“What…?” Shock and disbelief rippled through every part of my body and weakened my knees. I stumbled backward and collapsed onto the couch. “What do you mean, ‘had a deal’?”
“Simple really.” He left the conversation hanging while rounding the opposite couch to sit in the lone leather chair. With elbows set on his knees, his hazel eyes, much like mine, lifted.
“I needed you back here to fulfill an arrangement I made when you were an infant. Your mother didn’t want any part of it until I made it clear that if we didn’t get your life, we’d take hers. She agreed but swore that it was pointless. That you’d never set foot in this country again. You proved her wrong, Helga.” He shrugged while I reeled, still trying to piece everything together.
“What arrangement are you talking about? There’s literally no arrangement!”
A low chuckle gathered in his chest. “Ah, but there is.” He inhaled deeply, then sat back in his chair. “When you were seven, I brought you home. Unfortunately, that didn’t last.”
I let out an incredulous choke. “You didn’t bring me home; I was abducted.Ab-duc-ted!”
He waved an arm. “Either way, it didn’t work out. But you’re home now, which is what matters most. A few years late, but here nonetheless.”
“And I’m leaving.” I pushed to my bare feet and turned for the door but halted when my father’s words poured ice down my spine. “You’re to be wed, Helga. The day after next.”
I whirled on him. “The hell I am!”
“You are,” he replied calmly, before his eyes lit and his voice rekindled in vibrancy. “Imagine it, Helga; two empires joining to create one to rule them all. Mine and René’s enterprise will be so powerful that the wealth is incomprehensible.”
I shook my head adamantly. “Absolutely not, and absolutely no. There’s no way I’m marrying a stranger just to further your business ambitions.”
“Reinhardt’s no stranger. You two played together as infants. It was during those times that his father and I made our deal.”
My jaw fell slack. “You married me off as a baby?”
My father’s eyes stared, unblinking. “Yes.”
I laughed in disbelief, the sound void of all humor. “No. I’m leaving and I’m taking Mom.”
“You’ll do no such thing.”
When he snapped to his feet, I scoffed. “You have no control over what I do. I’m an adult, you left when I was little, and if you think you have any say over me, then you’re as delusional now as you were when you made your stupid arrangement.”
I turned my back on him and strode for the door.
“Mandla,” my father roared. “Take her to her room.”
My blood ran cold when the giant man stalked into the room as if he’d been waiting for the opportunity.
Arnauld rushed in, hot on his heels. “Johannes, I’ll take her.”
A silent conversation passed between him and my father, and it was enough for my father to cut his eyes to Mandla and bark, “Leave her. Arnauld will do it.”
When he went to touch me, I flinched away, unable to stand hands on my body after the shit I’d gone through. “Don’t fucking touch me,” I growled.
Surprisingly, he nodded once and gestured for me to walk ahead of him. “As long as you walk, I won’t have to touch you.”
Spearing one last glance over my shoulder at my father was pointless. He already had his phone pressed to his ear and was pacing the length of the back wall.
A business transaction. That’s all I was to him. After all, we were nothing but strangers after living apart for so many years.
My blood chilled the further Arnauld escorted me through the manor. At the top of the stairs, I slowed when we reached the room that brought all the crushing memories back.
“Not that one,” I whispered as he reached for the door handle.
His brows pulled low. “It’s yours.”
I shook my head and backed up a pace. “Not that room.”