Chapter 7 - His Grandmother Had Built the Marriage—and She Wasn't Sorry
Astrid Voss sat in the library.
Calm.
Elegant.
Unmoved.
Lachlan stood across from her.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You arranged the marriage.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Julian was using the contract.”
“Yes.”
Thea stared at her.
“Why?”
Astrid's voice softened.
“Because I was trying to save you.”
“From what?”
“From this family.”
The truth was stranger than either expected.
Astrid had known Julian was corrupt for years.
She had tried to stop him.
But the trust documents gave him control if Lachlan died without a wife.
The marriage had been her attempt to force Lachlan into a legal position Julian couldn't easily overturn.
“But why Thea?” Lachlan asked.
Astrid looked at her.
“Because your mother once saved my life.”
Thea stared.
“What?”
“When you were six, your mother worked at a clinic I funded.”
“She never told me.”
“She was too humble.”
Astrid smiled sadly.
“She treated a patient who should have died.”
That patient was Astrid.
The two women had formed a quiet friendship.
Astrid had watched Thea grow up.
She knew her character.
She knew she would never betray Lachlan for money.
“So you planned the marriage?”
“Yes.”
“You put her mother in danger.”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Astrid looked away.
“Julian.”
He had learned about the plan.
He manipulated the hospital records.
He increased Marianne's debt.
He made the marriage look like a cruel financial bargain.
Thea felt sick.
“So my mother's illness wasn't connected to you?”
“No.”
Astrid looked at her.
“I would never use illness as leverage.”
Lachlan closed his eyes.
He finally understood.
His grandmother had tried to protect them.
Julian had turned protection into coercion.
Thea asked:
“Then who made my mother's condition worse?”
Astrid's expression hardened.
“Julian paid a doctor.”
Silence.
Thea's fists tightened.
That man had nearly killed her mother.
Julian had used everyone.
Even illness.
Even love.
Even fear.
The final evidence was enough to bury him.
He was sentenced.
Gideon was granted protection.
Elena cooperated.
And the Voss family began rebuilding.
Lachlan stepped down from criminally entangled subsidiaries.
He closed the businesses that had been used for laundering.
He brought independent auditors into every division.
The transformation shocked the financial world.
But Thea didn't care about the headlines.
She cared about her mother.
Marianne recovered.
Slowly.
She moved into the guest house at the Voss estate.
Thea returned to college.
She wanted to become a nurse.
Lachlan supported her.
One evening, he found her studying at the kitchen table.
“Why nursing?”
She looked up.
“Because my mother survived.”
He smiled.
“That makes sense.”
“What about you?”
“What?”
“Why did you become a CEO?”
He thought.
“To fix what my family broke.”
“Did you?”
“Not yet.”
She closed her textbook.
“You're not alone anymore.”
He walked around the table.
“That's what I'm learning.”
He kissed her.
Then he said:
“There is one thing I still haven't asked you.”
“What?”
“Would you marry me?”
She stared.
“We're already married.”
“Not like this.”
He reached into his pocket.
A ring.
Simple.
Elegant.
No family crest.
No contract.
No conditions.
“This time,” he said, “I want you to say yes because you want me.”
Thea cried.
“Yes.”
He smiled.
“Good.”
“Lachlan?”
“Yes?”
“You still have to tell me something.”
“What?”
She smiled through tears.
“Why did you stare at me on our wedding night before you ever told me you could see?”
He looked amused.
“Because you were beautiful.”
She laughed.
“That was the whole reason?”
“No.”
He touched her cheek.
“Because I wanted to remember the first time someone looked at me without pity.”
She kissed him.
Then whispered:
“I never pitied you.”
“I know.”
“You're very annoying.”
“I know.”
“And I love you.”
His smile faded into something softer.
“I love you too.”
May you like
For the first time, their marriage belonged entirely to them.
But life had one more test waiting.
