Page 120 of The Devil's Pawn

“Because you’re stunning, and I want to draw you.”

Cupping my face, he leans toward me and kisses myforehead. “Then, come home, and you can draw me whenever you like.”

The waves pick up, crashing onto the shore instead of gently lapping like they were when I first arrived. It’s as if nature is telling me it’s decision time, but there’s something else I want to know before I make that decision. Alexander is in a vulnerable state and is less likely to avoid a direct question—one I’ve asked my parents several times, but never gotten a satisfactory answer to.

“Why did my father sell me to you?”

He works his jaw in a tight circle. “What did he tell you?”

“I’m asking you, not him.”

“You won’t like the answer.”

Prickles race across the back of my neck. “That’s for me to decide.”

“You’re right.” He angles his body away from mine. “Do you know how your father makes a living, Imogen?”

I hitch a shoulder. “Not in detail. He’s a businessman.”

“He’s an arms dealer.”

My spine stiffens. “How do you know?”

“Years ago, your father was trying to break into the European market. He needed the supply channels opening up. He contacted my father for help and offered the only thing of value that he owned in exchange for the contacts my father had.”

My eyes glaze over. “Me.”

“Yes, you. And while your family wasn’t on a par with ours in terms of money or power, whatever your dad said got through to mine, and he made the deal.”

No wonder every time I brought this up my mom and dad would avoid the issue. My father sold me to further his business interests.

“Hey.” Alexander turns my face to his and waits for me to meet his gaze. “I know what you’re thinking, but listen to me. This is how things are done in our circles. It doesn’t mean your father and mother don’t love you. They do. Very much. I’m grateful for that deal. It brought you to me.”

“But… he sold me so he could make more money selling weapons that kill people. That’s… disgusting.”

“It’s business.” He grimaces. “I don’t mean that as harshly as it sounds, but you’re looking at this the wrong way. He didn’t sell you. He ensured you’d always be well taken care of. And as for the guns… that’s life, Imogen.”

In his world, and my father’s it seems, I guess he’s right. If I want to make this marriage work, I have to accept that it’s my world now, too.

The conversation with Charles when we danced at my wedding pops into my mind. Arranged marriages have a far higher success rate than those where couples meet by chance.

“Don’t be mad at your parents.”

I shake my head. “I’m not.” But I will revisit this conversation at some point in the future. I’ve heard Alexander’s side of it. One day, I’d like to hear my father’s, too.

“Please, come home. I love you, and I want you by my side. Forever.”

The last shreds of my resolve melt away. I love him, and I want to be with him. “I’ll come home… on one condition.”

His head dips. “Imogen, I can’t?—”

I place a finger over his lips. He thinks he knows what I’m going to say, but he’s wrong.

“If you ever change your mind about children, however many years into the future that may be, you tell me.”

He cups my face, his large hands covering both my cheeks. “Baby, I don’t see it happening.”

“None of us know what the future holds. Not even you.”

---