Chapter 6
Nathalie blinked. “A what? Proposal you say.”
“An arranged marriage,” her father said, as if it were just business. “With a good family.”
She stared at both of them and laughed. Then when she saw that no one was laughing, her brows pulled together. “How on earth is an arranged marriage a benefit to me? You’re talking about Lana, right? You both were probably meant to have this conversation with her, but you decided to spill the tea with me first. Great.”
Eloise shook her head once. “No.”
Nathalie looked at her, confused. “Then who?”
Her father didn’t hesitate. “You.”
Nathalie blinked again. A small, strange laugh escaped her lips if she thought she heard wrong. “Me? If it’s a joke, kindly stop it.”
Her stepmother nodded slowly, like it made perfect sense.
There was a pause. The silence in the room changed. It got heavier. Nathalie’s chest started to tighten. Her hands curled around the edge of the table. “You can’t be serious.”
“We are,” David said calmly. “It’s for the good of the family. This has been in the works for a while now.”
Nathalie’s eyes shifted to her grandmother. The one person she trusted in this house. But Grandma didn’t say anything. She didn’t even make contact with her eyes. She just looked down, her fingers shaking slightly around her napkin.
Something cracked in Nathalie’s chest.
“You’re… you’re selling me off?” Her voice was shaking now. “Like a… like a product? You both are not in the right position to do that.”
Eloise’s lips tightened. “Don’t be dramatic, Nathalie. Enough of all this immature attitude.”
“Dramatic?” Nathalie pushed her chair back hard. It made a loud sound as it scraped the floor. “Look who’s telling me not to be dramatic. You didn’t even ask me. You just… decided my life without saying a word to me?”
David let out a slow sigh like he was getting tired of the noise. “This marriage honors your mother’s legacy. She would have wanted this as well. I want to use this to pay my last respect to her.”
Nathalie turned her whole body to face him. Her voice dropped, but it cut sharply.
“Don’t bring my mother into this. Don’t do that.” Nathalie replied, pointing her fingers at her father.
David’s eyes stayed firm. “She always wanted to protect this family’s name. This alliance will do that.”
“I don’t care.” Nathalie’s voice was loud now, her eyes burning. “I don’t care what name you’re trying to protect. It’s none of my business. I’m not some token you can pass around. I’m not a pawn. I’m your daughter, not some……some business deal!” She added.
Her chest rose and fell quickly. Her heart was pounding. She could feel the heat rising to her face and the sting of tears she refused to let fall.
No one said anything.
“I won’t do it. You can’t force me. If you need someone to secure a business deal or protect a crazy alliance, Lana is a perfect match, not me,” she said through her teeth.
Eloise tilted her head, still trying to stay calm. “Watch your mouth, Nathalie. You’re not thinking clearly. You have an opportunity to marry into a powerful family and you are rejecting it, How foolish of you.”
“I’ll speak in a way that pleases me. You have no right to tell me what to say and what not to. By the way, I’m thinking just fine and I’m not foolish.” Nathalie shot back.
David stood up slowly, like a judge giving a verdict. “You will do it, Nathalie. You don’t have a choice.”
“No. To hell with your crazy proposal.” She replied with anger.
He stepped closer, voice lower. “You ungrateful child.”
Her grandmother’s voice finally came out. It was soft and worn. “David, stop.”
But he didn’t. “She needs to understand…….”
“She’s hurting,” Grandma said gently. “You’re not hearing her.”
“I said I’m not doing it!” Nathalie yelled. Her voice broke near the end. Her hands were shaking now, but she held them tight.
David’s eyes narrowed. His voice was cold. “You owe this family.”
Nathalie stared at him. Then something snapped. She laughed bitterly. “I owe you? What a shameless thing to say. I owe this family nothing, not even a penny.”
“Yes,” he said without blinking. “Everything you have, everything you are…….it came from this family.”
“No,” she said, her voice rising. “What I have, I fought for! You never gave me anything but orders. You never cared about me, not when Mum died and when I was drowning in grief. You pushed me away, remember? Or have you forgotten so soon?” She added.
David stayed silent.
“I pulled myself out. I built my own life. I acquired my wealth all on my own with my name. You were never proud of that. You never even called to ask if I was okay!” She continued.
Eloise cut in, “You’ve always been rebellious, Nathalie. This is why we……..”
“Don’t!” she shouted. “Don’t make it sound like you care! And I didn’t ask for your input in this conversation. I’ll advise you to keep to yourself and allow a father and his child to have their moment.”
David pointed a finger. “You are part of this family whether you like it or not.”
“And you’re proving every reason why I tried to get away from you in the first place,” Nathalie snapped. “You want control, not a daughter.”
He stepped forward again. “You will marry him.”
“I’d rather die,” she said coldly.
Eloise gasped softly.
Her grandmother stood up now too. “That’s enough! All of you!”
The room fell into a hard silence. Nathalie was breathing hard. Her fists were joined together. Her eyes stung.
Her voice was quiet now. “You called me here to trap me. You never missed me. You just needed something like always.”
Her father didn’t answer, nor did Eloise.
Nathalie looked at her grandmother, her face softening a little. “I’m sorry, Grandma but I can’t stand here and take all this rubbish.”
Her grandmother nodded slowly. Her lips trembled, but she didn’t stop.
Nathalie walked out.
She reached the front door and pulled it open. Cold air rushed in, stinging her cheeks and arms. It was a bit late, and the wind carried the sharp scent of the evening.
She didn’t have her bag. She didn’t care. She just needed to leave.
“Wait!” her grandmother’s voice called behind her, soft but urgent.
Nathalie stopped. Her chest was rising and falling fast. Her hands were folded into fists at her sides. She turned slowly, trying to hold herself together.
Her grandmother walked toward her, not as fast as she used to, but steadily. She reached out and touched Nathalie’s arm.
“Nat…” her grandmother called.
“I can’t do this,” Nathalie whispered, shaking her head. “I won’t let them decide my life, not again.”
Her grandmother’s eyes filled with tears. “I know, baby. I know. I don’t agree with them either.”
“Then why didn’t you say something?” Her voice cracked as she spoke. “You just sat there. You let them throw me into it like I don’t matter.”
“I tried,” Grandma said gently. “I spoke to your father before you came. I begged him not to do this. He wouldn’t listen.”
Nathalie’s lip shook. “I thought you called me here because you missed me,” she said, her voice breaking. “But it was a trap.”
Grandma shook her head quickly. “No, sweetheart, never. I did miss you. I always miss you. I miss the way you used to come into the kitchen barefoot. I miss hearing your laugh in this house.”
Nathalie looked down. Her throat burned. “I thought maybe we could just sit and talk,” she said. “Like old times. You’d tell me stories, or play that silly old song on the piano… I didn’t think I’d walk into some……deal.”
“They didn’t tell me everything, Nat. I promise you. I thought it was just dinner. When I found out what they were planning, it was too late to stop it.” Her grandmother explained.
“I should’ve never come back,” Nathalie said.
Grandma reached for her hand. “Come with me,” she said quietly.
Nathalie didn’t move right away. But then she gave in and let her grandmother lead her to a small room beside the hallway. It was the room no one used much anymore. The one that still smelled like books and lemon polish. There was an old brown piano in the corner and a worn-out chair by the window.
She sat slowly. Her knees felt like they would give out if she didn’t.
Her grandmother sat beside her and held her hand in both of hers. Her skin was warm and thin, soft like paper.
“Your mother never wanted this life for you,” she said. “She always said, ‘Let Nathalie choose her path.’ She used to say you were born with a wild heart.”
Nathalie looked at her. “Then why is Dad saying this is what she wanted?”
