CHAPTER TWO
1217 Words
For a moment, all Kendra could hear was the sound of her heartbeat.
Her mother stepped forward and placed a trembling hand on her cheek. “Kenny.”
As if jolted by a live wire, Kendra recoiled. “What?”
Her father entered the room, and behind him, Jason quietly shut the door.
She backed up instinctively. “You can’t be serious.”
“Kendra, it’s barely an hour to the wedding,” her father said, his voice like gravel under pressure. “There’s no time.”
“No, Dad.” Her voice cracked as tears filled her eyes. “I can’t marry Cole Ashford.”
Her mother turned and moved to Ruby’s wardrobe. She returned with the wedding dress, still hanging, still perfect. A halo of embroidered gemstones shimmered under the light. Kendra flinched at the sight of it.
She remembered the moment her mother had first brought it in. Ruby had thrown it across the room, screaming. That had been two nights ago. Kendra had picked it up and folded it neatly again.
Now she wanted to rip it in half.
But she didn’t. She couldn’t. She just shook her head as they looked at her with tight, expectant eyes.
“Kenny,” her mother pleaded, holding the dress in front of her, “there isn’t any more time.”
Her lips quivered. “I can’t, Mom. I really can’t.”
“We need this, baby. Your father could go to jail if you don’t.”
Kendra froze.
She had been right there, two days ago, when those exact words were hurled at Ruby. She’d been the one who cleaned the mascara off Ruby’s face and rubbed her back until the sobs slowed.
There was no one doing that for her now.
She blinked hard. “Daddy, please. There has to be another way. Another investor, another deal, anything but this.”
Jason took a step forward, his voice tight, urgent. “Kendra, you know there isn’t. The Ashford family is our only shot. If this wedding doesn’t happen, the deal falls through. We lose everything. They’ll take the company. The house. Dad could go to jail. You know what is at stake.”
“But I’ve never even been part of the company!” she burst out. “I’ve never sat in on a meeting, never had anything to do with it. Why now?”
“You’ve always been a part of it,” her father said coldly. “That company fed you, clothed you, paid for your degree, and funded your little flower shop. You think you’re not involved?” He scoffed. “This family gave you everything. It’s time to give back.”
“But my shop—”
“Your shop wouldn’t last a month without the support it gets from us,” he snapped. “If this marriage doesn’t happen, there won’t be a shop. Don’t be naïve, Kendra. This isn’t about feelings. This is business.”
Kendra stood still, stunned by how quickly her world had shifted.
She glanced at the dress again. Her mother stepped closer, her eyes softening.
“Kenny, please.”
“I don’t even know him,” she whispered. “I’m not even sure I like him.”
“You don’t have to,” her father said flatly. “It’s a deal. That’s all it is.”
“Mark,” her mother said sharply. “Enough.”
Kendra looked at her mother—truly looked at her. The woman was elegant, as always, in her gown. But her foundation was cracking under her eyes. Her lipstick had faded. Her hands were shaking.
This was not a woman forcing her daughter into something out of malice. This was a woman trying to stop her family from drowning.
Still, Kendra felt like a brick was settling in her stomach. She sat down heavily on the bed, and her mother sat beside her, still clutching the dress like a lifeline.
“I wouldn’t ask if there was another way,” her mother said gently.
Kendra’s fingers reached for the charm necklace around her neck. “What am I supposed to tell Christian?”
Her mother hesitated. “I thought you two broke up.”
“We did,” she said softly. “But I still love him.”
She still loved him, still wanted him back. And how was she going to achieve that if she was forced to marry someone else? How could she explain that to Christian?
“I know.”
Kendra’s voice broke. “I don’t want to marry Cole Ashford.”
Her mother placed a hand on her shoulder. “I know. I’m sorry. But everything depends on this, sweetheart. Everything.”
God did she know. That knowledge didn't make her decision any easier, though.
Kendra shut her eyes. “Why would Ruby leave me to this?”
Her mother didn’t answer.
Her father’s voice cut in, sharp and impatient. “The guests are already seated. The Ashfords are at the church. This delay is making us look bad. Put on the dress and come downstairs.”
“Mark—”
“There’s no time,” he said. Then to Jason, “Let’s go.”
The door closed behind them with a soft but final click.
Kendra looked around the room. Ruby’s room. Beige walls, lavender scent, pristine order. It used to be a place of comfort. She used to curl under the covers with her sister for years, used to get ready together, spill her heart within these walls. Now, those memories made her stomach hollow.
Her sister, the person she ran to when the world didn’t make sense, was gone and had left her behind to take the fall.
Her mother, still beside her, lifted the dress again, her voice barely a whisper. “Kenny?”
Kendra stared at the dress, then at the floor, willing herself to wake up from what felt like someone else’s nightmare. The walls seemed to hum with silence, every second stretching too long, too loud. Her hands, clenched in her lap, were cold and damp with sweat.
In the mirror across the room, her reflection looked like a stranger; wide-eyed, pale, trapped. Was this really happening? Was she really about to walk into a church and vow her life to a man she barely knew, for a company she hadn’t been asked to care about until today? Her chest ached, as if her heart was pressing against her ribs, desperate for space.
She thought about running. For one wild, breathless moment, she imagined tearing through the hallway barefoot, veil forgotten, dress abandoned, just air and freedom. Who would she call, though? Ruby was gone. Christian wouldn't even answer her texts. Sierra would try, but what could a best friend do against a family this determined, this desperate? Even if she ran, the weight of it all would chase her—her father’s voice, her mother’s shaking hands, the look in Jason’s eyes. There was no exit. No door that didn’t lock behind her. No path that didn’t come with a cost.
She swallowed hard, blinking back another wave of tears. This wasn’t a choice. It was a sentence. And the dress, shimmering, cruel, beautiful, waited patiently in her mother’s arms.
Fresh tears sprang in her eyes.
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