Page 76 of Ruthless Legacy

She shoos me into her office. Closes and locks the door, then leans against her desk. “Explain, young lady.”

“Let’s just say a little birdie sent me an invitation, and I’m ghosting the host.”

“I see. So why haven’t you given them an answer?”

“I thought my silence and not showing up at the designated place and time was enough of an answer. The Trium warned me that this might get messy. I thought they were full of shit since I didn’t send in my RSVP.”

“How many times have they contacted you?”

“Six or seven. Three notes, and three calls that I’ve answered, not counting today. I retrieved the invitation that was waiting for me last week, but like I said, I never agreed to show up. I’m so sorry Van.”

“What are you apologizing for? None of this is your fault.”

“Yes, it is. I think this is their way of telling me they reject my answer. I shouldn’t be surprised. I mean, how many times can I really throw their offers back in their face?”

“Look hun, if this is what I think you’re saying this is, don’t let them bully you into doing it.”

“If this is what I think it is, I can’t sit by and do nothing. This business is your livelihood.”

“And at the moment, I’m more concerned with what happens to you for the rest of your life. Besides, you don’t know that what happened today has anything to do with you.”

“True, but maybe it’s not a good idea to press that theory. I can just say yes. The only reason I was saying no is because…”

“Because what?”

“I don’t know.” I shrug. “Because Moira and my mom didn’t want anything to do with them. I hate the way people around here act, and the way Joshua showed up in town and tried to map out my life. Treating me like a possession instead of a person. Moira’s miserable. So, I was trying to stand in solidarity with her and mom. I was trying to show this town that I’m my own person and not some pawn to be used for power and status. Stupid, right?”

“Oh no, honey. That’s not stupid. That is the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard. And I support that decision.”

“But is it the right one? It’s a selfish one. I’m looking out for me. I’m raising hell for me. But what about the other girls that are in the same position? The little girls who can’t say no because they don’t have a loophole they can use to get out of it? Maybe I should be doing something about it. Maybe standing on the sidelines is the cowardly thing to do.”

“Nobody needs you to be a hero, Thea. And there’s not much you can change by being the thing you want to avoid. The men make the rules. Women in that world never have any rights other than what their fathers and husbands give them. I’m sure you’ve seen it. How Joshua is slowly forcing Moira to join in.”

I do, and I hate that for her. The men make the rules, but…

Van presses her lips together. “You’re smiling, Thea. You’re smiling and it’s not a warm smile. It’s a devious, I have a plan and everybody’s gonna hate it smile.”

“It’s like you said, the men make the rules.”

“Yes.”

“And they have to go through this whole initiation process and stuff to join so they can make these stupid ass, oppressive rules.”

“Correct.”

“So it’s fair to say anyone who passes the initiation gets to voice their concerns? Help influence change?”

She narrows her eyes at me. “If you think you can seduce a league member to influence votes, it’ll never work.”

I roll my eyes. “Then it’s a good thing I’m not planning to do that.”

“But you’re planningsomething.”

“I’m planning to see the error of my ways, and use my compass and map to navigate to the next set of coordinates they send me.”

Her face falls. “If you say yes, because of what happened today, then it shows them you care. They’ll identify that as a weakness and exploit it every chance they get. They’ll use this situation or something similar to get you to do whatever they want all the time.”

“Good.”

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