I listened to Mason explain the painful history of his father, and the silence stretched across the dark room. His honest confession changed my perspective of him. He was an arrogant billionaire who forced me into a marriage contract, but he was also a man trying to protect the only legacy his grandfather left behind. He feared failure because his father had shown him the exact consequences of reckless behavior.
I did not offer any empty words of pity, because I knew he would hate pity more than anything else.
"Your grandfather wanted you to prove you are not your father," I said into the quiet dark. "And you will prove it to him when this twelve-month contract is over. We just have to survive the rest of the year without making any major mistakes."
"We just have to survive," Mason agreed quietly.
