Too late. It was already too late. 

The gentle smile on Zach’s face didn’t comfort Liam. Instead, it made him nervous. This was why he wasn’t a general. If his father had met Zach, the older man would have been able to recognize him as a threat in an instant. Now he was left with a rapidly devolving situation and no way to salvage it. 

“I’m doing this for your own good. When we marry-”

“He. Hehe. Hehehe.” Ron entered the room. “When what happens with who?”

Liam bolted from his seat, putting as much distance between him and Cassidy as possible. “I didn’t know about any of this?” 

Zach leaned back in his seat, a real smile coming to his face. There was never a dull moment when he came to Theo’s house. “You should get a popcorn machine.”

“I didn’t need one until you showed up. Why don’t these get-togethers happen at Tynan’s house.” Theo massaged his temples.

When Zach left home this morning, he didn’t know what he planned to achieve, but he’d expected his day to be more productive than this. He wished he could get to the button of things from behind his computer, but it wasn’t that easy. 

This wasn’t the era where things were automated with everything online. It was also difficult to determine a person’s character from over the internet. You had to meet them in person. 

“Who are you?” Cassidy didn’t expect Liam to turn her down. Their family's social status was equal, and her father had said it would be advantageous for them to marry. “We’ve been dating for years.” 

Liam loosened the top button on his shirt. He backed away from Cassidy and moved towards Ron, making his stance clear. “We’re just friends. I’m gay.”  

“That isn’t a problem. All you have to do is try it with me.” She smoothed her hands down her body and jutted out her chest.

Not for the first time, Zach wondered if gods were real. He imagined them looking down and using humans as their personal form of entertainment. If they tuned into his life, they would be in for a treat. He’d managed to stumble into a delusional variety show. Between Rain and Cassidy, they were two for two.

“He’s gay. Your breast could be perky enough to prop up the moon, and he still wouldn’t be interested.” Ron marched to Liam. Grabbing his collar, he yanked down until their lips met. Their relationship might be on and off, but that didn’t mean he would let anyone steal his man. 

Liam’s hands flailed to the side before settling on Ron’s hips. It was rare for Ron to approach him first. He was the one who took the initiative to chase down his lover. 

“Argh!” 

Zach lifted his hand to cover his ears. Her lungs were powerful. Cassidy stood huffing. She didn’t seem to know what to do with herself. Her arms lifted and flopped back to her side. Nina sat stunned. She didn’t seem to know what to do. It was clear she mirrored and idolized her sister. 

I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Theo decided to step in and end this before it escalated.  He’d let the sisterly comedic duo continue because it put Zach in a better mood, but if he let it go on any longer it would be counterproductive. He stopped dead as Cassady held up a hand in his face. 

“I’m not done here. Do you know who I am? Do you know who my father is?” She stamped her foot. 

Theo crossed his arms and tapped his foot against the floor. Was she expecting an answer? Liam had his tongue down Ron’s throat. It was clear neither of them would be coming up for air any time soon.

“Do you know who I am? Who my father is?” Zach asked. He enjoyed the way the sister's eyes bugged out. “Just kidding.” His eyes strayed to Nina. He didn’t feel as much as he thought he would. It hurt, he was disappointed, but he wasn’t as restrained by the past as he thought he would be. 

Since he’d loved an imaginary person, a fictitious character. He would keep loving her. The perfect woman who shared his life. What he didn’t need was the actor who was no longer in character. She could be discarded.

It was at this moment he realized that he didn’t come here for Liam. His end goal was always Nina. The masochist in him wanted to confirm the information he’d received. The hopeful idiot wanted to be proven wrong. 

This outcome wasn’t bad or good. It was something that happened. He would go back to where he should be. Eating meals with Tynan, having fun and exploring his new chance at happiness. He would tackle the problem of his family from behind his computer. The place he should have started from in the first place. 

“I’m heading out first.” Zach tapped Theo on the shoulder. He didn't bother to acknowledge the Paige sisters and Ron was too distracted to care.

“You’re going to leave me to deal with this.” Theo didn’t take his eyes off Cassidy. She looked ready to kill someone. He wouldn’t put it past her since she appeared to be the type that let her emotions run the show.

“I have a good recipe for getting blood out of the carpet.” A hand shot out and grabbed his arms.

“If you leave, I’m telling Tynan about her.” Theo pointed at Nina, who was trying to calm her sister down. Her eyes darted between Ron and Liam to Theo and Zach. She was smarter than her sister. They were outnumbered, and the men around them didn’t view them in a friendly way.

“No. It’s going to be a perfect wedding. Perfect children.”

Zach was about to shake Theo off when something unsettling crossed his mind. He squinted his eyes and focused on Cassady. “Why?” His voice wasn’t loud, and only Theo heard.

