CHAPTER 54: GREGORY’S BIG DECISION

[Carter Mansion]

The door slammed so hard the sound echoed through every hallway of the Carter mansion.

Melissa flinched from the living room sofa and the book in her hand slipped a little.

Only one person in the world slammed doors like that and that was her husband which meant something was very, very wrong.

"Greg?" she stood instantly.

But he didn’t answer.

He stormed in with his breath ragged, jaw locked and fists trembling at his sides. His tie was loosened halfway and his usually calm eyes were burning with something sharper and wilder.

He didn’t even remove his coat, he paced the length of the room like a man trying not to punch through the nearest wall.

"Gregory?" Melissa approached slowly.

"What happened?"

Gregory stopped pacing abruptly.

He turned to her, and the fury simmering beneath his skin was so heavy it made the air feel charged.

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he threw the coat onto the nearest chair and ran a hand through his hair with a sharp and restless movement.

"That bastard," he muttered under his breath. "Arrogant, vile, delusional—"

Melissa stepped closer with heart pounding. "Greg, talk to me."

"That man," he growled. "I should have walked out the moment I entered that damn office."

Melissa’s voice softened. "Benjamin?"

Gregory let out a humourless, jagged laugh, rubbing both hands over his face. "He insulted our daughter."

Melissa felt her stomach twist. "What did he say?"

Gregory let out a bitter laugh, it was the kind a man lets out when he is both furious and wounded.

She grabbed his sleeves and asked again, "Greg, what did he say?"

Gregory dropped his hands and looked at her with his eyes still burning in rage.

wounded.

"He called his offer a favour. Said Evelyn was lucky Alexander was even considering her after the scandal." His hands balled into fists. "Lucky—as if she is beneath them. As if she is damaged."

Melissa’s breath caught. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach.

Gregory swallowed hard, "He said Evelyn should be grateful Alexander even looks at her and that no one from our circle would want her now."

He gritted his teeth as he continued, "Her reputation has gone so low she should count it as a blessing that the Reid heir is willing to be seen with her."

"No—" she whispered. "He didn’t."

Gregory’s next exhale was a snarl. "I swear, Melissa, I almost put him through his own damn glass window."

He paced again, his voice rising with every stride. "He questioned her character, her worth as our Evelyn hasn’t spent her entire life carrying herself with grace. As if that man’s family hasn’t caused her more pain than she ever deserved.""

He stopped abruptly, gripping the back of a chair so tightly his knuckles went white. "He compared our daughter to scandals and to damaged goods. He said Alexander’s interest was more mercy than affection."

He slammed his hand on the chair, "The nerve, the sheer arrogance of that man."

Melissa approached him slowly. "Greg, look at me."

And he did.

His eyes were red, not from tears but from rage he wasn’t accustomed to feeling.

"Evelyn is still just a girl—" Melissa whispered. "Our girl, our baby. She doesn’t deserve any of this, especially not because of Jack Reid’s actions and Benjamin’s filthy mouth."

Gregory’s jaw worked and his muscles twitched.

"I know," he said hoarsely. "I know and I should have walked out before I let him get to me."

"But he did get to you," Melissa said softly, laying a hand on his arm. "And that’s what he wanted."

Gregory flinched because she was right. Benjamin wanted this reaction, he wanted to rile him up and to poke the father in him, not the businessman.

And Gregory fell straight into the trap.

Gregory dragged a hand down his face but when he spoke again his voice was steadier and sharper.

"No more waiting, Melissa," he said. "I am not letting Evelyn’s name be dragged through their circles like she is some cheap, some disposable—"

He broke off, unable to even finish the sentence.

Melissa watched him, her brows tightening. "What are you planning?" When she did not get a response, she frowned, "Gregory, let’s not do something that will make Evelyn suffer."

She then grabbed his arm and tried to guide to the room. "Freshen up first and then let’s talk again after you have calmed down."

"There is no time to rest or calm down." Gregory inhaled a long, shaky breath.

"She deserves stability and respect," he said. "A future with someone who will choose her without hesitation. Someone who will protect her from men like Benjamin and sons like Jack."

Melissa’s heart skipped in fear.

"Gregory—" she said slowly. "No." She knew exactly what her husband was thinking and it wasn’t good.

Gregory’s jaw set like stone. "I am going to find her a husband and I am going to do it by the end of this week."

Melissa’s eyes widened. "Greg—no—"

"Yes." His tone was final, firm and inevitable. " I will speak to families, the right families, the ones who would be honoured to have Evelyn as a daughter-in-law."

Melissa swallowed. "And Evelyn?" she whispered. "What about what Evelyn wants?"

Gregory went silent. It was a long, painful silence.

And then he exhaled. "She will understand," he said quietly, convincing himself more than Melissa. "She has to."

Melissa’s heart ached because she wasn’t sure Evelyn would understand. In fact, she was certain she wouldn’t.

But Gregory Carter stood there with fire still burning under his skin, the echo of Benjamin’s cruelty still poisoning the air around him and there was no talking him down tonight.

He wasn’t thinking as a businessman or as a logical man. He was thinking as a father with wounded pride and a burning need to protect the only daughter he adored.

Melissa sighed softly, cupping his face with both hands the way she did when calming him down decades ago.

"You know what Evelyn wants," she whispered. "She wants to be with Alexander.

Gregory closed his eyes, leaning into her touch for a fraction of a second and then he declared. "She has to let him go. My daughter will not be associated with the Reid family in any way."

....