And it wouldn’t be what her mother would have wanted.
Although, she’d conceded with sorrow as she’d trudged through snowdrifts piling up on the sidewalks, did she really know what her mother would have wanted? Marie Smith had had an entirely different life before she’d fled Europe, one she’d concealed from Briony and most likely from Trey, too. And if Cass’s story was to be believed, she’d hidden Briony’s birth from her father.
Out of everything that had been revealed last night, that had cut the deepest of all. Her mother had always been a proponent of honesty and tough conversations. Even when they had been uncomfortable, she’d preferred to be up-front and truthful.
So why, when she’d known how much Briony had longed to know more about her history, when she’d seen Briony and Trey struggle to form a relationship, had she concealed so much? What had frightened her so much? Had she been scared of her former lover? Or worried that if Briony knew the truth she’d be hurt, even angry?
She remembered the moment she’d confided to her mother when she’d come home how much the conversation about her father all those years ago had hurt, how Mom had cried and said she was sorry that she’d hurt her and that if Briony could just trust her, it had been done out of love. Briony had accepted it, grateful that they were putting the pain behind them and savoring the few months they had left.
That bittersweet memory was now tainted.
Those thoughts had been swirling around in her head as she’d let herself into the house at two in the morning. Dishes had been piled in the sink. Dirty clothes had been tossed in a heap outside the laundry room. The twins had tracked in snow that had melted into slushy gray puddles on the scarred hardwood floors.
And Trey... Trey had been snoring in the armchair, multiple empty beer cans littering the floor around him. The family computer in the den had been open to an online poker site. She’d tried to haul Trey out of his chair. At first, he’d just snored, the stench of stale beer making her sick to her stomach. Finally, after she’d pulled him to his feet, he’d opened bloodshot eyes.
“Marie?” he’d whispered.
Briony’s heart had clenched. She’d started to respond when suddenly his eyes had narrowed in anger.
“It’s just you. God, I wish you had died instead.”
Perhaps she’d just grown numb enough that his words hadn’t initially hit. She’d managed to drag him down the hall to his bedroom and lay him on the bed, where he’d promptly passed out again. She’d made it out into the hallway where she’d slid down against the wall, tears slipping down her face.
The final straw. Just in time for a dark-haired, amber-eyed seducer to come along and offer her a deal. A deal that, as she’d sucked in a shuddering breath and wiped away her tears, finally started to sink in.
She’d read and reread the contract, then read it once more before she’d walked out the door. The wedding would take place in the next eight weeks.
Eight weeks, she thought, trepidation mixed with a dash of nervous excitement. She’d always dreamed of getting married, of having a family. Even after the lackluster ending to her one college relationship, she’d still imagined her marriage having roots in love and companionship.
But without Cass’s offer, she wouldn’t be getting married anytime soon, much less living her life outside the tiny little circle she existed in now. Cass had a plan and the money to help not just her, but Trey and the twins, make a fresh start. He was also offering her the chance her mother never had, to meet not just her birth father but a brother who had been interested enough in her existence to search for her. Even though it stung that neither had come to Kansas, it probably wouldn’t have been easy for the king or the prince of a country to suddenly travel to America. Not if things were as dire as Cass had depicted them. What little news she’d found had painted a similarly grim picture. While Alaric and Daxon mostly kept to themselves and were rarely photographed outside of Linnaea, the most recent articles had speculated on the rising inflation, labor strikes and a recent layoff of teachers.
Linnaea was in trouble. But as she’d flipped through the articles, then the photos as the sky had lightened and night had given way to early morning, she’d found herself feeling...hopeful. There had even been a touch of excitement as she’d packed her bag. A new adventure loomed on the horizon, a chance to find herself and learn more about who she was.
Not to mention marriage to a man who had frustrated her to no end last night but still sparked the most intense attraction she’d ever experienced.
She swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat. She’d been ready to give herself to Cass last night, to suggest they head back to his hotel or wherever he was staying. Last night it had been sexy, a sensual fantasy. Now, even though the thought of him still sent a frisson of awareness down her spine, the contractual nature of what would become their future relationship tempered the romance.
She hadn’t just dreamed of marrying for love. No, she had dreamed of her first time being with a man who adored her. Cass had made it clear that he wouldn’t be feeling much of anything for her.
There was a measure of sorrow that she would never have the fairy-tale love. But, she reminded herself, she was gaining so much. The chance to know the other half of her family. The chance to be free from the crushing weight of debt. The chance to start her life anew. And anytime she started to feel too much sadness or regret, she just replayed Cass’s words over and over again in her mind:
I won’t pretend I’m capable of offering love...
Each replay helped her bury any emotions she had felt for Cass Morgan deep down and focus her attentions on other things.
A gust of wind barreled across the prairie and hit her in the face as she walked around the airport. She burrowed her chin deeper into her scarf. Time to focus on the positives. At least she would be marrying a man she got along with and was physically attracted to. She might not have the love story, but her wedding would do something few marriages could ever do: make a difference.
Everything Cass had told her last night had checked out, at least with what she’d been able to find online. Numerous articles touted Cass and his family, royalty of the Mediterranean state of Tulay. Their origins were murky, barely touched on in what she’d read aside from a vague reference about them having lived in Linnaea in the past. But since Cass’s aunt Alecine had married the prince of Tulay, the family seemed to have gained the Midas touch. Everything from oil and manufacturing to shipping and banking. Their estimated wealth was in the billions.
That spark of suspicion she’d felt last night crackled across the back of her neck again. If Cass was so wealthy, why did he need to marry her? Why not just give the money to Daxon? One of many questions she had for Cass on their flight to wherever it was he was taking her.
She’d pored over Daxon’s letter so many times she nearly had it memorized. Written in a strong, bold script, Daxon had written out the exact same situation Cass had described: a country on the brink of ruin, a financial alliance by marriage and a chance for her to get to know the other half of her family. He had also explained that her mother had become overwhelmed by life in the spotlight and hadn’t told him about her existence. It hadn’t been until Alaric, her half brother, had come across a letter from an old palace physician noting Marie’s positive pregnancy test that they had even suspected Marie had had a child after she’d left Linnaea and returned to the States.
Daxon’s letter had been polite but friendly, the kind of cautious wording she would expect from a man who had never met his long-lost daughter. Perhaps it was Daxon’s own tempered voice that had tamped down some of her own excitement at finally meeting her father. Or perhaps she’d just had enough of getting her hopes up only to have them dashed.
Or, she acknowledged with a frown, perhaps it was the unease that invaded every time she remembered her mother’s fear. Daxon’s claim that life in the spotlight had scared her mother off seemed plausible. But she had a hard time envisioning that as the cause behind Marie’s flight from Europe. Had the stresses of royal life truly spooked her mother so badly that she’d not only moved back to America but changed her last name?
So many unanswered questions, Briony thought with a sigh.