Page 101 of Heartbroken Husband
“The girls’ trusts are protected independently,” I explained. “I’ve covered education, housing, and future investments. Adeline’s account has been structured so Louis can’t touch it even if he somehow resurfaces again. You can tell Old Man Morris that I’m putting them in the same position they would’ve been in if we had gone through with the marriage. Just without the rings and the vows. If he doesn’t like it, the old bastard can go fuck himself.”
I sat down hard in one of the chairs across from his desk, suddenly too exhausted to stay standing or to keep talking. For a second, we were both just quiet, and thankfully, he didn’t ask what had happened or interrogate me.
Instead, he squeezed my shoulder. “I’ve got the Louis drama handled.”
I scrubbed both hands over my face. “How?”
Alex perched himself at the edge of his desk. “I personally reached out to his attorney and threatened him with the full brunt of my wrath and the full weight of our legal team.”
I snorted, but even that came out tired. “It sounds like you had some fun.”
“I enjoyed myself immensely,” he agreed, much too happy about threatening a bunch of lawyers. “I warned them that if Weatherby tries anything funny, we’ll bury them so deep in lawsuits for harassment and defamation, they’ll still be billing hours in hell.”
“Well handled.” I leaned back in the chair, staring blankly at the ceiling. “Thank you, though. It means a lot to know we don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“Right, but apparently, the wedding is off anyway,” he said. “Look, you don’t have to tell me anything, but if you called it off because of Louis?—”
“She thinks we don’t have a choice in any of this.”
Alex crossed his arms, eyebrows inching up. “Okay, well, I suppose that’s not an uncommon misconception. What did you do to correct that impression, though?”
I snorted. “Nothing, because she genuinely didn’t get to choose, Alex. Not with Louis and not with me. Her grandfather makes these deals and all they expect from her is to sign the papers. It’s not the same as with Jane, or Kate, or Eliza, or Jacque. They got to choose.”
“Sure,” he agreed. “It’s not fair that Adeline’s family expects her to simply go along with the decisions they make, but life rarely is.”
“Maybe, but in her case, it’s within my power to restore the balance a little. I care about her too much to steamroll her with this arrangement.”
“You need to tell her how you feel, Zach. Have you done that?”
“No.”
“Why not?” The exhaustion in his voice surprised me, but he didn’t let his emotions show as he took a seat across from me. “It’s likely she feels the same. You know that, right?”
I laughed. “There’s no point. Trust me. She’s terrified. Our feelings don’t matter as much as the fact that every time she looks at marriage, all she sees is a transaction.”
“Okay, but what do you see?”
I hesitated for a long moment, genuinely trying to answer him honestly. “I see her.”
Alex looked at me like he was finally understanding something that had apparently been obvious to everyone except him. “You love her.”
I barked out a hollow laugh. “It’s a groundbreaking revelation, isn’t it?”
“Well, no,” he said, quiet for a moment before he looked at me again. “I always suspected. We all did. I just didn’t think I’d ever hear you admit it.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t think I’d admit it either, but here we are.” I raked my fingers through my hair. “I’d marry her in a heartbeat if it’s what she wants, but she got burned by the marriage system our families believe in. Badly. I just don’t want to be the guy that puts her back there under duress.”
“You were burned by it too,” he said slowly. “No one in this family has been in your exact situation, so I don’t really have the perfect advice here. From what I saw, you two looked like you were vibing.”
Alex Westwood admitting uncertainty might’ve been a biblical sign, but he kept going like it was nothing out of the ordinary. “All I can tell you is that I’ve never regretted fighting for Jane. Nate is the same with Kate, and Jesse would probably set himself on fire before giving up on Jacqueline. Hell, Will quit his job and moved across an ocean for Eliza.”
“What are you saying?”
“None of us regret choosing love.” The irony of hearing that inside an office built on generations of strategic marriages wasn’t lost on either of us. “You finally have a chance to do this differently, Zach. Just talk to her. Find out what she actually wants before you just make the decision for her.”
I stared down at my hands. “She’ll never be able to see our relationship as more than a business deal. Real feelings or not, it’ll always feel like she’s been sold off by her family again. I can’t do that to her. I won’t.”
Alex shrugged. “Then at least give her the choice. That’s what you want, right? You want it to be her decision, but that means that you have to give her the opportunity to actually choose.”
