Page 30 of When Hearts Surrender

I think back to the man who taught me how to sketch designs on paper, cut patterns for my own creations, sew on a sewing machine, the man who died when I was sixteen and I’ve been left alone and adrift ever since.

This company meant everything to him…and to me.

“Well, we’re telling you now. And you want to have a family, right? You want children? I know we talked about IVF and egg freezing before, but with our finances, that isn’t an option anymore. Not to mention, you’ve never reacted well to hormonal medication,” Mom begins, her brown eyes softening as she tugs my hand. “Sit down, honey. Let me explain. This isn’t as bad as you think.”

Reeling from the revelations, I take a seat.

“Look, the family you’ll be married into is well-connected, well educated, a fine family.”

“Rich, no doubt.” I snort.

She ignores me. “They need an heir and want to enter the fashion industry. We need their money. Like you, we want to keep your grandpa’s legacy alive. After all, few companies can compete with the top fashion houses in the world.”

I don’t look at her, and she clearly takes that as a positive sign. “I know you want children of your own and you don’t have a boyfriend or anyone you’re interested in. Your fiancé is a good man, well respected.”

Nausea bubbles up inside me.Fiancé.I haven’t even agreed to marry him yet.

Mom continues, “You just need to be married to him for a minimum of one year and give him an heir. I’m sure he won’t mind IVF or something like that. He’ll provide the funds for our company and afterward, if things don’t work out between the two of you, you can amicably divorce.”

She squeezes my hand, her tone softening. “I know how hard it is to get the diagnosis of DOR. And if you end up getting pregnant, isn’t it fate then? For you to become a mom? Isn’t that what you want?”

Tears burn in the back of my eyes and I look up, finding her lips wobbling slightly in an uncharacteristic display of emotions. For a moment, I wonder if she too went through something similar when she left Hong Kong and her modeling career behind to marry my dad.

Thinking back, I don’t think my parents were ever in love. My dad is a womanizer and Mom spends more time socializing and indulging in spa treatments than at home. They live separate lives.

But now, as she’s looking at me, I see a glimmer of maternal love, that somehow, in her mind, she really believes she’s doing this for my own good, and not just to save my grandfather’s legacy.

I swallow the lump in my throat and murmur, “Who’s the family?”

“The Andersons.”

My head snaps up, my eyes widening at the name of the most influential family in New York. They’re the family tied to my best friends, since Grace and Taylor recently found out they are half-Andersons from their dad’s side and Millie is head over heels in love with Ryland, the second son of the family. I’ve met most of the Anderson siblings before.

“Fleur Entertainment’s Andersons?” I ask, straightening up. I do like them. They are good people. It feels weird to be considering this like a business transaction, but the nausea in my gut settles a bit.

Mom smiles, as if knowing what I’m thinking. “Now you understand? We know you know them, and we aren’t lying. This is a good match.”

“Which brother am I supposed to be marrying? Not Ryland, since he’s attached to Millie.”

More thoughts of a dark-haired man in a leather jacket flash in my mind and a dull pain twists behind my rib cage.

It was a beautiful dream. A haunting, romantic dream.Darn it, why am I still thinking of Silas?

“Maxwell, the eldest. I know he has some press issues recently, but I’ve been reassured by Linus what they are reporting isn’t true. He isn’t crazy,” Dad comments, and goes back to scrolling his phone like he’s talking about the weather and not about marrying his only daughter off for money and connections.

“Crazy? I haven’t followed the news.”What crazy?The girls never told me about Maxwell being crazy.

While I’ve met the Andersons a few times in social settings, I’ve never met the eldest brother. He’s a known recluse, always ducking out of most public events except for the famous Christmas Ball at The Orchid. It was said he’d grace the crowd with his presence for the bare minimum of one hour before leaving, and photographers were strictly forbidden to take photos of him there.

But still, he’s an Anderson.

I think about Ryland, who, with his wry humor, seems to treat Millie like the most precious person in the world. Rex, who flirts with anyone with a vagina, but is always kind, and Ethan, the serious one who doesn’t talk much, but is always there to be a listening ear, and Lana, the stylish older sister I never had.

Not to mention, ever since Grace and Taylor learned about their relationship with the Andersons, they’ve gotten to know their half-siblings very well and cannot sing their praises enough.

He can’t be that bad, right?

“Honey,” Mom says, “this is a good thing for you. Think about it. Your grandpa’s legacy. Having a baby—time is running out.”

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