I gaped. "Spencer."
Sylvia's gaze sharpened. "To you. I'll sign the ranch to your name. And only as long as you remain married to her. If you divorce, it forfeits to me."
"What?" I gasped. This couldn't be happening.
"Done." Spencer nudged the contract her way. "Read through that. You'll find those are the exact terms I anticipated."
Amusement pinched my mother's angled features. "You won't mind if I send this to my attorneys?"
"Feel free."
The noose around my neck tightened so hard, I couldn't breathe. It was bad enough that my mother and father treated me this way; I expected it by now. But to have Spencer join in, bartering my life away like I was a damask armchair…
I grabbed Spencer's strong wrist and dragged him across the room. I was cognizant enough that I knew he let me—the man was built like a granite quarry. But I was also far too determined to care. "I need to talk to you." He allowed me to pull him out of the room and into the hallway where the lighting was a little dimmer and the smell of cloying flower arrangements from the next room scented the air. I closed the door and pushed him against the white shiplap wall. "What thehellwas that?" I hissed.
He held up his hands in innocent surrender. The harshness in his features had gone, and in its place, gentle calm smoothed his brow. "Ara, think about it for a second. Even if you marry me, your mother will own your ranch. Can you pay it off anytime this century?"
My heart thundered away in my chest, and I clenched my fists to keep them from trembling. With a dry mouth, I scratched out, "This isn't better."
"It is. I'll give it to you. I swear to you." His dark brows tipped up with placating earnestness. "You won't have to make another payment on that ranch for the rest of your life. You can spend the non-profit funds and your own earnings on the animals—on yourself." Hesitantly, he brought his hands up to hover by my shoulders. When I didn't stop him, he placed comforting hands on my upper arms. "You can live your life and have nothing to do with them ever again."
"You don't understand." I could barely talk. There was no air in my lungs. "She will hold you to it. You can't sign that and divorce me. She'll destroy you."
He chewed the inside of his cheek. "I know."
My vision narrowed. "What are you saying? We'll just… We'd have to—"
"We'll stay married."
I gusted out a breath, halfway between a laugh and an incredulous exhale. "Spencer, are youinsane?"
He held me in place like he was worried I would bolt. "I tried to call you and talk it over."
"You can't just take over my life like this." A searing ember of fury lodged itself in my throat, and I tried to swallow it down, but it stayed put.
"I'm nottaking overanything,” he said with exasperation. “I told you; I'll sign that ranch over to your name, bought and paid for."
"And the payment is, what?" I glared, fighting that lump in my throat. "Our happiness?"
"It's not that dire," he replied calmly. "We can still live our lives."
"But you can never marry anyone else," I argued.
He shrugged. "It's just a piece of paper."
I didn't know how to argue with that. It wasn't just a piece of paper to me. It was a long-held dream of normalcy. It was thehope of a do-over that had suddenly been thrown into a blaze of fate. "I won't let you do this."
"You already signed the license," he replied stoically. "I'm doing it."
I pushed him away, so furious, I'd run out of words. What more was there to say? As he'd pointed out, I'd already signed my singlehood away. And suddenly, I didn't care what they did in that room with their contracts and signatures and schemes. None of them required my opinion, clearly. I stormed away from him, blind with fury.
Spencer let me go, and I hurried out of the hallway and through the ballroom, weaving between romantically lit tables and surprised staff with hors d'oeuvres on trays. My dress rustled behind me loudly, a cacophony of tulle and satin, and I let it drown out the quiet sob that escaped my tight chest.
If I didn't let them see me cry, then it was one less loss.
One less victory for them.
Chapter nine
