I looked at the man who had been by my father's side since he was eighteen with a mix of emotions.
He had always been fiercely loyal to my father, so I couldn’t understand why he chose to keep the truth about Eliza and me a secret.
According to family rules and my father’s strict principles, if he found out, both Eliza and I would have been cast out.
So what’s Mark’s real motive? Why is he so determined for me to marry Jesse? Just to fulfill a promise my father made?
It all seemed absurd and didn’t make any sense.
I couldn’t help but voice my doubts. Mark looked at me quietly, as if he were trying to see someone else through my eyes.
After a long, silent struggle, he finally spoke.
"Because I wanted to keep you here, for your father’s sake. But Barney told me that without Eliza, you
