She was taking this seriously, which was very, very good for her.

Still, I needed to drive the point home.

“You think my word means nothing?” I asked.

She waved me away, though I didn’t miss the nerves in her annoyed laugh.

“Elias, there’s no need to get all macho. I know that you’re a man of your word, a man of honor and principal. And I would never, ever question that,” she said.

“Careful, Kayla. You’re getting very close to disrespect,” I said.

She didn’t respond, but her silence was victory enough.

“So you’re not just a guy who says some shit,” she said, apparently deciding she’d pushed far enough. “But I don’t know what that has to do with an en-engagement.”

She seemed to stumble over the word, which pissed me off.

But I kept focused.

“Everything. I told my father we’re engaged. So we are,” I said.

“You’re joking,” she said, tilting her head and staring at me incredulously.

I smiled. “Kayla, you’re very smart. Have you not been keeping track of this conversation?” I asked.

“I have been, or at least I thought it was, but what you’re saying makes no sense to me,” she said.

“Makes no sense, or you don’t like it?” I asked, suspecting the answer and not appreciating it one bit.

“You say that as though what I like matters, and we both know that it doesn’t. But it’s not making sense. I mean, the smart thing to do would be to tell your father that I changed my mind. That after his little stunt, I couldn’t possibly bear to be a member of your family and leave it at that.”

“Wrap it up in a nice, neat little bow for him to eat up, huh?” I said, not bothering to hide the scorn in my voice.

“Yeah, that’s about the sum of it,” she replied, clearly ignoring my disgust.

“Maybe in your world with weak men like your father, but not in mine,” I said.

Her offense was immediate, and I watched as her body stiffened. “Don’t mention my father, Elias,” she said, her voice quiet, serious in a way I seldom heard.

“Fine, we’ll leave Gary out of it, but my father expects words to mean things, and there are consequences if they don’t,” I said.

She blanched ever so slightly. “Well, you tell him you dumped me. Found someone more suitable,” she said.

I shook my head.

“You’re not getting it. Do you think that would make a difference to him?”

“Of course, it would. You’re the eldest son, heir to the throne as it were.”

“And he’d love an opportunity to remind everyone that means nothing. Ending the engagement with you would be just the opportunity he wants,” I said.

“You can’t end something that doesn’t exist, Elias,” she said.