Chapter 2

Quentin

I should step back. I should walk away. I can't let my life be marked by this one move; I don't need to do this. There are other women I can marry to fulfill Arthur's condition, and without hurting my son further. It doesn't have to be her.

It has to be her. No one else but her.

She looks from me to Felix, then back at me. Her gaze widens in surprise before she firms her lips. Her eyes flash. "What made you think it would be a good idea to propose to the woman your son almost married?" she spits out.

Felix reels back. "Y-you p-p-p-proposed to her?" he sputters.

"I'm trying to set right your wrongs," I say in a low voice. And for the first time in my life, I'm following my heart. Not since Felix's mother left, have I felt this overwhelmed.

""Tis some visitor. Tapping at my chamber door, only this and nothing more,"I say without taking my gaze off her features.

"You're quoting Poe?" She blinks.

My son makes a rude noise. "Of course, you're quoting Poe. Always did have a nonsensical verse when you had no other excuses to offer."

"I didn't mean to hurt you." I hear the words and cringe. Isn't that what Felix just told her? And am I directing those words at her, or at my son?

My aunt shoulders her way through the onlookers, none of whom have yet left the church. They came to see a wedding and were awarded with the spectacle of something far more interesting. When she joins the group, there's a look of trepidation on her face.

Among the crowd in the pews, I catch sight of my nephew Knox. He's staring at me with a look of shock on his face.

An older man rolls down the aisle in his wheelchair and comes to a halt next to the woman I proposed to.

"What's going on?" He scowls at me. "Did you propose to my daughter?"

My aunt's face pales. She opens and shuts her mouth, as if she is having difficulty forming any words.

I turn away from her accusing stare and draw myself to my full height. "It's true, I asked—" Shit. Shit. Shit. I don't know her name, but given Felix called her Vivi… "Vivian to marry me," I say, as if I"ve known it all along. Going by the lack of surprise, I know I"m right. "No title defines something so pure. By any name, the feelings endure,"I murmur.

Her forehead furrows. "Shakespeare," she whispers.

"Fucking Bard. You always did think you could use a verse to get away with anything," my son says in a bitter voice.

"Poems have no influence on me." Vivian tips up her chin.

"Then how did you know who I was quoting?" I allow my lips to twitch.

Her features grow mutinous.

"And I'm not trying to excuse my actions." I turn to my son. "I'm not trying to show you up."

Felix scoffs. "I don't believe you. Never have. Never will. You're a selfish bastard. You only think of yourself."

I wince again. "I deserve that, and all your anger. I did not mean for this to happen, believe me. It was… Something beyond my control. I couldn't stop myself."

"That's your excuse?" He levels a look filled with so much scorn in my direction, that I feel my cheeks redden.

"The one thing I laid claim to. The one thing I wanted to make mine. And you couldn't resist screwing it up?" He spits out.

I see Vivian stiffen at his words.

"You're the one who screwed it up, when you did a runner on your own wedding."

My son's face grows so red, I'm sure he's going to have a cardiac event.

"Felix, please?—"

"Fuck you, Quentin." The next second, he throws himself at me. I see him coming and could step aside but choose not to. I deserve his anger and his hate, and it"s better he takes it out on me than keep it inside.

He slams into my chest. I take his weight without flinching. My son, however, lets out an anguished yell. He grabs his shoulder and, with pain-filled eyes, glares at me. "You're an arsehole."

"I am."

"I told you not to come. I told you I didn't want you here. I knew you'd send everything tits up." His chest heaves.

I open my mouth to point out it was he who, in fact, started the ball rolling in that direction, then wisely rein myself in.

"Did you hurt yourself?" I reach for him, but he steps back.

"Don't touch me. I don't want anything to do with you," Felix yells.

"How dare you, father and son, play with my emotions?" Vivian stamps her foot. "How dare you embarrass me like this? It was bad enough what you did." She jerks her chin in Felix's direction. "Then you"—she trains her gaze on me—"make it a thousand times worse. Did you think you could make up for what Felix did by substituting yourself? Did you think I"d be so relieved to be getting married to someone—anyone—I"d jump at your offer? I"m not some pawn or possession for you to stake a claim to. I"m not the prize in some twisted competition."

"Vivi— " Felix begins.

"Vivian—" I say at the same time.

"Will the two of you keep quiet?" She plants her palms on her hips, and glowers between us. "I have had enough of the both of you."

"But—" I take a step forward, and she shakes her head.

"Haven't you done enough for one day? Will you please leave me alone?"

She spins around and walks down the aisle. The crowd of people part, and head held high, she glides away. I make to go after her, but her father rolls to a stop in front of me. I pause, torn between stepping around him to follow her and standing here, letting her go.

He looks me up and down. "What are your intentions toward my daughter?"

She stalks to the door. In a flash, I see my future slipping away from me, and I know I have a choice to make. "Vivian!" I call out.