CHAPTER 58: TAKING CONTROL

[Carter Mansion—The Master Bedroom]

The night had deepened into a heavy and uneasy quiet.

Melissa sat at her dresser, removing her earrings slowly with her reflection stiff with worry.

Gregory, on the other hand, paced near the window as though every step was an argument he was having with himself.

Finally, he stopped.

"I talked to Mr. Wright today," Gregory said abruptly, without looking at her.

Melissa froze and looked at him. "Why?" she asked, but deep down she knew the answer.

Gregory continued. "His son is back from London. He is a good man, educated, well-settled and has a clean background. They are coming tomorrow to see Evelyn."

The earring slipped from Melissa’s fingers and clattered softly onto the dresser. She turned sharply at Gregory and frowned. "Gregory Carter, what are you saying?"

He took a deep breath. "I am saying what needs to be said."

"No." She stood immediately. "No, Gregory. You are not doing this."

Gregory’s jaw flexed. "I am and I have already spoken to Mr. Wright. They will be here by noon."

Melissa took two steps toward him with her voice rising in disbelief. "You are arranging a marriage for Evelyn just like that? Did you even ask her?"

She was surprised to see he was actually moving forward with something he had said in rage.

"She doesn’t have to be asked," Gregory snapped. "She needs stability and a respectable match. Someone who doesn’t come with scandals and drama—"

Melissa cut him sharply. "Don’t twist this, Gregory. This is not about Evelyn’s stability. This is about Benjamin Reid’s insult."

Gregory stiffened.

She sighed but her voice softened only a fraction. "I know you. I know when you’re hurt and when your pride is wounded. But you do not get to ruin our daughter’s life to soothe your ego."

He finally met her eyes and beneath the anger, she saw exhaustion which was from a kind of fear he rarely admitted.

"He said she wasn’t good enough," Gregory muttered, almost to himself. "That no one in our circle would want her. That she—"

She grabbed his arm. "And you believed him?"

Gregory’s throat bobbed. "No—"

"You did," she whispered. "That’s why you are doing this. Because for one second you believed in Benjamin Reid’s filth."

Gregory stepped away, rubbing his face hard with both hands.

"Melissa, he has power. Influence. If he blacklists Evelyn, people will pull away. Offers will dry up and invitations will fade," he sighed in dejection, "And she deserves better than that, she deserved better than whispers following her wherever she goes."

He didn’t believe in Benjamin’s filth but he did believe the power and control Benjamin Reid had over everything. He was a man with influence who wanted to ruin his daughter’s name.

What was he supposed to do? Sit down and watch him ruin his daughter’s life?

No, Gregory would never let that happen. He wanted to take control of the situation before things got worse and if that meant upsetting his wife and daughter, so be it.

Melissa looked at him with a heartbreak only a mother could hold. "Gregory, Evelyn doesn’t need society’s approval. She needs love, support and happiness."

When he didn’t respond, she tried again. "And you know who she is falling for."

His silence spoke volumes.

"Alexander is a good man," Melissa said softly. "Quiet, respectful, steady and the way he looks at her—Gregory, you have seen it. He is not like Benjamin, he is not his father."

Gregory’s eyes darkened. "He is his son and I am not giving Evelyn to a family that insulted her. Not again, not ever."

"That is not Alexander’s fault," Melissa retorted. "And you know that."

"It doesn’t matter." His voice cracked. "I won’t let her marry into that family. I won’t let her get hurt again."

Melissa exhaled slowly, fighting her own rising frustration. "Then talk to her instead of doing this behind her back. Don’t spring marriage proposals on her—"

Gregory shook his head. "She won’t agree, not with Alexander around."

Melissa’s heart tightened. "Because she cares for him and he cares for her."

He looked away sharply with his jaw set in a stubborn line.

"I don’t care," he muttered. "Tomorrow the Wrights are coming. Tell Evelyn to be ready."

"Gregory—"

"It’s final."

He walked toward the wardrobe, pulling out his coat, as if ending the conversation with the motion itself.

Melissa stood frozen with anger and helplessness rising in her chest.

"You are making a mistake," she whispered.

Gregory didn’t turn. "I am protecting my daughter."

Melissa closed her eyes. "No," she said softly. "You are pushing her away."

But he didn’t answer.

Silence swallowed the room. It wasn’t peaceful silence but the kind that breaks something slowly from the inside.

.....

[Evelyn’s Room]

The room was dim except for the soft bedside lamp.

Evelyn sat curled at the foot of her bed with her knees pulled to her chest and her chin resting on them.

Her hair was loose and messy from running her hands through it too many times and her phone lay next to her pillow.

She looked at the dark screen and sighed. Alexander hadn’t called her but neither had she.

She wanted to but what would she tell him? That her father was suddenly planning an arranged marriage for her and that she wasn’t allowed to see him ever again?

She closed her eyes tightly. She wasn’t ready for anything, she wasn’t ready for arguments, for marriage let alone an arranged one or a heartbreak.

She clutched her pillow and buried her face in it the same way she used to as a child whenever the world felt too loud.

Her father had never behaved this way. He had always given her the opportunity to make her own decisions. He would correct her every now and then but had never tried to take full control.

His current behaviour made her wonder how enraging Benjamin Reid’s words might have been.

Just then her phone suddenly lit up.

And Alexander’s name flashed on the screen.

.....