CHAPTER 1

THE PROPOSAL

The sound of the clock was louder than usual, Emily Chen sat very uncomfortably at the edge of her father’s chair in his study. He had called her immediately after he came back from a business meeting and she wondered what he wanted with her.

She watched the beautiful night sky from his window but she couldn't stop her mind from running wild with possible scenarios.

Her father's sharp and firm broke her out of her thinking. “Emily, you need to understand. This is not a suggestion. It is the only way.”

She looked at him from the corner of her eyes, her heart in a knot of anger and confusion. This was the man who raised her to believe she had equal rights and protection, who had also taught her that family should come over everything. But this? This felt like the biggest betrayal ever.

“You're telling me….you've made arrangements for me to marry James Knight?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

He nodded firmly, “The Knights are the only ones with enough power to save us from this. They agreed to a business merger but only under one condition, that it is sealed by a marriage.”

Emily's chest tightened, how could this have happened? The Knights were her family’s greatest rivals in everything ranging from real estate to stock market. And James freaking Knight? That man was known for his reputation of being ruthless and icy cold towards everyone other than his family. And he was the last person on Emily's lists of potential husband's.

“What makes you think that this is even a good idea? What if they're tricking you into doing it for their own gain?” She said, sharper than she intended.

“Because,” her father replied, giving her a cautious look as his voice hardened, “if you don't do this, everything we've worked for ... everything your grandfather has built will come crumbling down. We have enemies from different corners coming after us Emily, James is the only way we can keep them apart.”

She felt her defensiveness wavering, the pressure of keeping her family’s legacy weighing on her. She remembered how her grandfather had told her stories of how he built the company from scratch. Was she really going to stand back and watch it fall to the ground when she could do something about it?

She quickly recollected herself, hoping that her father would somehow change his mind and see this as unreasonable. “And James agreed to this willingly? Without question?”

Her father paused, his expression hard to read. “Yes he did, but he's as reluctant as you are now. But his family has convinced him to see value in this alliance, as much as we do.”

A knife could cut through the silence. She kept weighing everything her father had told her in her mind, this was not an easy decision for anyone to make. She knew what her father was asking and she knew what she was meant to do. A sacrifice she had to make, one she never expected. A sacrifice that would strip her from every right she thought she had up until now.

“But… I..I don't even know him.” She said quietly, her father could barely hear her, it was almost as if she was talking to herself.

Her father stood up, walking to her, showing her a gentle side of him that she had never seen. “You'll get to know him, Emily, if that is what you want. But this must be done, for us. For your family.”

Of course he'd do this, she expected it but she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Her father would always find a way to guilt trip her into something she didn't want to do, all in the name of family. Looking at all this now, she had no choice in the matter, her father had already decided what needed to be done and that is what she must do, follow his words.

Emily could have never imagined something like this would happen to her, sure she was the only child but that didn't mean her parents could do this to her. They had always been in charge of making decisions for her but this was them crossing a line.

With one final breath, Emily nodded, the decision piercing a knife through her chest. “Fine.” She said, almost a whisper. “But do not expect me to act all loving towards him, this is a business arrangement and we will treat it as nothing less than that.” She said with so much venom but it was not directed to her father.

He put his hands on her shoulder and nodded, as a show of acceptance to her terms. “Nobody expects you to act that way, Emily. Just do what needs to be done.”

As she walked back to her room, leaving her father's study. Her mind raced with a series of unanswered questions, doubts, and a sense of dread that she could already taste. She had never met James Knight but all the stories she heard about him did nothing good to his reputation. She wondered how she could tolerate someone like that for a considerable amount of time. James Knight had always been a name she heard but now it won't just be a name anymore. Soon, it would be the name of her husband.

And if this marriage was meant to strengthen her family’s legacy and keep them away from financial ruin, she was going to do everything in her power to see it through. She wouldn't let anyone see her as something they can just use and toss away any longer. Getting her family out of this was her main priority and she won't let anything sidetrack her from doing what she was meant to do.

But she made one promise before entering her room. If this was the only thing to do, she would be damned if she does protect her fragile heart in the process, at all cost.