“I don’t know,” he says. “Rick seemed… on edge, which I guess makes sense, since his whole plan is crumbling around him. But he seemed worse than I expected.”
I frown to myself, nodding slightly. I can’t say I’m surprised. My father doesn’t take this sort of thing very lightly. In fact, I don’t think he ever loses at anything, and I can’t imagine that he’ll handle getting out played by Griffin very gracefully.
But this isn’t the end of my father. He has other businesses he can fall back on. I know he really likes the Consortium, but he’s been mismanaging it for years, and it’s time to sell and move on. Apparently he’s unable to do that very well though.
“Worse how?” I ask him.
“Defeated.” He stops what he’s doing and looks at me. “But he wouldn’t accept my offer.”
“Are you surprised?”
“I am,” he says. “I know he likes to play games and all that, but… he’s finished. He lost this one, that’s obvious. I’m offering him a good deal still. I don’t understand why he’s resisting it.”
I get up and walk over to him. I put my arms around him and he hugs me back. “I don’t know either,” I admit. “But my father doesn’t like to lose. I think he’s having a hard time accepting it. Maybe he’s coming up with some new scheme.”
“Maybe,” he says. “But I can’t imagine what he thinks he can do at this point.” He pulls back and looks me in the eyes. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I say, a little surprised.
“This has to be hard for you.”
I chew my lip while I think for a second. “It’s hard, but I think I’ve given up on my family already. At this point, I just want it to be done. My father is the one that’s making it harder on himself, not us.”
“True,” Griffin says softly. “But still. This is hard. I just want you to know that we can back off if you want. I don’t want to push you into something you don’t like.”
I laugh and kiss him softly. “We got married, remember?” I grin at him as he smiles back. “I don’t think you can push me into anything. I’m your wife now.”
He pulls me against him. “That’s right, you’re my wife now.” He kisses me softly. “Just know that your opinion matters more than anything else. If you’re uncomfortable, we’ll stop whatever we’re doing.”
“Thanks,” I say. Tears spring up into my eyes and I’m surprised by my own emotions.
I’ve never had someone say that to me before. Nobody has ever said that my opinion matters and that they’ll do whatever I want. Nobody has ever cared about my comfort before.
This moment just underscores every decision I’ve made and validates it all.
As I’m about to kiss him, there’s a loud knock at the front door. We both hesitate and I glance at the clock on the stove. It’s after ten, way too late for random visitors.
“Are you expecting someone?” I ask Griffin.
He shakes his head slowly. “No, I’m not.” He releases me and walks over toward the door. “I have no clue who this is.”
I follow him, hanging back. I feel so happy and relaxed. I feel like nothing could possibly change that.
Griffin goes and answers the door. As he pulls it open, someone suddenly kicks the front of the door, shoving Griffin back, making him stumble.
“What the fuck--?” He manages to get upright as my father and two men come storming into the house.
“Rick, what the fuck—“
“Shut up,” one of the big men says to Griffin. They shove their way into the house, closing the door behind them. “Shut your fucking mouth and nobody gets hurt.”
I stare at Griffin, shocked and not sure what to do. I catch him doing something with his phone as he stumbles back into the house. We’re herded back into the living room and the goons push us down onto the couch. My father and his two men stand in front of us.
“What are you doing, Rick?” Griffin asks him.
“I’m doing what I should have done a long time ago. I’m taking what’s mine.” He looks at me. “You’re coming with me.”
Fear spikes through my body. “No,” I say. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Erin, don’t be a silly bitch. You’re coming home and we’re annulling this marriage right now.”
I shake my head. “I’d rather choke on my own tongue than do that.”
My father laughs, a deep and psychotic laugh. There are bags under his eyes and he looks like he hasn’t showered in a couple days. “We can arrange that. Ivan and Igor here are not nice guys.”