’t offer you everything he actually was trying to.”
“What?”
She held up the documents. “My grandparents were not stupid, selfish people. They saw the future of the company. They saw what bad deals could do, and my granddad realized quite early into my father’s career, he didn’t give a shit about his employees. My dad only saw the money. He saw them as a means to an end, so for the most part, it was a real unstable partnership for him and his company. So my granddad did something that he has never done before. I only found out about this a few hours after our wedding. My grandparents had special requests, and they wanted to make sure I was taken care of.”
Dom watched as she walked to the desk.
“Please, read this,” she said.
He took the piece of paper from her and looked down at it. It wasn’t official lettering, but made on fancy stationery paper.
To our dearest granddaughter,
If you’re reading this, then you know we’re no longer with you, and it breaks our heart to think of you all alone. We never wanted you to be alone. When I built this empire of mine, I saw a way of helping others, of bringing joy and laughter to others. To create a stable future for all. In truth, we’ve created a monster. Our son is cruel. All he wants is the money, the power, and to play God with my company. I cannot, will not allow anyone or anything to ruin the lives of others.
When you were first born, sweet Sage, we didn’t know what to expect. Your mother was just as cold and vile as your father, and we didn’t want their influence to rub off on you. Watching you grow, seeing your love of helping others, and to reject the lifestyle your parents wanted, we embraced you, and knew with you in charge, our company, and the people who work for us, would be taken care of.
Your father doesn’t know the terms we’ve set out. On the day of your marriage, all majority shares will go to you. This has been kept secret as we want you to find a man who will love you for you, or a woman. As we write this we don’t know where your love will fall. We don’t want money to be a factor for you. You’re a beautiful soul, Sage. Don’t let fear push others away. Not everyone is filled with greed and are after what you can give them. This power we’ve given you, please, take care of everyone who will need you, and to always be the strong, capable, intelligent, and kind woman we know you to be.
We’ve included all the necessary details for you to understand.
We both love you so much.
Enjoy.
Your grandparents
Underneath were two signatures. Dom looked at the file in her arms.
“He gave his share and his wife’s share, to his only living granddaughter. The same granddaughter who didn’t live up to an extravagant lifestyle. I just watched my grandfather sometimes. I never took an official business degree. Everything I learned was from my grandparents. My parents don’t know that I know even that much. No one knows what my grandparents and I did during those long weeks and weekends.” She put the paperwork on the table. “I own over sixty-six percent of all shares in the Boyle company. My dad, he can only offer you so much.”
“He offered me bullshit without even realizing it.”
She shrugged. “He didn’t know that by getting me to marry you, he was losing all of his controlling shares. My father gave you what he thought he could.”