Chapter 2

Audrey scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Regret? That word isn't in my vocabulary."

Audrey turned to our parents, sounding entirely justified. "Dad, Mom, since Clara is willing to marry him, let's just make the switch. She is a Holloway too. A daughter is a daughter, right?

"Besides, Ethan and I are planning to get married anyway. We might as well make it a double wedding!"

My dad, Sebastian, turned purple with rage. He slammed his fist on the table and raised a hand to yell, but Audrey quickly hid behind Ethan.

Ethan adjusted his glasses. He looked like a weak intellectual, but his words were pure emotional blackmail. "Mr. and Mrs. Holloway, Audrey and I are truly in love.

"Since Clara and Mr. Mendes seem to have an understanding, wouldn't this be a win for everyone?"

My mom, Martha, wiped her fake tears. She looked at the furious Carlos, then at her unruly oldest daughter, and finally at me.

Her eyes were full of calculation. "Clara, sweetie. Look at this mess. Carlos already gave us a massive cash settlement for the wedding.

"If we cancel now, we have to pay back a fortune. Your sister is being reckless, but you have always been our good girl. Why don't you just take her place?"

My heart turned ice cold. This was my own mother. To protect her favorite daughter's fake romance and to keep the money, she was willing to throw me to the wolves without a second thought.

"Mom, if you want me to marry him, I will. But I have a condition," I said, my voice steady.

"What condition?" she asked eagerly.

I pointed right at Audrey and spoke slowly and clearly. "Since my sister wants to chase true love, she doesn't get to take a single dime from this family.

"The entire cash gift and all the registry items Carlos brought will come with me."

"In your dreams!" Audrey shrieked. "That fifty thousand dollars is already in Dad's bank account. It belongs to the Holloway family. You are just a girl getting married off. You have no right to take our family's money!"

I glared at her coldly. "Let's get one thing straight, Audrey. You are the one begging me to clean up your mess. If you don't like my terms, that's fine.

"I won't marry him. You can clean up this disaster yourself. Give Carlos his money back and deal with his anger on your own."

I turned around, pretending to walk away.

Carlos stood on the sidelines, watching with cold detachment. A playful smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. He was enjoying the show.

He probably wanted to see just how shameless the Holloway family could be.

"Wait, Clara, let's talk about this!" My mom grabbed my arm and shot Audrey a dirty look. "Keep your mouth shut! You are the one who messed this up!"

Audrey crossed her arms and looked defiant. "Mom, why are you taking her side? I am doing this for the family's reputation!

"If I actually married a brute like Carlos, we would never be able to show our faces in town again.

"Ethan is going to move back to the city and get into politics. You need to look at the bigger picture!"

The word "politics" made my dad pause. A city boy turning into a politician was the ultimate golden ticket.

Compared to a rough-around-the-edges contractor like Carlos, Ethan's promises suddenly sounded very appealing.

My dad cleared his throat and tapped his knuckles on the table. "Alright, enough arguing.

"Audrey makes a fair point. Ethan is an educated man with a bright future. But Audrey, you handled this poorly."

He looked at me, his eyes shifting guiltily. "Clara, about the money. We really cannot let you take it all. We have bills to pay, and your brother needs to buy a house someday.

"How about this? You can take the expensive appliances Carlos brought. But the cash stays here."

The last shred of affection I had for them vanished completely.

Fifty thousand dollars.

That was a massive amount of money.

Carlos had bled himself dry to give Audrey the perfect wedding gift.

Now that I was the bride, they wanted to keep the cash and get rid of me at the same time.

******

"Dad, I can hear you calculating from a mile away," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

My mom's face darkened. "Clara, don't be so difficult. You are going to live a comfortable life.

"Carlos has plenty of money, he won't care about this cash. Leave it for your brother's future. That is your duty as a sister!"

Duty. In my old life, that word was exactly what ruined me.

I looked straight at my dad, who was staring at his boots and pretending not to hear. "Dad, are you giving me the money or not?

He finally looked up, his eyes hard. "Nonsense! No bride takes the entire settlement with her. You will marry him, or else."

He paused, his tone turning menacing. "Actually, you don't have a choice. We already spent some of Carlos's money, so you are going with him!"

I shook off my mother's grip. My voice was terrifyingly calm.