Page 30 of Queen of Spades

“As we discussed last night, the terms of the arrangement are all outlined in the contract,” Gregori replied evenly, retrieving a pen from his jacket pocket. “You will marry my son and produce a Howell heir. In exchange, I will provide my unwavering support for you and King Jr. and company. This includes monetary support, social backing, and protection from any potential enemies. Including your brother.” He held out the pen as Grace stared at him in shock, her hand trembling as she held the papers.

“You cannot force someone to marry me, Dad,” Anders snarled, coming around the table. “This is tantamount to blackmail!”

Gregori laughed harshly, and I stood, ready to move if he tried anything. “Listen to yourself. I’m not forcing anyone to do anything and I’m not threatening anyone. Ms. Harding is from an old family, just like ours. Her genetics are perfect. If you were to have a child together, I would wager it would be more powerful than both of you combined. That is the bloodline I want for the Howell name. You don’t consider these things, Anders, but I do. I’m doing what I need to do to protect the future of this family,” Gregori snapped, his voice cold and dominating, making the room feel smaller.

“We don’t need your help,” Erik bit out. “I’m not pimping Grace out for political gain, I’m not Douglas.” Gregori clicked his tongue, and Erik stepped forward, his fists clenched.

“This is not up to you, Junior. Or even my son for that matter. I am speaking to Ms. Harding, and she is the only one who’s decision I’m interested in.” Gregori loomed over Grace, who was busy reading through the contract, her brow furrowed as she chewed on her bottom lip. The fact that she was reading it meant that she was considering it, and my chest tightened as Anders rounded the chair, going for his father.

“Anders, don’t,” Grace snapped, and he froze, turning to look at her. “All of you, go wait in the living room, alright?” Her voice softened, her tone pleading. That was when I felt it, like the sun kissing my skin. The tension in the room eased immediately as Grace filled it with her power.

“Grace, we’ll figure out another way, please,” Erik told her gently. She nodded sadly, and Jesse caught him by the arm, leading him out of the room. Anders helped me limp out after them, leaving Grace with that conniving snake of a man.

Erik was signing with Jesse, catching him up on everything that had just happened. Jesse’s face morphed from bewildered to furious in moments, and they both turned to face Anders as he helped me down into a chair.

“What the fuck was that about?” Erik snarled, the tension returning now that we were away from Grace. I leaned forward, grimacing as my stitches pulled, and Jesse came over and put his hand on the back of my neck, watching our two hotheads fight.

“I told you there would be strings with this!” Anders bit back, waving his hand around him. “I warned you that he’d want something, and what he wants is Grace.” I signed for Jesse to follow along, my hands fading as the tension mounted between them.

“He can’t force her to marry you, it’s not legal!” Erik protested, throwing his hands up. Anders laughed bitterly, running his fingers through his hair.

“You don’t think he can? He has an official marriage certificate in there right now! Two signatures and it’s legally binding.” He shook his head, his fists clenched as he began to pace around the room.

“We… we have to figure out something,” Erik muttered, shaking his head. “I’m not selling Grace to your family for my own political gain, that’s too fucked up!”

“You’re not selling anyone,” Grace announced, and I jumped to my feet, Jesse catching me as I swayed slightly. She was quiet, too quiet, and I couldn’t tell what that meant.

“We can leave right now,” Erik told her quickly. “We’ll find someplace to stay, we’ll regroup, and it’ll be fine.”

“Don’t leave just yet,” Gregori announced, stepping into the room and putting his hand on Grace’s shoulder. “Come on,at least stay for a toast.” The servers appeared from behind him, holding glasses of champagne in ornate crystal flutes. I took the glass thrust into my hand, an icy tendril of fear curling in my stomach. Anders was frozen on the spot, his eyes unreadable as he stared at his father. Grace was looking at the floor, her cheeks red as she avoided our gaze.

“To my lovely new daughter-in-law, may you prove to be the missing piece in my son’s life.” Only Gregori raised his glass to his lips, everyone else was frozen in shock. Anders lifted his glass up and slowly and deliberately tipped the contents out onto the floor before letting the glass drop from his hands. It shattered loudly, and Grace winced as he stormed out of the room, a server taking his place to clean up the mess.

“Erik, as part of the deal, I will announce the marriage this afternoon, so by this evening, every single one of Mr. Harding’s employees will be aware of our merger. Any attack on you or yours will be an attack on me, and will meet out a swift and merciless justice.” He smiled coldly, his hand still clasped on Grace’s shoulder. She glanced up at me, her eyes wide and rimmed red like she wanted to cry. I could feel the crystal threatening to shatter in my hand as I clenched my drink, so I quickly handed it to Jesse, limping toward her.

“Grace, let’s go,” I murmured, holding out my hand. She glanced up at Gregori, who was watching with a cool detachment that reminded me eerily of his son.

“Remember, Grace. While I do not care what activities you partake in or with whom, your child needs to be of Howell blood or the contract is invalidated.” Erik choked out a strangled noise as I pulled Grace away from Gregori, catching Erik before he could swing at Gregori and dragging them bothout of the room. I only made it as far as the hallway before I began to lag, and Erik caught me under my arm, holding me upright. Jesse appeared at my other side and helped get me back to my room, where Anders was busy pacing, a handful of familiar papers clutched in his fingers.

“This is a joke, right?” Jesse signed, waving to get our attention. “Princess, you didn’t just marry Anders!” Grace stood off to the side, her shoulders slumped as she chewed on her lip.

“I’m sorry, but it was my choice,” she replied out loud, signing slowly.

“It was my choice too!” Anders exploded, making her flinch. “This is my life! And you just let my father bulldoze through it! You helped him!”

Grace stood silently as Anders verbally attacked her, her hands clasped tightly behind her back. I couldn’t take it anymore, I stood shakily and got between them. “Anders, enough,” I told him, my voice rough from the strain. “Let Grace talk, okay?”

“About what?! About how she signed a contract stating that she’ll have my child?!” I cringed, and Erik let out a grunt of shock.

“Angel, why? Why would you agree to this?” Erik demanded, his voice hurt, rather than angry.

“Because we are losing,” Grace replied softly. “And this way, I could do something to help. I could be useful and protect you guys the way you’re always forced to protect me.”

“So you sold yourself to my father? The fucking devil himself?” Anders spat, and I caught him in the chest with my hand, shooting him a warning look.

“Look, it’s just a piece of paper, Anders! It doesn’t change anything for us. You can do whatever you want to whomeveryou please, I don’t care. The child thing, it’s not immediate. We have three years to get pregnant. I’ll take a sample of you to a clinic if you can’t bear to touch me, I don’t care. Three years is a lot longer than I had yesterday. I can’t…” Her voice broke, and I turned to see tears rolling down her cheeks. “I can’t lose you guys. Jesse, Levy… you almost died. Because of me. Anders, you got shot! I couldn’t live with it if I just stood by and let Doug kill you all. So I bought myself a bully.”

Jesse moved to her side, wiping her tears away and wrapping his arms around her. I swayed on my feet, the pain growing steadily worse as I forced my body upright. Hands caught my chest and shoved me roughly toward the bed. I let myself fall face first onto the covers, and someone, probably Anders, helped lift my feet up. Everything around me dulled as my focus slipped away.

---