Noah's voice cut through the room, rough and strained.
"Why?." Noah asked.
Grandfather took his sweet time before answering. "Because our family needs his influence and his name."
"But we already very well to do on our own why do we need him."
Grandfather didn't answer to that question, leaving us all hanging.
"So who's going to tell Ivy?" Noah asked.
Everyone froze.
The question hung in the air, heavy and unavoidable.
My grandfather didn't even blink. "I will."
"I'll speak to her myself," he continued, his tone measured, almost courteous. "You will all return here in three days. Mr. Whitmore will be coming to meet her and we need to show a strong front as a family."
Lucas pushed back his chair with a violent scrape. "You're bringing him into this house?"
"Yes."
"To sit across from her like this is some normal arrangement?" His voice cracked. "Have you lost your goddamn mind?"
"Watch your language Lucas, I won't remind you again" my grandfather said calmly.
Noah swore loudly, the sound sharp in the otherwise pristine room. He turned away, dragging both hands through his hair like he was trying to tear the thought out of his head.
"There has to be something we can do," he said. "Something to stop this. You can't just decide this life for her."
My grandfather said nothing.
That silence was deliberate. He used it the way other people used weapons.
Caleb leaned forward, his palms flat on the table. "Say something. Tell us how we're supposed to live with this."
My grandfather finally looked up, his gaze sweeping over us slowly and deliberately landing on me.
"It was either Ivy," he said, "or her."
The words hit me like a physical blow.
My chest tightened. I stared at him, my mind scrambling, trying to understand what he meant.
Lucas turned sharply toward me. "What the hell does that mean?"
Caleb shook his head immediately. "No. That is not an option."
Noah's wide eyes found mine, wide and disbelieving. "Elaine?"
My grandfather's gaze settled on me fully now. "Elaine is older. More composed. But Ivy's position makes this arrangement more advantageous."
Advantageous.
Lucas cursed, loud and furious, his hand slamming into the table again. Caleb followed, his voice rising, words tumbling out unfiltered.
"That is enough," my grandfather snapped, striking his cane against the floor. "I will not tolerate this behavior."
"You just offered her up like a spare," Lucas shouted, pointing at me. "You expect us to just accept that? She's family for fucks sake." Lucas cursed again but grandpa didn't do shit, now if I did it would be a different ball game, you see my grandpa still somehow thinks we are in the medieval times and women aren't allowed to curse or speak unless spoken to.
"I expect you to behave," my grandfather replied coldly. "This discussion is over."
He stood, straightening his jacket with slow precision.
"You are dismissed," he said. "Be here in the next three days."
Then he walked out.
The door closed softly behind him, and the sound felt final in a way that made my skin prickle.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Lucas stood rigid, breathing hard. Caleb stared at the table, jaw clenched tight enough to crack. Noah sank into his chair, elbows on his knees, staring at the floor like it might open up and swallow him.
I stayed seated, my hands folded neatly in my lap, even though my pulse was racing.
"He can't do this," Lucas said finally. "We won't let him."
Noah shook his head slowly. "You heard him. This isn't a discussion. It's already happening."
"Ivy won't survive that," Caleb muttered. "She's not built for men like Whitmore."