Page 55 of The Broken Vows

I hesitate for a second before doing as he asks and sitting down next to Archer. “What’s going on?” I ask, nervous. “What happened?”

Grandpa smiles at me, and it only makes me more certain that something is wrong. He’s changed in the years I was away, but that calculating glint in his eyes is still the same. He trusted me to run the company remotely, and over the years, he’s fully handed over the reins, but he’ll never step back completely. “I’ve come to a business agreement that will not only restore Harrison Developments to its former glory, it’ll elevate it further,” he says, sounding pleased.

I stare at him long and hard, searching his words for hidden truths. “How? There’s nothing I haven’t tried, no avenues I left unexplored. Clifton’s extensive help will allow us to survive, but not even that is enough to undo the damage that’s been done.”

I spent years combatting Zane’s attacks behind the scenes and figuring out our countermoves. There’s no scenario I haven’t thought of, nor is there a better way to execute the plans I have in mind.

Dad nods, his gaze fixed on the trees outside our window. “Right idea, poor execution,” he mutters, his voice filled with something that can only be described as anger mixed with frustration. I raise a brow, trying my hardest not to take offense.

For weeks now, Dad has been trying to change my mind about marrying Cliff. Each time I ask him why he’s so adamant that I shouldn’t be with Clifton, he just looks at me and shakes his head, regret marring his features.

My grandfather crosses his arms and sighs, looking weary. “Celeste, I’m merging the company with Windsor Hotels.”

I stare at him as I try to decipher his words, certain they can’t mean what he thinks they do. “That’s impossible,” I whisper, my voice breaking as panic grips me hard and fast. They’re the reason we’re in this state in the first place.

“Anne and I came to an agreement. Surely you’ve noticed the attacks have stopped?”

I take a steadying breath, my stomach churning. The attacks haven’tstopped— Zane merely moved his attention from ruining the company to ruining my wedding. As usual, there’s no clear evidence of it, but I’m certain he’s behind all the mishaps we’re experiencing. Our venue had to be changed twice, and both wedding dress designers I wanted to work with were suddenly booked up for months, among a slew of other problems.

Archer wraps his arm around me and squeezes tightly, his gaze filled with trepidation. “There’s more,” he says, his voice soft. He glances at Mom then, and the way she nods at him and straightens her spine sends a chill down mine.

“The merger comes with a few stipulations. One of them is an arranged marriage between our families,” Mom says, her tone firm.

“No,” I instantly reply, my breathing rapidly becoming more shallow as panic seizes me. They can’t… this can’t be… this cannot be happening to me.

“You’ll have to marry Zane,” Dad adds, not sounding even remotely sympathetic. “The wedding date has been set.”

I rise to my feet, my mind buzzing. “I won’t. There isn’t much I won’t do to save the company, but not this. There’s a lot I never told you about the reasons we broke up, but trust me when I tell you there’s no coming back from what happened. If this is some misguided attempt at pushing me toward happiness, please stop. I won’t find it with him.”

I should’ve told them everything. In the first few weeks after Lily died, I wasn’t able to talk about her at all, couldn’t comprehend everything that happened. Those weeks went by in a blur. Focusing on fulfilling her last wish was the only thing that got me out of bed most days, and Zane undoing every carefully orchestrated step so easily robbed me of the vindication I was sure I’d feel. I’ve spent years wondering how to still make Lily’s last wish come true, only to find him thwarting my plans yet again.

Grandpa sighs. “You won’t find happiness with Clifton Emerson, either. If you’re going to be unhappy in your marriage, you might as well be unhappy in a marriage that benefits us. The Emersons can’t help us the way the Windsors can. You know what it means to merge with them, don’t you? Stop running away from your problems, Celeste. If not for you, we wouldn’t be in this position at all, so take responsibility and fix this mess.”

I wrap my arms around myself and look out the window, unsure how to refute my grandfather’s words. “I might be to blame, but you’re the one handing our company over to the one person who wants to see it destroyed above all else. He won’t save us, Grandpa. Zane will usurp us, finishing what he started. If you do this, we’re done for.”

He smiles at me, his expression unwavering. “You’ll find that Anne Windsor is perfectly capable of keeping her grandchildren in line. This union will achieve what Emerson never could. It’s time to leave the past where it belongs, Celeste. The Harrisons and Windsors are stronger together, and it’s time we acknowledge that.”

I glance at Archer for support, certain he’d be on my side, but he merely studies me with an unreadable expression on his face. “If you truly still want to hurt him, why not do it from the position closest to him, as his wife?”

I glance at my brother, my heart heavy. “I can’t marry him,” I whisper, my voice breaking. I told Lily I wouldn’t — it’s one of the last things I ever said to her.

“You either marry him, or I’ll declare bankruptcy and let my entire life’s work vanish into dust. You’ll have to live with knowing that you not only caused our downfall, but you could’ve prevented it too,” Grandpa snaps. “You have three days to decide.”

ChapterForty-Three

Celeste

Anne Windsor smiles as her butler leads me into her living room, catching me entirely off-guard. I’ve only ever seen her smile at me once, right before she realized who I was, and every hint of warmth drained away, leaving nothing but the deep-rooted resentment that she has regarded me with ever since.

“I’m surprised you agreed to meet with me,” I say, my tone harsher than I’d intended. “I distinctly recall being banned from all Windsor properties.”

She gestures to the sofa opposite the one she’s seated on and crosses her ankles, looking as regal as her surname denotes, her black pantsuit only adding to the power she emanates. “That never stopped you before, did it?” she says, her eyes sparkling with amusement that I most definitely don’t share.

“It should have,” I tell her, my spine rigid as I take a seat, mirroring her posture. “You were right about me back then, and it would be unwise to change your mind now. If I marry your grandson, I’ll happily ruin us both. If we end up married, I’ll set his house on fire while we both sleep, and I’ll do it without an ounce of remorse.”

She tilts her head, and then she laughs, the sound rich and melodious, genuine delight in her gaze. Her reaction is so unexpected I find myself staring at her, startled and entirely unsure how to proceed. I’d thought threatening her grandson would infuriate her, that it’d bring forth every protective instinct in her, but she merely looks at me like she finds me endearing.

“Set fire to anything you please,” she tells me, her tone indulgent. “We have excellent security systems, so our men will get you out before any harm is done to either of you. Zane’s house does lack character these days. I’ve often wanted to take a torch to it myself. Burn down the house if you’d like, Celeste. We’ll just rebuild it.” She pauses then, her expression softening. “And call me Grandma. We’ll be family soon, after all.”

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