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Mr. Martinez bent toward them, focused. “We don’t want your lofty ideas of love, Fabian. We want dedication. You have to do it for the sake of these families, this dynasty. You have to do it. There are no feelings in this game.”

Sandra did not speak but looked at Fabian as if willing him to do what she wanted him to do.

Fabian felt the walls closing in again, the inflexibility of their expectations pressing strangleholds on him. He had believed a discussion with Martinez would help clear things up. But now, it felt like nothing had changed.

Fabian balled his fists by his sides, feeling his heartbeat accelerate. He had always recognized this day would arrive, that the shackles of responsibilities thrust upon him since his formative years would become impossible to evade. But that surely did not make the pill easy to swallow.

“You’ve both made your positions clear,” Fabian said, his voice low but firm. “But marriage should not be understood as a business transaction. Tasha is worth more