I stared at the photograph until my eyes began to hurt.
Daniel.
Richard Blackwood.
Standing together.
Smiling.
It made no sense.
My father's greatest enemy was Richard Blackwood. Their families had spent years destroying each other's businesses and reputation.
So why was my future husband standing beside the very man my father had taught me to hate?
I immediately called Adrian.
He answered after the first ring.
"What's wrong?"
"Adrian, I need you to listen carefully."
His voice became serious.
"What happened?"
"I received a photograph."
"What photograph?"
"Your father and Daniel."
Silence.
"What about them?"
"They were together."
I heard him breathe sharply.
"Send it to me."
I forwarded the picture.
A few seconds passed.
Then he spoke.
"Where did you get this?"
"An unknown number."
"What did they say?"
I read him the message.
He remained silent for a long time.
"Adrian?"
"I'm here."
"Do you know Daniel?"
"No."
"But your father does."
"Apparently."
I stood and began pacing around my room.
"Something is wrong."
"Yes."
"What should I do?"
"Don't confront your father."
"Why?"
"Because whoever sent that photograph wanted you to ask questions."
I stopped walking.
"And?"
"And they probably want your father to know you have it."
My stomach tightened.
Someone was playing a game.
And somehow, I was the piece being moved across the board.
That night, I couldn't resist.
I went downstairs.
My father's study door was closed.
I knocked.
"Come in."
He was sitting behind his desk.
I entered.
"I need to ask you something."
He looked up from his papers.
"About?"
"Daniel."
His expression didn't change.
"What about him?"
"Do you know Richard Blackwood?"
His pen stopped moving.
Only for a second.
Then he continued writing.
"Why would you ask me that?"
"I received a photograph."
He slowly lifted his eyes.
"What photograph?"
I placed my phone on his desk.
His face changed.
For the first time, I saw something I had never seen before.
Fear.
It disappeared almost immediately.
"Who sent this?"
"I don't know."
"Who else has seen it?"
"Only me."
"And Adrian?"
I froze.
My father's eyes narrowed.
"Of course."
He stood.
"You're still communicating with him."
I stepped backward.
"That's not what matters."
"It matters to me."
"What is Daniel doing with Richard Blackwood?"
My father stared at me.
Then he walked around the desk.
"Some questions are dangerous."
"I deserve answers."
"You deserve to obey me."
"Why are you marrying me to Daniel?"
He said nothing.
"Father?"
He finally looked directly into my eyes.
"Because sometimes a marriage isn't about love."
My blood ran cold.
"Then what is it about?"
"Power."
I stared at him.
He walked back to his desk.
"Go to your room."
"Father—"
"Go."
I didn't move.
His voice hardened.
"I said go."
I left.
But I didn't return to my room.
Instead, I stood outside his study.
The door had not completely closed.
I heard his phone ring.
"Yes?"
A man's voice came through faintly.
I couldn't understand everything.
But I heard one sentence clearly.
"The girl knows about Daniel."
My heart stopped.
My father answered:
"Then we move faster."
I covered my mouth.
Another voice spoke.
My father replied quietly.
"After the wedding, she won't have a choice."
I backed away from the door.
My hands were shaking.
I ran upstairs and locked myself in my room.
Then I finally understood.
My father wasn't simply forcing me to marry Daniel.
He was planning something.
Something that would begin after the wedding.
And suddenly, the wedding I had been trying to escape didn't feel like a marriage anymore.
It felt like a trap.