[Neither of them promised forever, yet it hurt all the same.]
River Hamilton cannot afford to fall for just anyone. To continue the legacy of her family the only way she can, she must eventually marry someone she may not want to spend the rest of he...
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R.HAMILTON
There was unease between River and Alden Hamilton. Stubborn as ever, they refused to make peace with each other, both of them waiting on the other to cave. It would be Alden, without a doubt, because River always won in the end. The sibling rivalry kept the house on its toes, especially when the two passed each other at home, River on her way to their father's office and Alden on his way upstairs to his room.
Exhaustion started to creep in on River since she'd been up since six in the morning. The aim was to squeeze in as much of her responsibilities in a four-hour window as she could in order to attend the dance lesson she booked for ten, then spend the remainder of the day around London, shopping like her dear life depended on it. Although she wasn't one to find much interest in the topic of spending, she surprised herself by the final amount. It had been a while since she opened her purse like this but if it was for anyone, she was glad it was Harry. Spoiling him the way she had done today made her heart sing and her smile remain permanent.
Semi-permanent, maybe. As soon as she got home and saw Alden's Ferrari in the driveway, she knew she would have to face her brother eventually.
When she entered her father's office and made herself comfortable in one of the leather armchairs across from him, one leg over the other, arms in her lap, Dexter initiated a conversation without a second wasted. They discussed business, as River expected, until they finally entered untested waters. The idea of the scheduled meeting was enough to raise the hairs on her body. To be actually at the meeting, discussing the main topic, caused her to nearly empty the contents of her stomach.
Dexter didn't bother to look up as he licked his fingers then turned the page of the folder before him. "What was it you wanted to discuss, darling?"
It was now or never and River didn't want to give herself a second to back out. She said, "It has come to my attention that Charles and I are no longer invited to events as a pair," and Dexter hummed. It seemed like he didn't mind the conversation so River pushed to say, "It made me question whether there is a reason behind this."
"Such as?"
"Such as the possibility of our engagement no longer being a necessity."
There was no reaction from Dexter. As though she said nothing, he kept turning the pages. When he hummed and closed the hard cover folder, she softly inhaled and kept the breath in her lungs without the intention.
"Tell me, darling, how did you feel when me and your mother put you in position as the chief executive officer of the Clubhouse?"
"I was surprised but grateful. Excited to get more control of designing new strategies, and create the overarching vision of the company. I fail to see the correlation, though."
