Page 9 of The Billionaire's Pact

“So nice to see you again, Mrs. Talbot,” Mrs. Cosgrove said cheerily.

“Where’s Glenn?” Mr. Cosgrove asked.

“He had an important tournament,” Mama said, ignoring his pause when she didn’t elaborate. Her husband Glenn was an ornament on a tree—a shiny decoration I’d forgotten about most times. Too bad my graduation fell on his golf day.

“I’m so proud of our daughters.” Mrs. Cosgrove squeezed my hand. “Adelina’s such a talented artist. That Bumble Bee Ball book she illustrated was outstanding—”

“It was a hobby, Mrs. Cosgrove,” Mama interrupted her. “Adelina has much more important plans ahead of her. Excuse us.”

Their smiles wilted. Cassidy gave me a quick hug before Mama moved us on. Mrs. Belfiore was ahead with the college president, but she steered us behind the massive sycamore tree on the lawn. “We’ll tell my mother that we left to re-check your dorm room.” Her tone was brisk. She pinched her throat.

“Are you okay, Mama?” I repeated when she didn’t answer the first time.

“I am. Please, stop asking me that,” she snapped. The tips of her fingers rubbed her forehead. “Sorry, Adelina.”

I lifted my shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

Her eyes darted around. “We’re going to my parents’ house and won’t have much time alone. You need to stay calm and keep your face as expressionless as possible. But this may be the only time I get to tell you what’s going to happen…Mother’s in a good mood, and when she’s happy, everyone needs to be. They have a way of making things more difficult if they know you’re affected. I…I can’t protect you.”

I smirked. “Seriously, Mama, stop worrying. I’m fine; I can handle it.”

She frowned. “I was once as naïve as you are, but I can’t let you go in cold. Your future husband will be at my parents’ home either tonight or tomorrow. I already told them it’s fast, but they reminded me of my failure with your father.”

I ran my hands down the goosebumps that broke out on my skin. “I expected that.”

She nodded and licked her lips. “I thought so, but I want you to be smarter about this than I was. His name is William Ashford, but he prefers Willy. He’s a partner in a top brokerage firm in Manhattan, and will soon to be running for governor. He’s got the connections and financial backing. He’s…a young forty-one.”

I hadn’t expected my grandparents to choose a man my age, but did they have to pick one nineteen years older? “Okay. A young forty-one doesn’t sound too bad—”

“He lives with his widowed mother in Nantucket. That’s where you’ll be staying until the election in two years. She’ll claim to move into the mother-in-law’s suite and give you the house, but that’s a test. She wants a woman to do whatever she asks.”

I scoffed. “So, Willy’s a mama’s boy. I need to make friends with her, and I will.”

She shook her head. “She’s the type who thinks no one’s good enough. You’ll be miserable.” She lowered her head. “You don’t deserve this. I wish I could tell them no, but I don’t want you out there…alone.” Her eyes watered, and my heart ached. That was what had Mama on edge. If I ruined the arranged marriage, they’d throw me out of the family like they had done to her. But they needed the money, and if it didn’t work out for them, it wouldn’t for the rest of us.

I couldn’t expect Mama to give up her new life for me, but Jacob depended on them even more. Yarwood Springs cost them twenty thousand dollars a month. He had multiple sclerosis and seizures that made it so he often needed frequent medical care. Will they take him away from his home? Absurd. However, my grandparents left Mama to suffer for sixteen years….

I wrapped my arms around her tightly. “I’ll be okay. I’m ready for the marriage.”

She sobbed into my shoulder. “I miss you so much every day.”

I rubbed her back, taking the pain. Now’s not the time to fall apart. She cried, and I endured. Nothing she told me came as a surprise.

Mama calmed, and we went to the bathroom to fix her makeup.

We walked outside and Mama told me, “A man who loves his mother may be good. I…I got some input. He has no history of violence.”

I forced a grin. That’s his redeeming feature? “Thank you, Mama.”

We rejoined Mrs. Belfiore, and the college photographer took a few pictures of us for the college media. After, I rushed to turn in my cap and gown, then headed to her Mercedes SUV.

Once we were all inside and driving off campus, Mama turned to Mrs. Belfiore. “The ceremony was so beautiful, and the speeches were inspiring. Your classmates seemed so close. Also, it was great seeing Cassidy and her parents.”

“The Cosgroves are turbulent,” Mrs. Belfiore said. “That’s why Cassidy didn’t know how to behave. She spoke too loudly and giggled like a child. She reminded me of you, Lorelei.”

I bit the inside of my cheek.

Mama let out a light laugh. “Yes, but she has time. I’m sure she’ll be fine at Harvard Law, isn’t that right, Adelina?”

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