“What?”

He turned to observe the situation more. Cassady was desperate. She looked as though her whole world was ending. “Why is she insisting on Liam?”

“Cause she is crazy?” Theo said. He didn’t see where Zach was going with this.

Was she crazy, or did someone make her crazy? It wasn’t unusual in these circles for political and business marriages to happen. It wasn’t as common now, but engagements used to happen from the children were young. The girl would be groomed with stories of their husbands and the life they would have together. 

“Is the Paige family subsidiary to the Castor family?” Zach asked. Cassady didn’t acknowledge him, but Nina turned a scornful gaze in his direction. 

“Don’t be insulting. We are cousins related by marriage.” 

Her words made the picture in his mind clear, and something clicked. As dirty as they viewed him, he was still a direct descendant of the Castor bloodline. For Nina, it probably always was about having children for him. As a bonus, he was able to give her a life of luxury that she might not have enjoyed otherwise.

It also explained why she didn’t mind having his children and why she influenced them to be biased against him. He supposed he should be grateful they let him live that long. Nina could have chosen to kill him at several points.

“I see.” Theo picked up on it. “Those types of things happen often, though it isn’t spoken about or acknowledged. They don’t want to use their daughters, so orphans or illegitimate children are chosen.” 

“The worst part is they think they are special. They don’t know they are cattle who will be sold to the highest bidder.” Zach digested this new information. After processing the repercussions, he concluded that he didn’t care. He wasn’t a good person to begin with. Innocent or guilty, they would be punished. She shouldn’t have brought his mom into this.

“The younger one is more aware of the situation than the older one.” Theo tried to find the hidden meaning and connections between the Castor family, wanting a connection with the Grangers.

“What industry is the Castor family involved in?” Zach didn’t know much about V country. It was a twelve-hour flight to reach there, and they were known for their cheese. That’s all he knew. 

“Don’t know. But the Grangers are a military and political family.” Theo didn’t know much about the structure of the social circle in V Country. He had actors that went on location to film movies there, but he’d never been there. 

Zach scoured his memory before landing on something that was either far-fetched or horrifically accurate. “I need to go.” This wasn’t something he could sort out by himself. He needed to do some research and then consult with Tynan.

He looked at Ron, who died in a terrorist attack. Ron whose entire family was murdered by a bomb placed in a hotel. The hotel that was hosting several world leaders and politicians.

The Castor family better be squeaky clean. Even as he had the thought, he had the sinking feeling that his assumption was correct. He couldn’t help cursing. The timing of this was the worst. Tynan was dealing with his uncle. Brad hovered in the background like a specter. Now, this. 

He needed to brainstorm a way to mitigate or redirect some of the conflicts. It didn’t have to be a permanent solution. It just needed to make sure they weren’t swamped with this all at once.  

“You had the same look yesterday. When you heard Nina’s name.” Theo observed Zach. The younger man looked like he was kicked in the solar plexus and had all the wind knocked out of him. 

It was nice and difficult to be around people who were too observant. They made some of the best companions, but on the flip side, they noticed everything. “I have to run it by Tynan first.” He would never tell Theo about his past. It was enough if Tynan knew and understood. He would find a suitable excuse to tell Theo if the need arose.

It probably wasn’t. They were both the same type. Getting back to him later meant that it was unlikely to happen at all. 

“Stay safe.” Theo waded into the shit show that was happening in his house. Cassady was pounding on Liam’s back while screeching in hopes of getting Liam’s attention. It wasn’t working because Liam was doing his best to climb down Ron’s throat and burrow into his belly.

Theo never understood why they dance around each other. They were both crazy about one another. It came down to freedom for Ron and control for Liam. It rankled Theo since all he ever wanted was for Cain to be happy. He would prefer if that happiness was with him. If he was given a chance, he wouldn’t waste a second.

“Cass. It’s not going to work.” Nina was embarrassed about her sister's behavior. She hadn’t known what was happening, but it was clear that her sister wasn’t in her right mind at the moment. She’d always looked up to Cassady. Her older sister was calm, sophisticated, and educated. 

None of those characteristics were currently on display. Nina knew that her family was worried about securing the Granger family's support on some matter. She’d eavesdropped on the conversation and wasn’t able to ask for clarification.

Their father would be upset when he learned that the marriage wasn’t going to happen. It was hard to tell how the main family would react. Then to add insult to injury, this fiasco was witnessed by the child that the Castor family abandoned. 

Nina dreaded being the person who had to carry all this information back to V Country. She was the one who would have to clean up the backlash. Nina channeled that frustration. She lifted her hand and brought it down hard across her sister's face. Desperate times need an extreme solution.