I Married a Millionaire

six: darius, meet cara

With his hair slicked back, he looked dashing in the black suit he had donned on tonight.

Darius.

Darius towered over his father as he studied the room.

Then, his eyes landed on mine.

My father beamed. "Cara, I'm sure no introductions are necessary."

"This is Darius, the son of my very good friend, Donovan."

"You're engaged to him."

-----

Cara

I couldn't believe my ears. "Engaged?!" I repeated in disbelief. Sure, I had my doubts about this dinner, but the thought of my father marrying me off never crossed my mind. "You're kidding, right?" It's a joke. It must be a joke. My Dad must have felt so awkward in the presence of the Clemontes that he chose to break the ice with such a terrible joke. I looked over at him, expecting, no, hoping, he'd crack up and tease me for being so gullible.

But he still had that silly, obnoxious grin on him. That silly grin I'd give anything to wipe off.

"It seems Cara isn't aware of our arrangement, Jefferson." Donovan Clemonte's resounding voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Would that be a problem?" he raised an eyebrow as he gave me the once-over. I noticed that his gaze lingered on my chest and I immediately turned away in disgust.

"Not at all, Donovan! Will you excuse us for a bit?" my Dad sounded so meek and submissive that it had my skin crawling. He dragged me out of the room with him. As the door shut behind us, I could vaguely hear voices being raised inside.

He navigated us past opulent white marble statues and found a quiet corner in what I presumed was one of the many gardens of this sprawling mansion. Once there, I shook his hand away.

"What is the meaning of this?" I spat. "I'm engaged?! To Darius Clemonte?!"

"A dream come true if you ask me."

At his words, my heart sank.

"You're marrying into one of the wealthiest families of the country! What more can a girl ask for?" He continued matter-of-factly.

I opened my mouth but I couldn't find the right words to say. After all that I've done for him, I'm just a girl to be wedded off? That was my worth?

"Donovan owes me a solid from way back. You know I'm not one to beg, but Donovan approached me!" My Dad looked almost starry-eyed at this point. "He needs the directors to believe that Darius is mature enough to take over the Clemonte empire. He thinks marriage is his solution and he chose you to be his future daughter-in-law!" He continued to prattle on. "Now that you're a Clemonte, Jefferson's will be saved!"

"What about me?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"You're okay with selling your daughter off for your company?" There was no point in mincing my words. This wasn't an 'engagement ', my father was blatantly selling me off.

For the first time tonight, my father seemed stumped.

"It's not like that..." his voice trailed off.

"THEN WHAT IS IT?!" I snapped. My blood was boiling. Never have I felt so betrayed.

"I need this, Cara." My father's face fell. That smirk was finally gone. "I'm a complete failure!" he sobbed. "My wife left me, my company is about to go bust, and I have to marry my daughter off..." he sank to his knees and buried his face in his hands. "I have no choice, Cara. I'm so sorry, but I need this. This is our only hope. You're my only hope. I'm doing this for you..."