Contracted hearts

Beauty and the Villain

Chapter Five

“Tell everyone about what?” The low, furious growl of my father's voice cut through the silence, and I froze, blood draining from my face. I snapped around to see him standing at the bottom of the steps. How much did he hear? A fresh wave of panic washed over me, and I couldn't form a single word. He didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he grabbed my arm in a grip of iron and steered me outside, toward his car. The ride home was a suffocating silence, broken only by his sharp, angry breaths.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done, Ava?” he finally spat once we were inside the prison walls of our home. “The chaos you caused in that room, the embarrassment you’ve brought upon this family?” When I couldn't form a response, he fumed around the room. “And what did Julian Crawford mean? What does he want to tell everyone?” A sour taste filled my mouth, and I bit down on my trembling lip, turning my face away so he wouldn't see the tears that were beginning to pool in my eyes.

“Ava? What else did you do?” he repeated. "I caused trouble," I whispered. When I felt his eyebrow shoot up in demand for more, I forced myself to meet his furious gaze while my mind put together a lie. "I bumped into him this morning and spilled my drink all over his shirt," I said, hoping the sheer simplicity of the story would make him believe me. He held my gaze for what felt like an eternity before he finally let out a short sigh. "Avoid Mr. Crawford henceforth."

“My mother,” I rasped, tears rolling down my face, I couldn’t hold it anymore, “Please just take me to see her.” I cried. He simply laughed, a dry, bitter sound. “Not until you go back to George Laurent and apologize for your childish tantrum today. If you ruin anything, Ava, you’ll never get to see your mother again.”

"How could you be so cruel? How could you do this to your daughter, your own family?" The words exploded from me, a spray of venom aimed directly at him. My body trembled with a fury so strong it felt like it would tear me apart. His hands clenched into fists at his sides as my accusations hit him one after another.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm doing this for our future, Ava," he said, his voice had become sickeningly calm. "This is a sacrifice you must make for this family. For your mother’s well-being. For a better life than this."

"Stop lying!" I screamed as hot, blinding tears streamed down my face. "This is all about you! This is all about fixing what you ruined years ago when you broke up this family with your own hands. First, you used my mother, and now you’re using me to get back everything you lost. How could you still do this to me even after everything you've done?"

A muscle in his jaw twitched, and his eyes flashed with a cold warning. "Don't you dare judge me, I am still your Father."

The sharp, sudden ring of the landline from his room broke the tension between us. My father broke his gaze from mine and walked to the phone. A few moments later, he hung up and returned to the living room, a small smile planted on his face.

"Go upstairs and rest a bit," he said in a final tone. "You’ll be having an exclusive dinner with George Laurent at his hotel tonight. You will not mess this up."

He strode out of the room, leaving me alone with my racing heart, the cruel words hanging in the air like a death sentence. But it was not only my father’s cruel resolve, Julian’s cold final words also roamed free in my head.

You ran away from me this morning. Maybe you should just keep running before I tell everyone. You don't belong here, Ava Deveraux.

His threat hung over me and warred with my father’s resolve. If I go back to my arranged marriage, I would not be able to escape Julian and if I ran away from home again, I would never get to see my mother again. I was trapped between two impossible choices and my mother’s life was hanging on the line.

****

The office door burst open with a violent slam, rattling against the wall. Mr. Crawford stormed inside, his eyes bloodshot with fury, his very presence demanding attention. For hours, Julian had been waiting for this inevitable confrontation. His elder brother had already reported the scandal at the board meeting, and his father was never one to let disgrace linger unchecked.

“Julian,” his father barked, “tell me everything I heard today is completely false.”

Julian leaned back in his chair, calm on the surface but seething inside. “If it were, would you be here?” His nonchalant response only fanned the flames of his father’s anger. The older man’s face twisted, veins bulging at his temple. “Are you slowly losing the plot, Julian? You made a mockery in front of the entire board meeting! George Laurent is a key partner, and you dared to insult him in front of everyone. What in God’s name were you thinking?”

Julian rose from his chair, the air between them sharp with tension. “I was thinking,” he said coldly, “that it’s time we cut ties with him. He does nothing for this empire and you know it. The only thing he does is leech and parade himself as indispensable.”

His father threw back his head and laughed. It was a jagged, humorless sound that reverberated through the room. “Oh, you know nothing, boy and I don't have the time to explain. George Laurent is going to be your father-in-law, and you should never forget that.”

Marriage. Arranged, inevitable. Julian thought as his hands curled into fists. “I never agreed to his marriage proposal,” he said, his tone laced with defiance. “I did.” his father responded challengingly.

“Can’t you see how ridiculous this whole thing is? George Laurent is not even a worthy partner, let alone worthy of being tied to this family,” he said, but his father only looked at him the way a general might regard a rebellious soldier, lips twisting in condescension. “This is a business market, Julian. It is not about worthiness. It is about capability and power. And this empire has much to gain by marrying into the Laurent family. Do not be blind to your responsibility.” His words struck like iron.

“My responsibility,” Julian growled, his composure slipping, “is this empire and I have given it my whole life since I was a teenager, carrying burdens that should never have been mine. But my responsibility is not to marry into a family whose main mistress changes every year.” The silence that followed was electric. His father’s sharp eyes bored into him, stripping him bare. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and lethal. “Is that it?”

Julian didn’t answer.

“You worry over the wrong things,” his father snapped. “Get ready for 7 p.m. You will be having an exclusive dinner with George Laurent and your wife-to-be at his hotel.” And with that final decree, he strode out without sparing his son another glance.

The office door closed, and rage tore through Julian like a storm. He had always been the perfect son, the one who cleaned up after his elder brother’s mistakes, the one who carried the Crawford name on his back. But now, for the first time, he had created his own chaos, and strangely, he wasn’t certain if he regretted it.

As he sat back on his chair, an image surfaced in his mind. Red hair spilling across silk sheets. Soft lips. A body tangled with his in the dark of a night that was supposed to mean nothing. His bitter laugh broke the silence, the irony was sickening. Who would have thought that the girl from the club would be paraded as the new wife of George Laurent?

The thought unsettled him in a way no failed business deal ever had. He could still picture her from the board meeting, draped in a black gown that hugged her like sin, blue eyes shadowed with worry yet shining with quiet defiance.

Julian shoved himself away from his desk, his chest heavy as he left the office and stepped into the elevator. What did it matter? He told himself.

But it did. He knew it did. And as he slid into the backseat of his car and drove home, a darker truth echoed in his mind.

If he ever saw her again, he would not hesitate. He would take the chance to ruin her life, especially as it concerned that old man, George Laurent.