*CAMILLA’S POV.*
“Look at you, sweet boy,” I cooed and spooned another bit of baby milk into Jasper’s mouth.
Tiny fingers wrapped around the spoon as he made an enthusiastic little noise, his mouth stretching wide in a grin.
“You’re eating so good today! My big, strong boy.”
The quirk of his lips set a smile across mine, though my mind was thick with thoughts.
Pulling him close against my chest, I planted a kiss on his chubby cheek.
“We’re going to be just fine,” I whispered, though the moment the words left my lips, I knew what was to come would settle upon me like a weight.
My father hadn’t said anything yet.
He thought I didn’t know, but I knew all the same.
I’d overheard him speaking with Mr.
Lockwood weeks in advance.
Arranged marriage.
Tom Lockwood.
Business alliance.
The words struck a chill in my blood, dropping me back into the life I thought I’d left behind.
I’d be there to do Father’s bidding, no more than a chess piece in his big game plan.
Not this time.
This time I had Jasper.
And I wasn’t about to let my father take him from me, not like last time.
I would play along with him for now, I needed to remove all suspicions so I could easily plan to escape.
This time I will be ready.
I laid Jasper down in his crib, stroking my fingers over the soft hair.
“Mommy’s going to figure this out,” I whispered, though, with the hard knot in my chest, the words felt like a lie.
For both of our sakes, I needed to believe it, though.
A soft knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts.
“Come in,” I called, knowing already who would enter.
In strode Hannah, the head maidservant, in her measured way.
“Dinner is ready, Miss Camilla,” she said, though sounding friendly.
I pursed my lips as I regarded her.
Once, she had been close to me, as if I should have been able to trust her.
In my other life, however, she betrayed me, selling me out when I tried to run away.
Still a raw wound, but I masked my feelings well.
For now, I needed her to think that nothing had changed and I was still the old Camilla.
I couldn’t afford for anyone to suspect my plans.
“Thanks, Hannah, I’ll be right down,” I responded back at her, turning to Jasper.
I held my breath until she was gone, steeling myself against what was coming.
Until, finally I made it downstairs into a quiet dining room, except for the sound of a piece of silver scraping against a plate, where my father sat at the head.
His face was quiet and calm, but through those eyes, I knew this calculator worked ceaselessly: he had a plan, and I was to be dragged along with it. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“Camilla,” he said, his hand gesturing to the chair opposite the desk.
“How was your day with Jasper?”
“It was fine,” I said lightly as I sat down.
“He’s getting big so fast. It’s hard to keep up.”
My father gave a weak smile that never neared his eyes.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
In came the maids carrying our food, and again, the tension in that room couldn’t get worse with each second passing.
I could feel it in the air, the manner in which he had been waiting for just a weak moment to drop his bombshell.
But I wasn’t going to give it to him, the satisfaction of surprise taken off him, not this time.
As the plates finally sat before me, my father cleared his throat, hauled himself back in his chair.
“There was something I wanted to talk to you about, Camilla.”
I met his gaze full-on and made myself not react.
“Oh?”
He clasped his hands together and fastened a lump of intensity on mine.
“You know just how important the business of our family is now, especially. We have had some challenges over the years, but we have held our own due to alliances we have formed.”
I nodded, my heart galloping.
Here it comes.
“I have been speaking with Mr. Lockwood, and we are in agreement that a marriage between our families would be desirable. For both sides.”
He left the sentence there, waiting for me to respond.
I took my breath in, weighing my words with such care.
“You’re talking about his son,Tom.”
He nodded.
“Yes. Really, I do think it would be a good match. Tom is successful, capable. He would be a good provider for you and Jasper.”
My stomach was roiling but I kept my face neutral.
“And what does Tom say to that?”
My father didn’t let his smile slip.
“He’s amenable to it. His father had already spoken with him and he indicated interest in moving forward.”
Of course, he did.
Tom Lockwood wasn’t going to turn down the chance of a deal in the making, and this marriage would seal just that.
But I wasn’t about to let my father know exactly how it all felt.
Not yet.
“I see,” I said slowly, meeting my father’s gaze.
“And you believe this is the best option for me? For Jasper?”
His features relaxed some, but I knew better than to believe it.
“It would be what is best for us all. You would no longer have to concern yourself with being a single mother, and Tom would provide for you both. It would make our business stronger too.”
I bit the scoff rising in my throat.
This had never been about me or Jasper in the first place.
My father didn’t want to see me struggle on my own because that made him look weak.
And marrying Tom?
That was just another way to bind me against his will.
I smiled instead of fighting.
“You’re right, Father. It would be a good match.”
Surprisingly, his eyes flashed and were masked so quickly.
“You agree?”
I nodded, my voice even.
“Yes, I think this is going to save Jasper and me much better. I wouldn’t want him to grow up without what he needs.”
My father stared through a moment of outright silence; shock etched its expression across his features.
I could practically see the wheels turn as he searched for what motivated me not to fight, but he let it drop.
For now.
“Well,” he said finally, “I’m glad you see sense in this. I’ll speak to Tom’s father and arrange dinner for you and Tom tomorrow evening. That is quite important for the both of you to get to know each other.”
I nodded again.
My heart was pounding against my chest.
“That sounds fine.”
Evidently, my father was well pleased with himself.
“Good. Then it is settled. I will attend to the details.”
The rest of dinner was silent, but my mind wasn’t.
I had agreed to the arrangement, but that didn’t mean I was really going to see it through.
All of this was part of my plan to buy time, to gain Dad’s trust.
And when the time was just right, I would leave.
I would take Jasper, and we would disappear.
But for now, I needed to play the part.
Upstairs to my bedroom, I clomped after dinner; the clock ticked away.
My father was an idiot, and he would be watching me now.
One wrong step, one miscalculation on my part, one reason to think I was anything other than a complacent little girl.
And he’d use Jasper against me in a heartbeat.
Finally, I was at Jasper’s crib, staring down into his face.
“I am not going to let them take you from me,” I whispered, my voice soft as the strokes through his gentle hair.
“Whatever it will take, sweetie, I promise you they will not take you away from me.”
But clear as the words could fall from between my lips, a chill settled into my heart.
Dinner with Tom the following day, would have been my first proper test.
The sooner I’d got through that without raising suspicion, the better, the more time I had to sort out how to get myself out.
But if Tom saw through me if my father sensed anything.
I couldn’t afford to think about that now.
Not now.
Not when everything hung in the balance.