Bound To The Billionaire Alpha

CHAPTER 2

ARIA

“I need the money, Dad!” I yelled without even meaning to, and my father just stared at me like I might have lost my head.

He pushed down the glasses that were against his eyes to his nose before squinting his eyes at me. “Stop yelling, Aria! I don’t have the money to waste. We don’t know that she would live, do we?” he said.

“Yeah, but we won’t know if we don’t try,” I said, pulling my voice back down this time. I surely didn’t want to give him a reason to completely ignore me.

We were sitting in his office. Well, he was sitting, and I was pacing the floor on the space in front of the chairs in front of his large brown mahogany desk.

“Dad, please, okay.” I trailed off when I heard the door of the office open, and I saw Aspen come in with a tray in hand. She had a smile on her face—one I could see through, one that was as fake as the lashes on her face.

“Hi, Riri,” she said in a very sugary voice, and I almost rolled my eyes. She knew I hated that nickname, but she still called me that.

Smiling, I greeted her as well. “Hello, Aspen. It’s nice to see you.” I said.

Aspen nodded, walking to my father’s desk to drop the tray. I guessed that was tea, or maybe it was coffee; I wasn’t sure. She looked over her shoulder at me. “So, Riri. I heard what you were saying with your father, and for that, I have a solution for you. She said that, and I looked at her.

She wasn’t smiling or anything anymore, so I could tell it wasn’t a joke. “Huh, what?” I was eager to know what the solution was.

Aspen wasn’t generous, so I knew it was probably not something good or something I could do.

Aspen's smile didn't falter as she looked at me, her eyes gleaming with something like satisfaction and something else I couldn't quite place.

Maybe she was glad she got me where she wanted with my full attention. Well, I wanted to help Grandma Sue.

“There's a man," she began, her voice sickeningly sweet, "who is very interested in marrying into our family. He's quite well-off and has made a generous offer." She started.

What man? What offer? Why should I care about some man trying to marry into our family? He should know the woman he was trying to marry was a backstabbing woman, though.

I frowned, confused as to what that had to do with me. I was wary of what this might be about. "Marry? I hope Sally’s not ready yet, Aspen. She's still busy sleeping with other people” I started to talk, trying to figure out what her daughter had done, but her voice stopped me.

I knew Sally probably already told her what happened, and she didn’t want me to mention it here. Or she just didn’t care. Anyway, when she spoke, what she said shook me.

"It's not about Sally." Aspen cut in, her smile not once wavering. "He wants to marry a daughter of your father's, and since you're the biological one, it's only fair you take this opportunity, isn't it?" she said, her smile widening.

What? Was this some kind of cruel joke?

My heart sank, but I masked it with a forced chuckle. "You're joking, right? I mean, that can’t be right?” I asked. I mean, why would I marry someone I didn’t know, love, or ever meet?

We were not even friends.

She shook her head, her expression serious now. "I'm dead serious, Aria. You want your grandmother to get her treatment, don't you? This is how you can ensure that happens." She said,

This was a joke; nah, it just had to be.

I stared at her, my mind racing. "What the heck are you talking about?" I managed to make my voice an octave higher than I intended. Well, I didn’t give a damn about my damn voice right now.

Why wasn’t her daughter marrying a man? Why was her daughter not jumping at marrying the so-called “well-off” man?

"It's simple," Aspen said, leaning back against the desk as if she owned it.

Well, she had owned everything in my father’s life since she married him, and that was almost immediately after my mother died.

"Your father will have the funds for Grandma Sue's treatment if you agree to marry this man. You have to give something to get something, Aria. That's the way the world works."

Was she teaching me about life? When she hadn’t even suffered half the way I had? Or even fought her way through half the way that I had?

I scoffed, feeling just a pinch of anger and disbelief all twisted together. "Look, Aspen. I'm not sure what this is about, but I don't think I'm interested." I told her.

Aspen raised her eyebrows as if she were amused by my response. "Well, keep thinking then, but don't expect your father to help. You're just a lowly wolf that killed her mother during childbirth while she struggled to get you out without hurting. You don't deserve to get anything without giving something," she said, her voice dripping with venom. The stupid smile on her face dropped off.

I turned to look at my father, my heart pounding in my chest. "Dad? Is this true? You won't help Grandma Sue if I don't marry some guy I don't even know." I asked, my voice trembling slightly.

My father just shrugged, avoiding my gaze. "It's a good deal, Aria," he said, his voice almost apologetic.

Seeing the truth on his face, I swallowed hard and wondered what I was going to do. "So if I marry him, you'll pay for the treatment, right?" I asked, looking between Aspen and my father.

That was what was important right now—how I felt about this—whether or not the man was mated to me, whether or not he was a good man, or if I loved him and the same.

My father opened his mouth to speak, but Aspen was quicker. "Of course, he’ll pay the money right away," she interrupted him, her tone confident.

I felt cornered, even trapped, by their expectations and the situation they were forcing me into.

Before I could agree, I needed to know more. "Who's this man you're talking about, anyway?" I asked, trying to buy some time.

"Don't worry about that now," Aspen said, waving her hand dismissively. "Your father will give you all the details later. For now, just get ready for the wedding. I'll help you with everything, and it will all be fine."

I stared at her, trying to process everything. Marrying a stranger was not what I had planned for my life. I thought about Grandma Sue and how much she meant to me; the thought made me shudder.

If anything happened to her, and it happened because I didn’t agree to do something that I could say to her when I could, I would never forgive myself.

And really, the last thing I wanted was to have anything happen to her in the first place.

Sighing, I said with my teeth gritted. “Fine, I’ll take Sally’s place.” I just knew I had just replaced her. I just knew it deep within me.