Just Pucking Money [COMPLETED]

Chapter 49 - Dinner

Ethan

Lily leaves and I feel the world closing in. It's getting harder to breathe, as I refuse to think about what this means.

Right now, I have my future in-laws in the living room to deal with.

"There you are," Mr. Pierce says when I return. "How about that dinner?"

"Did you have a place in mind?" I force myself to hide the anger and despair I'm feeling. I knew this was coming.

As we head to the restaurant, I can barely look at Antonia. She sits next to me, looking out of the car window. I've never had any in-depth conversation with her and I don't know where to start.

I almost want to cry when I realize we're at La Place. The place where I once almost ruined Lily's life. And now it's my turn.

"So," Mrs. Pierce says when we're sitting down. "Are you excited about the engagement? I've been in contact with your mother about the party. She's so considerate of Antonia's wishes."

"That's nice," I mumble as I study the menu. Lily had the pasta, didn't she? I stare at the dishes and try to see it all from her point of view. There are no prices. Did she get the pasta because she thought it would be cheaper than the other alternatives? What would she have gotten if money wasn't an issue?

Mrs. Pierce is still talking. "Now, if I could only get Antonia to show any interest in the party, but she's so unassuming. You'd think it wasn't even her engagement we're celebrating."

"I'm sure whatever Antonia wants will be fine."

We're not at the same table. But there's a couple sitting where we were. She has a diamond ring on her finger, and he's hiding his phone under the table as he checks it.

Mrs. Pierce laughs. "If it was up to Antonia, we wouldn't even have a party. She'd probably be happy with a small family dinner. And we all know that won't do. Not when two of the most powerful families in the state are merging."

I glance over at Antonia as the server comes to take our order. Is she happy with this? I guess I just assumed that she was onboard with the plan. But she seems... sad.

Once the server leaves, there is more talk about the party. Mr. Pierce is tuned out and focuses on his fish as soon as it arrives. Antonia is barely eating and Mrs. Pierce is happily going on about my mom's skill with table decorations and how hard it is to find certain flowers in the winter.

"I understand your mother has the engagement ring?"

I blink. The ring? I hadn't even thought about that.

Mrs. Pierce must see my confusion.

"She asked for Antonia's measurement. If I understand her correctly, it was your grandmother's ring."

"Right. Yes. It's a family heirloom." I smile at Antonia. "I hope you'll like it."

"Oh, she will," Mrs. Pierce says.

"I'm sure it's lovely." Antonia gives me a polite smile. It hits me that she's a person too. And she's supposed to be my wife.

"If you don't, I'm sure we can get you something else."

"How sweet." Mrs. Pierce is all smiles. "Don't you think?" She nudges her husband, who looks up in confusion.

"Hm? Oh, once you're engaged, we'll be able to move ahead with several deals that we're negotiating."

"Have you given much thought to what comes next?" Mrs. Pierce asks with a raised eyebrow and a look at Antonia's stomach.

I glance over and see the panic on her face.

"We'll probably need some time to get to know each other," I say quickly. "And figure things out. We haven't even discussed where we want to live."

Our eyes meet and I think I see relief in hers.

"I'm buying you a house," Mr. Pierce says.

Antonia leans forward. "Dad, you don't have to do that. Maybe Ethan has something in mind? I'm sure he wants to decide where we live."

Mr. Pierce waves her off and looks at me. "It's my wedding present to you."

I clear my throat. "I think my mom has some similar ideas, so you might want to coordinate with her."

With every word, pressure builds in my chest, and I don't like it. I can see my life before me and it's a cage more than anything. The conversation barely leaves the topic of marriage and the engagement party.

Once dinner is over, I still don't know how Antonia feels about it all. We get in the car and I sit next to Antonia in the back as her parents talk softly in the front.

I want to say something to her, but all I can think of is Lily's eyes as she was leaving. I should text her. Or call.

"The woman you were with," Antonia's words are soft, but they still startle me. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"Yes. Well, sort of."

"I'm sorry if we made problems for you. I told them we shouldn't show up without warning you. But once my parents have an idea in their head, it's hard to stop them."

"It's fine. She knows about you and... this."

"And she's ok with it?" Antonia is furrowing her brow.

"We decided to keep it casual. And she insisted we break it off as soon as you and I have any contact."

"Oh." The realization in her voice makes me freeze.

We decided to break it off as soon as Antonia and I were in contact. Fuck. Is this it?

She takes a deep, shaky breath. "It's not like this is a real engagement. But if you don't break it off, could you please be discreet?"

Mouth agape, I stare at her. "What?"

"I just don't want to be the talk of every event we go to. If you decide to have someone on the side, I'd rather nobody knew about it."

"I'm not going to cheat." Glancing at her parents, I make sure they're not listening. "I would never do that."

She's wringing her fingers in her lap and studying them intently. "But what if I don't want to... consummate?"

I blink. Then I blink again. Then I stare straight ahead. And take a deep breath.

"I'm not going to ask you to do anything you're not comfortable with."

"Oh, here we are." Mrs. Pierce turns her head back toward us as we pull into the drive of the hockey house. "Thank you so much for the company."

"Thank you for the dinner." My manners kick in and I smile.

"We'll see you at Thanksgiving, then," Mr. Pierce says. "Your mother says it will only be us this year."

"Right, Thanksgiving." I swallow. "Good night, Antonia." I turn to her and give her a nod. For a moment I wonder if I'm supposed to do more, kiss her cheek or something, but I just can't.

I tell them to drive safely and get out of the car.

Fuck. Fuck me and all the fucking plans that have been made for me.

***The entire story is available on reamstories.com/sofiamkay. Thank you for reading!***