“Leaving you as the only savior in sight.” One corner of her mouth twisted up into half of a sardonic smile. “And here you are.”
“And here I am.” He released the steering wheel and spread his hands out. “That’s the whole sordid story.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Was what my father did worth the lies?”
Anger spiked. “Did you not just hear what I told you he did? How he tore apart my family? And how, exactly did I lie? I told you that night at the Ledge exactly what the marriage contract would entail.”
“Yes, you offered to marry me in exchange for giving money to the country.” Briony’s eyes flashed with anger. “But you also insinuated that my father wanted to see me knowing full well he didn’t care about my existence. You lied to me. And,” she said as she held up a hand to stop his reply, “don’t say you didn’t outright lie. You deliberately misled me. That counts as a lie.”
He couldn’t have picked a better future wife if he’d tried. Briony didn’t capitulate, didn’t back down. She was too fierce, too determined. A far cry from his own mother, who had turned weak at the first sign of not having a luxurious life.
And if he didn’t own up to his mistakes now, he would be no better than her. No better than Daxon, even, who had lied and manipulated his entire life.
That thought stopped him cold. When had he become so blind, so focused on fulfilling his sense of duty to his family and his revenge that he ignored the tactics he’d used to achieve his goals?
He looked at Briony, truly looked at her, for the first time since their kiss on the plane. She was backed against the door of the car, not out of fear, but to put as much distance between them. A woman who had come from almost nothing, left behind her entire life for the promise of something better, a promise he had falsely portrayed.
“Make that three.”
She frowned. “Three what?”
“Three times in my life I’ve apologized. I’m sorry, Briony. I did lie.” He hated saying the words out loud, hated himself in that moment for who he had become. “I lied and I used you. Just like your stepfather, your stepsisters and your birth father.”
She stared at him for so long he wondered if she would ever say anything. If she said nothing, if she made a scene and demanded he fly her back to the States or anywhere else in the world, it would be no less than he deserved. He should have been honest, should have stuck to what he could do for her and her family instead of adding the spin of being reunited with a father who wanted nothing to do with her.
At last, she sighed.
“I’m still angry with you. But no, Cass, you’re not as bad as my family. Especially,” she added with disgust dripping from her tone, “not as bad as myfather.”
“While I’m pleased to hear that, how did you arrive at that conclusion?”
“Aside from not telling me who you were at first and suggesting my father wanted to see me, you’ve been up-front about everything else. Especially about your expectations for our marriage.”
“I never wanted to lie about that,” he said firmly. “But you can help me help this country. You can help me help your brother. I can help your stepfamily. And we can still have a pleasant life together.”
Silence descended once more. Briony stared at him for a long moment before she turned to look at his childhood home. He glanced at the front porch. He’d spent hours on the porch swing with his father, listened in rapt attention to his father’s stories about what had happened at work, took pride in his father’s hard work at helping the country take steps to become stronger.
Cass looked away. That time was past.
“I want children. So do you. They’ll want for nothing.”
“What about love?”
The words were spoken so softly he almost didn’t hear them.
“What about it?” he asked. Hadn’t she just heard him?
“Will you love your children?” She pinned him with a bleak gaze effused with a sorrow so deep he almost had to look away. “Or will you be like my stepfather and withhold the one thing they need?”
He barely swallowed his anger. She had a right to ask.
“Romantic love is off the table for me. But loving one’s children...that’s another matter entirely. I will love any children you bring into this world.”
He’d expected something more from her, a smile or some other confirmation. But she merely nodded and looked back at the house. The seconds ticked by, each one longer than the last, as he waited for her answer.
“All right.”
He hadn’t expected excitement. But neither had he expected to hear her sounding so listless.