Gerard's words hit like a hammer, full of that smug authority he always carried like a badge. My older brother, the new head of the family, is cold-blooded and calculated, always thinking about the long game and never about the people caught in it.
I looked him straight in the eye with no fear and just a dull weight in my chest.
"Gerard," I said flatly, "is marriage just another business deal to you? Do you really think you get to decide who I stay with and who I sleep next to at night? How long do you expect me to keep selling myself for the Davidson name?"
As I spoke, my gaze shifted toward Archie, who hadn't said a word, just stood there like the smirking parasite he was.
"Now that her shining white knight's back in town," I added, "you're not really planning on keeping him in the shadows forever, are you?"
Smack.
The slap came quickly and deliberately. Gerard didn't hesitate.
"Troy," he snapped, "when did you get so bitter? So damn petty?"
"Margaux is an extraordinary woman. She has two people she trusts. And what, huh? That makes you jealous? Insecure? Small-minded? Clearly, I didn't raise you right."
I didn't flinch. I didn't touch my cheek.
I just stared back at him, the sting crawling across my skin, but not my pride.
"I'm twenty-eight, Gerard," I said. "If you think you messed up raising me, it's a little late to fix it now."
His jaw tightened, and he scoffed like I'd spit on the family crest.
"So, a few days playing house as Mr. Haywood, and suddenly you've grown a spine? Margaux must've spoiled you rotten."
Then his expression turned meaner, colder. I knew that look too well.
"Well then," he said, "since you're done being reasonable, maybe it's time to let your aunt step in."
I froze mid-breath.
The words spilled out before I could stop them. "What are you planning to do?"
Gerard's voice dropped. Quiet, sharp, deadly. "What do you think? I'll dig her up. Let her remind you what it means to stay in your lane. To understand your place in the bigger picture."
My heart stopped for a second.
He wasn't bluffing. That bastard would really do it.
"Apologize to Margaux," Gerard said again, tone tightening. "Promise her you won't get jealous again. That you'll never upset her."
My fists clenched. I knew then and there that I couldn't let this marriage end as they wanted it to.
I turned toward Margaux. My arms felt heavy, my chest hollow.