Broken Bonds of Childhood

Synopsis

The day my family fell from grace, my father used me as the last bargaining chip and took me to the three men I'd grown up with. He said, "I have nothing left to offer but my daughter." However, those men, my so-called childhood friends, treated me like trash. Axel Reed, always irritable and unreasonable, knocked the table with his knuckles, sneering with arrogance and contempt. "Marriage of convenience? You think Charlotte Whitney deserves me? She's a madwoman. I'll pass. If anyone else wants her, go ahead." Blake Perry, who always pretended to be sweet, blinked those innocent eyes of his and sounded falsely regretful. "Charlotte is great, but I've always thought of her as a sister. I can't marry her." And Julian Foster, the one I thought was a shining star, pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. His eyes behind the lenses were cold, his voice flat. "A woman who's all brawn and no brains will tarnish the Foster name." With a few words, they shredded twenty years of our friendship and my dignity. My parents' faces went from awkward to pale in that instant, but I smiled under everyone's cold gaze. I met their judging, picky, disdainful stares and spoke softly, my voice low but enough to make the whole room go silent. "Gentlemen, especially my three childhood 'friends,' I think you're mistaken. "I had no idea my parents would talk about marriage and cause a stir. Actually, I already have a boyfriend."