Vows Written In Dust

Checkmate Without Consent

ARDEN’S POV

I pulled into the driveway of the mansion and handed my keys to the butler before heading inside.

The Old Man had requested my presence today.

God only knew what scheme he was cooking up this time.

As I stepped into the foyer, I nearly collided with his personal assistant.

“Where is he?” I asked.

“He’s in the study, sir,” Mike replied.

I nodded and headed that way.

The mansion always felt cold, even when the air conditioning wasn’t on. Expensive art lined the walls. Everything polished. Everything controlled. A reflection of the Old Man himself.

I reached the study and pushed the door open.

He was already there, hunched over his computer, working with the intensity of someone half his age.

No greeting. No warmth. Just the steady tap of keys.

“You asked to see me?”

He slowly lifted his gaze from the screen. “Take a seat. I have an announcement to make.”

“I’m busy. Just say whatever you want to say.”

He leaned back in his chair, studying me. The silence stretched. It always did with him, like he enjoyed making people uncomfortable.

“I’ve been in discussions with Kevin Hollis for some time,” he said finally. “We’ve reached an agreement.”

I frowned. An agreement. The words already tasted bitter. My stomach tightened.

“You’ll be marrying his eldest daughter, Tatum Hollis.”

For a moment, I couldn’t speak. The room seemed to tilt slightly.

Marriage. An arrangement. Another decision made for me without my consent.

Then anger flared.

“No.”

It came out sharper than I intended. “I’m not doing this.”

The Old Man’s expression didn’t change. It never did.

“You will.”

“Why do you always talk like I’ll follow your lead?” I snapped. “You know I won’t. You know how invested I am in my relationship. Do you really think I’d leave my girlfriend for some arranged marriage?”

His gaze hardened.

“I made my position clear from the beginning. I do not approve of your relationship with that woman.”

The way he said it—like she was nothing—set my teeth on edge.

“I don’t remember asking for your approval.”

“Arden!” he barked.

I straightened, but I didn’t back down.

“You lost control over my life a long time ago. I’m not that ten-year-old boy who runs to you for everything.”

For a second, something flickered in his eyes. Not regret. Not softness. Something colder.

“I still control what matters,” he replied.

That was the threat. It always was.

The company. The inheritance. Everything I had worked for. Everything I was expected to carry.

I swallowed it. “I don’t think I can lose anything more painful than what you already took from me.”

The words hung between us. Heavy. Unresolved.

I turned to leave, but he spoke again.

“Don’t think you’re powerful enough to go against me.”

His voice was quiet now. Dangerous.

“If I could bring your father down, I can do anything to that actress you’re parading around with.”

I froze. The air left my lungs.

He wasn’t bluffing.

Not after what he did to my father.

I had heard the stories—whispered fragments of family history. How my father had refused to marry the woman the Old Man approved of. How he dared to love someone the family considered beneath us. How the Old Man dismantled him piece by piece until nothing remained.

A lesson in obedience. A warning.

I clenched my jaw. I refused to live like that.

A marriage without choice. A life built on obligation. Love suffocated by control.

I walked out before he could say another word.

The hallway felt longer than usual. Every step echoing.

I drove straight to Damien’s bar—the only place that didn’t feel like a cage.

Neon lights. Low music. The kind of environment where problems blurred at the edges.

I found Damien in his private suite.

“Hey,” I said as I entered.

He looked up. “You look like hell.”

I sank into a chair. “The Old Man is at it again.”

He raised a brow. “What now?”

“He’s arranged a marriage alliance with the Hollis family.”

Damien whistled softly. “Which daughter?”

“The eldest.”

He smirked. “I think I’ve seen her before. Gorgeous. Definitely every man’s dream.”

I shot him a look. Not in the mood.

“Not mine. I’ve never even met her. I’m with Brianna.”

Damien sighed. “Your grandfather doesn’t want you with Brianna, Arden. In our world, marriages aren’t about love. They’re business contracts.”

The words irritated me. “I don’t want mine to be a transaction. Not after growing up in one.”

He studied me. “Do you really have a choice?”

That question—simple, cutting.

I looked away. I didn’t answer. Because I didn’t know.

Maybe I never had a choice. Maybe every path in my life had already been drawn for me.

I rubbed my temples. My head was spinning.

Brianna would lose her mind when she found out. She believed in us. In a future. In something real.

How could I tell her this?

How could I explain that the Old Man was forcing his will into every corner of my life?

I needed a way out. Some strategy. Some loophole.

“Maybe you should talk to—”

I shot him a look, and he stopped.

“Fine. Drink first. Think later.”

That was Damien’s solution to everything. It wasn’t a bad one. Not tonight.

Later, as I left the bar, the night air hit me—cold, quiet.

My phone buzzed.

A notification from The California Herald flashed across my screen.

I frowned and opened it.

BREAKING NEWS: Arden Voss Reportedly Engaged to Hollis Eldest Daughter

Los Angeles — In what insiders are calling one of the biggest business alliances of the year, billionaire heir Arden Voss is reportedly set to marry Tatum Hollis, the eldest daughter of tech mogul Kevin Hollis.

Sources close to both families confirm that discussions between the Voss and Hollis empires have been ongoing for months, with the engagement allegedly finalized earlier this week.

While neither party has released an official statement, industry analysts speculate that the union could mark a powerful merger between two of California’s most influential corporate dynasties.

Social media erupted within minutes of the news, with users questioning whether the match is a strategic business arrangement or a whirlwind romance kept hidden from the public eye.

Representatives for Arden Voss declined to comment.

More updates to follow as this story develops.

I stared at the screen. My grip tightened around the phone.

Of course.

He had already done it.

Moved the pieces. Made the announcement. Publicly.

No room for denial. No escape.

The Old Man always played chess.

And I was one of the pieces.

But this time…

I refused to be moved.