My Tyrant Husband Blackmailed Me To Stay

When Elaina turned eighteen, the families revisited the arrangement.

This time, no one spoke for her.

Adrian asked whether she wished to continue. Linda made it clear that Elaina could refuse without damaging the relationship between the families. Grant, already spending most of his time in Geneva, said he had no objection to a formal engagement.

Elaina said yes.

By then, the awkward teenager she had once been had grown into a poised young woman. She had completed high school with honors and accepted a place at the Royal College of Music in London. Her life revolved around composition, performance, and her father’s worsening health.

Grant’s life moved in the opposite direction. He joined the Wheeler Group, traveled constantly, and developed a reputation for ruthless efficiency. The press called him brilliant, arrogant, and impossible to predict.

They rarely saw each other.

At first, they called. Then the time difference and Grant’s travel schedule made conversations irregular. Eventually, he suggested writing letters.

“I can write from airports and hotels,” he told her. “You can read them when you have time. No missed calls. No waking each other at two in the morning.”

Elaina found the idea unexpectedly romantic.

Over the next two years, 173 letters arrived from Geneva, Paris, Singapore, New York, and Dubai. Grant wrote about cities, negotiations, absurd dinners, and people he disliked. He rarely wrote directly about emotion, but he always remembered her examinations, performances, and her father’s medical appointments.

Elaina kept every letter.

By the time she turned twenty, she believed she understood him better than anyone else did.

That spring, the Reyes family held a sixtieth-birthday celebration for Adrian at their Seattle estate. His cancer had returned after two surgeries, and everyone understood that the gathering carried more meaning than a normal birthday.

The Wheelers flew in from Geneva to discuss the wedding.

Six black cars arrived beneath a gray morning sky. Linda stepped out first, elegant in a navy coat and wearing a sapphire pendant that had belonged to Grant’s grandmother.

Elaina hurried down the steps to greet her.

“Aunt Linda, welcome.”

Linda took both her hands. “Look at you. London has made you even more beautiful.”

Behind her, Grant emerged from the next car in a charcoal suit. He seemed taller than Elaina remembered, more controlled, and somehow more distant.

Their eyes met.

For a moment, the years between their meetings disappeared.

Grant’s friend, Adrian “Archie” Laurent, climbed out after him. Archie came from a wealthy French family and possessed the careless charm of a man who had never been denied anything important.

He stared openly at Elaina.

“My God,” he murmured in French. “You failed to mention she was extraordinary.”

Grant’s expression cooled. “Watch yourself.”

Archie immediately raised both hands. “A compliment. Nothing more.”

Elaina did not understand the exchange, or pretended not to. She smiled politely and led Linda inside.

At the entrance, her brothers were waiting. Julian, the eldest, wore a black suit and looked as severe as ever. Reece, her twin, greeted Grant with the pleasant smile he used when he was trying to hide distrust.

“Long flight?” Reece asked.

“Long enough,” Grant replied.

Archie offered his hand. “Archie Laurent.”

“Reece Reyes.”

The name caught Elaina’s attention. At least Grant’s friend was not another member of her own family, as earlier introductions had mistakenly implied.

Inside, the house filled with music, conversation, and the soft clink of glassware.

Elaina believed the day would mark the beginning of her future.

She did not yet know it would end her engagement.