My insides quiver. I gape at her, then clear my throat. "What do you mean?"

Ruby interjects, "He admitted that he created a deal with you for you to become his wife...his fake bride," she says in disgust, but sympathy fills her face.

Embarrassment floods me. My cheeks heat. "It was stupid of me to agree to it. I'm sorry we lied to you."

Ruby puts her hand over mine again. "This is Sebastian's fault, not yours, honey."

"I did agree to it," I state.

"It's not your fault," she reiterates.

I glance away, trying to gather my thoughts. It doesn't seem right for Sebastian to take all the heat for this. He couldn't have done it without my involvement.

Ruby continues, "Jacob is very angry, but he's angry with Alexander and Sebastian."

Surprised, I question, "Why would he be mad at Alexander?"

She glances at Evelyn, then answers, "Alexander's refusing to become CEO. He doesn't want to move to Dallas with the kids. And to be honest, I'm glad he doesn't want to. I don't think it'd be good for them, but he also doesn't want to commute and be away from them all the time."

My heart pounds in my chest. "What about Sebastian? He's supposed to be the CEO."

Evelyn shakes her head. "Dad will not name him CEO after what he did to you."

"But that's not fair," I claim.

Ruby admits, "Well, Jacob sees it as a character flaw."

My chest tightens.

She adds, "It's fine. Alexander will figure out how to do this without having to move."

I blurt out, "Sebastian deserves the position. He's brilliant at what he does. And Alexander told me he doesn't want to be CEO. This isn't right."

Compassion fills Ruby's face. She leans closer. "You know how Jacob is when he gets an idea in his head."

I disagree, declaring, "But Sebastian's worked his whole life for this."

"Well, sometimes there are consequences to our actions," Ruby asserts.

"This seems extreme," I say.

"He hit a new low. There's no reason he had to lie to all of us. And gosh, to put you through what he did. I mean, he's a monster," Evelyn proclaims, then takes a sip of her coffee.

I don't know why I stick up for Sebastian, but I don't like hearing Evelyn talk bad about him. And nothing will convince me he's not meant to be CEO. "Sebastian only created a fake marriage because everybody in town talks about him."

"So? He should deal with it like a real man," she asserts.

Her answer only upsets me further. I spout, "He is a real man. And have you ever heard the gossips talk about him? Even in front of his face? Because I have."

Evelyn tilts her head, questioning, "What do you mean?"