Page 116 of Always Knew It Was You

Shock reverberates around the room as the two men stiffen. I hear Carly’s gasp as well. No one was expecting me to say that, especially while vibrating with as much anger as I was feeling.

But I don’t stop there.

“I mean, Jesus, what is wrong with you two? Are you serious? You think I’m going to let you disrespect her in front of me again? And what, I’m just going to fall in line and break up with her because you said so?”

My grandfather’s face grows hard. My father just looks shocked and perplexed by everything going on here.

“Micah,” he says, “calm down.”

“Calm down?” I turn to frown at him. “How do you expect me to calm down when you brought us here to ambush my woman and call her names.”

“Micah, that womanisan imposter,” my grandfather says, his eyes frosty as they regard Carly. “Probably a social climber too. She’s not who she says she is.”

Shit. Some guilt presses through the anger and hangs in my stomach. This is mostly my fault. I knew there was a possibility that my grandfather would dig into her deeper after that disastrous dinner. Even if it hadn’t gone haywire it was only a matter of time before he searched. At the time, I was just hoping he would give me the money before then.

But I no longer need his money.

And even if I did, I’m done with him talking about Carly and people like her as though they’re somehow inferior to him due to circumstances of their birth. I can stomach it when he does it to me, I’ve lived with that my entire life. But not my Carly.

Not the only woman I’ve ever loved.

I swore to myself that I’ll protect her from anything, including them.

“She’s not an imposter,” I say. “I’m the one that told her to lie about her origins. I made up that whole story so you would accept her.”

My father doesn’t look shocked, but my grandfather does for whatever reason. As though he never expected me to have the audacity to do anything that crazy to him. Maybe to my dad, but not to him.

“Why would you do such a foolhardy thing?” he asks.

“Well, because at the time, I wanted you to loan me the money and I thought that was the only way to get it. Because we all know how you feel about people who aren’t bluebloods marrying into the family. It’s why you saddled Mom and Dad together even though they clearly didn’t like each other very much.”

“Well…” my dad starts, but I ignore him and keep going.

“I was wrong for lying,” I say. “I admit that it was childish and stupid and, most importantly, it put Carly in a position where she had to tolerate being humiliated by you just for my selfish gains. But we’re not doing that anymore. Now I’m going to be honest. Carly isn’t a blueblood. Her family is an… interesting gaggle of people, but she’s not from royalty. She’s from Laketown, a funny place filled with a lot of interesting people, and she’s the most interesting one there. She’s beautiful, smart, unbelievably strong... she’s way better than anyone you could ever imagine me with, way better than I deserve. And she’s going to be an accountant, a fantastic one.” I feel I want to say more, to expound more on Carly’s qualities but I can’t find the words. And I don’t have to. I don’t have to explain who she is to anyone, but I want her to know how I feel. “And I love her irrevocably.”

I hear Carly gasp again, and I take a chance to look at her. Her eyes are misty, once again, but this time I can tell they’re good tears. Or at least I think so, seeing that it’s accompanied by a tremulous smile. I lean in and brush my lips against her, but she puts her hand on my cheeks and kisses me back passionately. I taste her tears, her relief, and her love. Even if she hasn’t said it to me yet, I know she loves me, just like I love her.

My father clearing his throat has us pulling back. My grandfather is stunned and seems confused.

His expression would actually be funny under different circumstances, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look quite like that before. He glances at my father, and says, “Well, do something about this.”

My father sighs. “Micah, is it possible that I may talk with you for a second? Alone?”

“There’s nothing you can say to me that you can’t say in front of my fiancée.” I figure since it’s settled that we’re in love now, there should be no problem with me calling her that. After all, we’re going to get married eventually. Why not stay engaged and save ourselves time and effort?

“I need to tell you this alone,” he says and he puts on his stern father voice, the one that brooks no refusal. But I’m not in the mood for it. I’m no longer just his son and my duty is no longer to him.

I’m also Micah Landing, Carly’s fiancé. My duty is to her.

“No, Dad,” I say. “And I think with that, this meeting is officially over.”

I take Carly’s hand again and start walking her out, ignoring the calls of my father and grandfather behind me. I catch Elvira’s wide-eyed gaze on the way out, and I wink at her. She throws me a thumbs-up in response.

We’re soon outside in the crisp air, and that’s when my anger recedes enough to realize that Carly is quietly calling me.

“Micah, just wait a second,” she gasps out the words running to keep up with me. I stop and then turn.

“Sorry, babe. I was going too fast, wasn’t I?”

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