Chapter 4 - The Fiancée Nobody Expected
The warehouse fire made the evening news.
The official explanation was electrical failure.
Nico watched the report in silence.
Clara threw a pillow at the television.
“That building hasn’t had electricity in nine years.”
“Correct.”
“So they’re lying.”
“Correct.”
“And you’re strangely calm.”
Nico looked at the pillow on the floor.
“You want me to throw furniture?”
“It might make me feel better.”
“I like that furniture.”
For the first time since the fire, Clara smiled.
Then Daniel entered.
The smile disappeared.
“What happened?”
“Margaret filed an emergency petition.”
Clara’s shoulders fell.
“For what?”
“She claims Nico abducted you.”
Clara stared.
“You’re joking.”
“I rarely do.”
“She brought me to him!”
“We have video.”
“She tried to sell me!”
“We also have that on video.”
“Then how can she—”
“Because truth and accusation are not the same thing,” Nico said.
Clara paced.
“She wants me home.”
“She wants you under her control.”
“Same thing to Margaret.”
Daniel continued.
“There’s another problem. Victor Dane’s attorney contacted the court this afternoon.”
“Why?”
“He claims your father agreed to sell the property before his death.”
Clara stopped.
“That’s impossible.”
“They produced a contract.”
Nico held out his hand.
Daniel passed him a copy.
Clara read over his shoulder.
Her father’s signature appeared at the bottom.
“It looks real.”
Nico examined it.
“That’s the point.”
Clara sank into a chair.
“So what happens?”
“Nothing tonight,” Daniel said. “But Margaret’s petition could create pressure.”
“Meaning?”
“She’s portraying you as a vulnerable woman manipulated by a dangerous man.”
Clara looked at Nico.
“You are technically a dangerous man.”
“That’s not helping.”
“Sorry.”
Nico returned the contract.
“What would make the petition collapse quickly?”
Daniel hesitated.
“One thing would complicate Margaret’s argument.”
Clara noticed his expression.
“What?”
Daniel looked between them.
“A public statement from Clara.”
“That’s easy.”
“Not exactly.”
Nico’s eyes narrowed.
“Daniel.”
“If Clara publicly establishes that she is voluntarily staying here because she has a personal relationship with you, Margaret’s kidnapping narrative becomes considerably harder to sustain.”
Clara crossed her arms.
“What kind of personal relationship?”
Daniel cleared his throat.
Nico looked like he already hated the answer.
“A serious one.”
“No.”
“You haven’t heard it.”
“No.”
Clara pointed at Nico.
“I know that face. Whatever you’re thinking, no.”
Nico said, “For once, we agree.”
Daniel sighed.
“An engagement.”
Clara laughed.
Nobody else did.
Her laughter faded.
“You’re serious.”
“Only publicly.”
“No.”
Nico nodded.
“No.”
Daniel continued calmly.
“Margaret’s claim relies on the idea that Clara was taken by a stranger. If she publicly says she chose to leave with her fiancé—”
Nico stood.
“Absolutely not.”
Clara looked at him.
Strangely, his immediate refusal bothered her.
“Why not?”
He stared at her.
“You just said no.”
“I know what I said.”
“Then why are you arguing?”
“Because you said it like pretending to be engaged to me would be unbearable.”
Daniel quietly left the room.
Nico noticed.
“Coward.”
The door closed.
Clara folded her arms.
“Well?”
Nico exhaled.
“You spent years being controlled by someone who treated your life like property. I’m not putting another claim on you, fake or otherwise, because it’s legally convenient.”
That stopped her.
He continued.
“If you want to make a public statement, make one. Tell them I’m unpleasant. Tell them I have terrible furniture. Tell them whatever you want.”
“I like your furniture.”
“That isn’t the point.”
Clara almost smiled.
Then she thought about Margaret.
Victor Dane.
The burned warehouse.
Her father’s letters.
Every person trying to decide what Clara should do.
Maybe Daniel’s idea wasn’t good.
Maybe it was ridiculous.
But for once, ridiculous could be Clara’s decision.
“What if I choose it?”
Nico became still.
“What?”
“The engagement.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I know.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“That also sounds like deciding for me.”
His jaw tightened.
She stepped closer.
“How long?”
“Clara—”
“How long would we need to pretend?”
“Until Margaret’s petition is dismissed and we secure your legal position.”
“So a few weeks?”
“Possibly.”
She held out her hand.
Nico stared at it.
“What are you doing?”
“Making a deal.”
“I don’t make deals like this.”
“You’re apparently terrible at being a feared crime boss.”
His mouth twitched.
She kept her hand extended.
“Rules.”
He sighed.
“Of course there are rules.”
“Separate rooms.”
“Yes.”
“No touching unless we’ve both agreed.”
“Yes.”
“No lying to me about my father.”
His expression became serious.
“Yes.”
“No using the engagement to control my property.”
“Absolutely.”
“And if either of us wants it finished, it’s finished.”
Nico looked at her hand.
Then her face.
“And one more.”
“What?”
“You never again say someone bought you for one hundred dollars.”
Clara’s humor disappeared.
Nico’s voice softened.
“That money was never your price.”
She swallowed.
“What was it?”
“A warning.”
“To Margaret?”
“Yes.”
Clara slowly nodded.
“Deal.”
Nico took her hand.
They shook.
Twenty-four hours later, half the city was watching a press conference outside the courthouse.
Margaret stood on the courthouse steps with two attorneys.
She was in the middle of telling reporters that Clara had been manipulated when a black sedan arrived.
Nico stepped out.
Cameras exploded with flashes.
Then Clara emerged.
She wore a pale blue dress Rosa had helped her choose.
Her knees felt weak.
Nico quietly asked, “Still your decision?”
“Yes.”
He held out his hand.
She took it.
They walked toward the cameras.
Margaret’s face went white.
“Clara!”
Clara stopped beside Nico.
A reporter shouted, “Ms. Whitlock, were you abducted?”
“No.”
“Are you being held against your will?”
“No.”
Margaret pushed forward.
“She doesn’t know what she’s saying!”
Clara looked directly at her stepmother.
For years, Margaret had spoken for her.
That ended now.
“I know exactly what I’m saying.”
Another reporter shouted.
“Then why are you staying with Nicolas Rinaldi?”
Clara felt Nico go still beside her.
This was the moment.
She could stop.
He would let her.
Instead she slipped her hand through his arm.
“Because Nicolas and I are engaged.”
Silence.
Then chaos.
Cameras flashed.
Reporters shouted.
Margaret screamed Clara’s name.
Nico looked down at her with a mixture of disbelief and something dangerously close to admiration.
Clara smiled for the cameras.
Then whispered without moving her lips.
“You owe me a ring.”
His quiet answer came immediately.
“I was afraid you’d say that.”
By sunset, every television station in the city carried the same headline.
NICOLAS RINALDI ENGAGED TO WATERFRONT HEIRESS.
But one person was watching more closely than the others.
Victor Dane.
And when he saw Clara smiling beside Nico, he picked up his phone.
“Change of plan,” he said.
A voice on the other end asked what he wanted done.
Victor watched Clara’s image freeze on the screen.
May you like
“Find the lighthouse before they do.”
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