Page 130 of Outcast’s Vow

“I’m going to cancel your enrollment at that university.”

“What?”

“We’ll cut all ties between you and Baptiste,” he explains, running a hand through his hair. “You’ll work for me now. I’ll find you a respectable man. You’ll live the comfortable life I should’ve provided you from the start, with no wild, ambitious man in the picture. This is the only way to satiate Leopold’s desires. This will narrow his vengeance on merely Baptiste and not on you.”

And again the fury rises...

“You’re going to find a man for me?”

“Yes, you’ll need to be taken care of.”

“Baptiste was doing a fine enough job of that...”

“Look where you are now, Sylvie,” Father says quietly. “You’re in no position to negotiate. Didn’t you hear what Leopold said should happen to you? It’s either this, or you end up like Baptiste, and I’m not going to lose you.”

Tears start welling up. I slump in the spare office chair, utterly defeated. I don’t know what to say to all of that.

Father’s plans.

The plans that were always there. Waiting for me. My destiny if Baptiste ever left the picture. My worst nightmare, even worse than my husband cheating on me.

The loss of my freedom.

It’s come true.

“What about the penthouse? What about my things?”

“We’ll have them brought back to the family mansion,” Father says. “You will move back to your old bedroom. You’ll stay there until a suitor is found.”

“And what about Baptiste?”

Father scoffs.

“He’s made his choice, and now he’s ruined his life. I told you that boy was trouble. You should’ve listened to me. I should’ve listened to myself instead of allowing you to indulge.”

My chest heaves.

“Leopold did it. He planned it. This whole thing has been deliberate. He wants to destroy Baptiste no matter how.”

Father says nothing.

“I knew it,” I say. “Your silence confirms it.”

“Elder Leopold did what he thought best.”

“What? Tempt my husband with a room full of virgins? The Castaways are sick.”

“And your husband refused,” Father says. “He could’ve accepted like any other member. He could’ve been the next Supreme Elder if he had indulged in just one moment against his morals.”

“He chose loyalty to me over loyalty to the Castaways. He chose his values. He refused to cheat, even if it cost him everything.”

Father raises a hand. Just like he did with the two Elders. Just that simple action hushes me. It’s like I’m a child again. Like I’m a spoiled daughter throwing a tantrum.

“Forget about him, Sylvie. You didn’t even want to marry him in the first place.”

I can’t form the words. I can’t defend myself. I can’t do a damn thing.

“But things changed,” I mumble. “I... fell in love.”