Forbidden: His Father's Desire

Chapter 11: One Weekend From Disaster

SANDRA'S POV

The sunlight pouring through the kitchen windows is too bright for how exhausted I feel.

Everything in the house looks normal. Clean counters. Fresh coffee. The soft sound of morning news playing somewhere in the background.

But nothing feels normal anymore. I barely slept last night. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard Austin's voice again. "I told my dad we're getting engaged."

My stomach twists all over again. Dad sits across from me at the dining table, flipping through contracts while drinking coffee like this is any other morning. His reading glasses rest low on his nose, his attention fully on the papers in front of him.

Meanwhile, I've been staring at the same piece of toast for almost ten minutes. "Are you planning to eat that," Dad asks without looking up, "or just intimidate it until it disappears?"

Normally I'd smile. Today I can't. "I'm not really hungry."

"That's becoming a habit." My fingers tighten slightly around my coffee mug. "You didn't eat dinner either," he continues calmly, finally lifting his eyes to me. "And before you say you're fine, you don't look fine."

"I'm just tired." His expression doesn't fully change, but I can tell he doesn't believe me.

Dad knows me too well for that. Still, he doesn't push. Instead, he leans back slightly in his chair and taps one of the documents with his pen. "Kelvin Clayton already reviewed the updated proposal," he says. "He sent corrections back before six this morning."

My chest tightens immediately. I lower my gaze before he notices. Dad keeps talking, completely unaware of the effect the name has on me now.

"He's sharp," he says with clear admiration. "Fast too. Most people at his level make assistants do everything for them, but Kelvin actually reads every detail himself."

I stay quiet. "He's reliable," Dad adds. "Men like that are rare in business." Every word makes this harder.

I take a sip of coffee just to avoid speaking. Dad studies another page before casually adding, "Austin seems serious about you too."

I almost choke. The coffee goes down the wrong way and I cough suddenly, grabbing a napkin while Dad frowns. "Easy."

"I'm fine," my voice comes out rougher than I intended.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

No but I nod anyway. Dad folds one of the documents neatly before looking at me again, more carefully this time.

"You know," he says slowly, "after everything with your mother, I learned something important."

I glance up. He rarely talks about Mom in the mornings. "You can usually tell how serious a man is by consistency," he continues. "Not charm. Not gifts. Consistency."

My stomach sinks deeper. "If a man keeps showing up, keeps putting effort in, keeps making plans for the future...... " He shrugs lightly. "That means something."

I suddenly can't breathe properly. Because Austin is making plans for the future. "Dad, I should get ready for class." He watches me for another second before nodding slowly. "Alright. But eat something later."

"I will."

**********

Westwood traffic feels worse today. The streets around UCLA are crowded with cars, students crossing at every light, and the usual slow crawl stretching all the way past Wilshire Boulevard.

The city moves around me like normal while my entire life keeps getting more complicated by the hour.

By the time Lena catches up to me outside the UCLA Architecture Building, I already feel exhausted again.

She takes one look at my face and winces dramatically. "Oh wow," she says. "You look terrible."

"Good morning to you too."

"I'm serious, Sandra. You look like you haven't slept in days."

"I've slept."

"Barely." We walk through the crowded hallway together, students rushing past us carrying sketch models and laptops while professors bark instructions from nearby classrooms.

Normally I love this place. The noise. The movement. The creativity.

Today it all feels too loud. Lena keeps glancing at me while we walk. "You've been weird since the Austin thing," she says carefully. "And before you lie again, yes, I know something else is going on."

"There isn't."

"That was fast," she mutters. "Almost impressive."

I sigh quietly. "I'm just stressed."

"About Austin?"

"About everything." That part, at least, is true. We enter the drafting studio together, and immediately the familiar smell of paper, graphite, and coffee hits me.

Students are already setting up presentations. Models sit across tables. Half-finished sketches cover the walls.

Real life. Normal life. I should feel grounded here. Instead my thoughts drift again.

To Kelvin. To his voice. To the way he looked at me yesterday.

Lena nudges my arm lightly. "You're doing it again."

"What?"

"That thing where you disappear into your own head."

"I'm listening."

"You're really not." I try focusing on my sketch board. The lines blur slightly.

My phone vibrates against the table. Then again. Then again. I already know who it is before I even look.

Pamela. Three new messages. *Can we talk?* Another one appears immediately.*Please answer me.* Then*.Austin told me something weird.*

My chest tightens instantly. I lock the phone without replying.

Lena notices. "Still her?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

"I don't want to deal with it."

Her expression softens slightly. "She hurt you, Sandra. I get it. But ignoring everything forever isn't going to magically make it disappear."

I swallow hard. If only she knew how much worse things actually are. Class starts a few minutes later, but I barely hear half the lecture.

My attention keeps slipping. By lunchtime, my phone vibrates again.

I open the message. *We need to be careful now.* My heartbeat stutters. Kelvin. I stare at the words for almost a full minute. Then type back slowly. *I know.* Three dots appear immediately then disappear.

********

The afternoon air near Santa Monica is colder than usual. The ocean wind pushes against my hair while traffic crawls slowly along the street beside the café.

I sit outside with Lena, pretending to work on revisions while she scrolls through something on her tablet. "You've erased the same line four times," she points out.

"I know."

"You want to tell me what's actually happening?"

"No."

"At least you're honest about lying now."

A weak laugh almost leaves me. Then a shadow falls across the table.

I look up. Austin. Relief flashes across his face immediately when he sees me, like he's been searching for hours. "There you are."

My entire body tenses. Lena notices instantly. Austin leans down before I can react and kisses my forehead casually, like we're perfectly normal. Like nothing happened. Like he didn't destroy everything.

A few students nearby glance over. I feel trapped immediately. "You've been ignoring me," he says smoothly.

"I've been busy."

"With class?"

"With life." Something colder flickers briefly behind his eyes before the smile returns. "I called because we need to talk properly."

"We already talked."

"No, Sandra. You walked away."

Lena clears her throat awkwardly. "I should probably-"

"You don't have to leave," I say quickly. Austin ignores that completely and pulls out the empty chair beside me anyway.

Possessive. Comfortable. Like he still belongs here. "I know you're angry," he says calmly, lowering his voice slightly. "But dragging this out isn't helping either of us."

My jaw tightens. "You cheated on me with my best friend."

His expression hardens slightly at the word cheated. "It wasn't like that." A bitter laugh slips out before I can stop it. "You were literally in bed together, Austin."

"That's not the point." I stare at him in disbelief. "Then what exactly is the point?" He exhales slowly like I'm exhausting him. "The point is that we've been together for years, Sandra. You don't throw that away over one mistake."

One mistake. Funny how betrayal always sounds smaller coming from the person who caused it. Before I can answer, Austin reaches over and takes my hand.

Firm. Public. Claiming. Then he smiles casually. "Anyway," he says, "Dad wants to announce the engagement at his charity gala this weekend."

Everything inside me stops. "What?"

"You heard me."

My hand slips from his immediately. "Austin-"

"He's excited about it," he continues easily. "Your dad too, probably." I can barely hear anything after that.

The gala. Kelvin will be there. He's going to hear this publicly. In front of everyone.