The Marriage He Thought Was Fake (The Revenge Affair-Book 2)

The day my grandfather died was the day I learned that even my future could be taken from me.

I had barely said goodbye to him when my mother introduced me to the man she had already chosen to become my husband.

"This is Adrian, your fiancé." She said it casually. Like it was nothing. Like she hadn't just placed a stranger in front of me and handed him the rest of my life.

My eyes widened as I looked at him. Adrian Beaumont. Tall, how and impossibly composed.

There was an aura of cold dignity around him, the kind that came from being born into money and never having to question whether the world would make room for him. His dark suit was perfectly tailored. His expression was neutral.

He extended his hand. "Adrian Beaumont."

I stared at his hand. I didn't take it.

"Adrian is the heir to the Beaumont Group," my mother continued. "The two of you will make a powerful couple."

Powerful. That was what she cared about. Not whether I wanted him. Not whether I knew him. Not whether I had even finished grieving the man whose body had been lying in a coffin less than an hour ago. Powerful.

I turned away from Adrian and grabbed my mother's arm. "Mother, do you understand what you're trying to do right now?"

She looked at me calmly. "I'm trying to secure your position, Caleste."

"My position?"

"Your grandfather left his inheritance to you." Her voice lowered. "The entire group."

My fingers tightened around her arm.

"If you don't have a strong partner like Adrian, your cousin will take everything from you. You know how your uncle has been waiting for this."

I stared at her. "Grandfather isn't even buried yet."

"You think the board is going to wait for you to finish mourning?"

Her words hit harder than they should have.

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"I know exactly what I'm talking about."

She glanced toward Adrian. "He is the best option. The most successful man after Vance Blackwood."

I almost laughed. "Mother, he is a stranger."

"He is thirty-four, financially independent, educated, powerful, and the heir to one of the largest groups in the country."

"That doesn't make him my husband."

"It makes him suitable."

There it was. Suitable. As if I were choosing a new investment. Not a husband.

"You've changed, Caleste."

I went silent.

My mother sighed. "Your grandfather softened you too much over these last five years."

My chest tightened.

"You used to understand how the world worked. You knew what was at stake. Now you're becoming sentimental."

"My grandfather just died."

"And your grandfather spent the last five years preparing you to take over everything he built."

Her expression hardened. "He didn't prepare you so you could throw it away because you're grieving."

"Mother!"

She straightened her dress. "Once the funeral is over, Adrian will take you to dinner."

"I won't go."

"You will."

"No."

"It's settled." She turned away.

I watched her walk back toward Adrian as if our conversation had been nothing more than an inconvenience.

"Let's attend the funeral," she told him.

Adrian nodded. Before he followed her, his eyes met mine. There was no apology in them. Just calm acceptance. As though he had already accepted a future I hadn't even agreed to. And perhaps that was the most terrifying part.

Everyone seemed to know what was happening to my life. Except me.

My grandfather's funeral began shortly after. Philip Ashworth had spent decades building an empire. So naturally, half the people attending his funeral were people who wanted something from it.

Business partners, executives, family members, old friends. People who had spent years calling him Philip and suddenly remembered to call him Mr. Ashworth when they saw the lawyers.

My father's family stood together on one side. My cousin was there with his parents. The same cousin my mother had just warned me about. The same cousin who would inherit everything if I failed. I looked at them and felt nothing.

My grandfather was dead. And somehow, everyone was already calculating what came next.

I couldn't. Not yet. I needed one person.

Someone who wouldn't tell me what my grandfather had wanted. Someone who would simply sit beside me and let me grieve.

I looked toward the entrance. He wasn't there. I looked again. Still nothing. Sam.

He had been beside me for five years. Five years of knowing how I took my coffee, showing up when I needed him, making me laugh when I wanted to scream.

He had seen me at my worst. He had never asked me to pretend to be anything else. And today, when I needed him most, he wasn't there.

I hated myself for looking for him. I hated myself even more when I realized I had been waiting for him.

Then I saw Nerissa and Vance approaching. William and Lily Blackwood stood behind them.

Nerissa reached me first. "Caleste."

She pulled me into a hug. "I'm so sorry."

The moment her arms wrapped around me, something inside me cracked. I closed my eyes. I wanted to cry. I wanted to fall apart.

But I forced myself to breathe. "Thank you."

Vance stood beside her, one hand resting gently against Nerissa's back.

"Philip was a great man," he said.

I looked at him.

"He may no longer be with us, but his legacy is still alive. And you're the one who will carry it forward."

I swallowed. "Thank you."

My eyes drifted past them. Still searching him Nerissa noticed it, as always.

"Sam is still on the way from the coastline."

I looked at her.

"He'll reach town tonight."

"I wasn't looking for him." The lie came too quickly.

Nerissa gave me a sad smile. She knew me too well.

"You don't have to pretend with me."

I looked away. The funeral continued. I listened to words about my grandfather's kindness. His vision. His achievements. His legacy.

Everyone talked about the man he had been. Nobody talked about the fact that I had lost my grandfather. Nobody seemed to understand that I wasn't thinking about his company. I was thinking about the first time he taught me how to ride a bicycle.

The way he used to call me his little storm whenever I argued with him. The way he had looked at me during his final days. As if he knew he wouldn't be there much longer.

I should have stayed beside him longer. I should have said more. I should have-

"Caleste." My mother's voice pulled me back.

The funeral was over. Adrian stood beside my stepfather. My mother had left my little brother with her husband and was already walking toward me.

"Adrian is waiting."

NB : Hello my dear readers, this is the second book of The Revenge Affair My Bestfriend's Husband Offered Me. If you didn't read the first book yet, check out my profile to find the book. But it is still okay if you want to read the second book directly too