"Yes, Dad. I agree." My voice was steady, my eyes fixed on a ceiling crack. My father needed a lifeline for his company, and I, Ava, was his duty, a merger by marriage.
But before I could even process the words, my stepbrother, Liam, snatched the phone from my hand, his grip crushing, his eyes blazing. "Who the hell are you marrying?" he snarled, a harsh laugh ripping through him when he learned of my defiance. "You live in my house, Ava. Everything you do is my business."