A Reluctant Bride (11 page)

S
adie's mouth dropped open. Had she heard Aden correctly? She grabbed the side of the desk to steady herself. None of this made any sense. Turning to him, her mouth clamped shut when she saw he was absolutely serious.

Aden's eyes searched hers, sending an unspoken message she couldn't decipher. He moved to stand next to her, staying close, and looking at her with a warmth she'd never seen from him before. “I want to marry you.”

He sounded convincing. As if the words were true. Her breath unexpectedly caught in her throat.

“Aden,” the bishop said, his voice composed amid the turmoil in the room. “I must say,
yer
proclamation is a surprise.”

“
Ya
.” Sol took a step toward Aden, his eyes flaring. “It is.”

Bishop Troyer put out his arm, holding Sol back. “There's
nee
need for anyone to get upset, Solomon. Let
yer bruder
explain himself.”

Aden grasped her hand. She flinched but didn't pull back even though she wanted to. She didn't understand what he was
doing, but she knew she needed to play along for both their sakes. He looked at her, his lips forming a pinched, awkward smile. The silent plea in his eyes was still there.

“We didn't want you to find out this way,” Aden said, facing his father. “I wanted to tell you when the time was right.”

“Tell me what?”

He let out a long breath. “Sadie and I have been courting in secret.”

She flushed. His declaration shocked her, along with the unqualified certainty with which he'd said the words. If she didn't know the truth, she would have believed him.

The bishop's intense gaze landed on her. “Is this true, Sadie? Have you been seeing
mei sohn
?”

Sadie swallowed. She yearned to tell him no, to send all of them away so she could be left alone to try to piece her life back together, to stop it from shattering even more. Yet slowly she was realizing her life wasn't hers anymore. “
Y-ya
,” she whispered, forcing out the lie, almost choking on the falsehood. She clung to Aden as black dots swarmed her vision.
God, forgive me . . .

Aden squeezed her hand, the gentle gesture adding to her confusion and shock.

The bishop stroked his beard. “Why did you feel the need to keep this from me, Aden?”

He squared his shoulders and released Sadie's hand. “I didn't realize I had to tell you. We wanted to keep our relationship private. We wouldn't be the first couple to do that in our community.”

Sadie's legs started to tremble. She felt like a spectator despite knowing the conversation concerned her future. She was observing some sort of personal struggle between father and son. Even
Sol seemed to be left out, although he kept his stunned stare fully targeted at Aden.

Bishop Troyer turned to Sadie again. “If what you say is true, that you and Aden have been seeing each other behind
mei
back—”

“In private,” Aden insisted.

“Then you must have feelings for him. Tell me, Sadie . . . do you love him?”

“
Ya
,” Aden said.

His father raised his hand. “I want to hear it from you, Sadie. If you love
mei sohn
, truly love him, then I will allow the marriage.”

Her head spun. She didn't understand Bishop Troyer's quick change of mind. Moments ago he'd been ready to insist she marry Sol, whom she definitely did
not
love. Now he wanted her to admit a lie.

Either way, she realized now that he was never going to help her with money from the community fund. He didn't think she was capable of taking care of her own family. She'd have to marry one brother or the other to survive, to care for her sisters. There was no one else to turn to. She was trapped.

“
Daed
,” Sol said, his voice growing sharp. “I said I would marry her.”

“The situation has changed, Solomon.” He dismissed him with another wave of his hand. “It is up to Sadie to make her choice.”

A choice. She choked back a bitter laugh. This wasn't a choice. It was coercion. If she admitted she didn't love Aden, that they had never exchanged more than a few strained words, she would default to being Sol's bride. The bishop wouldn't take no for an answer. Even if she refused today, he would find a way
in the near future. She could tell how determined he was for her to marry one of his sons. Clearly, the only thing he didn't care about was which one.

But why? Why was she being forced into a loveless marriage by a man who was the absolute spiritual authority in her community?

Lord . . . what am I supposed to do?

Her frantic gaze darted to each of the men in the room, all of them waiting for her answer.

Aden forced down the bile climbing up his throat. He couldn't believe she was going along with the farce he'd set in motion. An idea he'd thrown out in desperation was now being seriously contemplated not only by her but by his father.

He watched as her eyes jerked from his eyes to Sol's, to their father's. He could put an end to this and admit he'd lied. He could walk away, go back to his bees and his empty life. Sadie Schrock wasn't his problem. She didn't even
like
him.

But he couldn't leave her at the mercy of his father and Sol. Even though he could take back the proposal . . . he realized he didn't want to. When he told Sadie he wanted to marry her, he meant it.

He could sense her body trembling beside him. He saw the stark fear in her deep brown eyes. Knowing their past, he wasn't sure who she was more afraid of—his brother or him.

“Sadie?” His father's voice pierced his thoughts. “You need to make a decision. Which one of
mei sohns
do you choose?”

“This isn't fair,” Sol muttered.

Aden refused to look at his brother. This morning he'd been so blasé about their father's plan, but now he was furious about possibly being denied. If Sol had feelings for Sadie all these years, Aden never knew it. He only knew about the time in the cornfield—and he didn't know what really happened. Whatever was going on here, Sol's reasons for agreeing to marry had nothing to do with love.

And mine do?

He gave himself a mental shake. He was protecting Sadie. He had to. He'd failed her once. He wouldn't do it again.

For her encouragement as much as his own, he took her hand once more, expecting her to pull away. To his relief, she gripped his fingers.

“With everything that's happened in the past weeks,” she said, lifting her chin, her words sounding measured, “I would hope that I could have time to think about it.”

“What's to think about?” Sol said, his tone sharp. “If you two are courting, if you are both in
love
”—he spat out the word—“then the decision should be easy.” He took a threatening step forward. “Unless you're both lying.” He looked at Aden, then at her. “I think you are.” His eyes lingered on Sadie, challenging her.

Aden felt Sadie tighten her hold on his hand, pinching his fingers as if they were in a vise. She looked up at him, her pale skin the shade of freshly fallen snow. “I . . .” She cleared her throat. “I love him.” Somehow she managed a smile. A sickly, halfhearted one, but her voice was strong when she turned and spoke to his father. “I love Aden . . . and I will marry him.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Aden saw Sol leap toward him. He let go of Sadie's hand and shoved her out of the way.

Sadie yelped as Aden pushed her against the desk, her hip ramming into the edge of the metal furniture. She was about to protest when she realized why he'd shoved her so hard.

Sol lunged at him.

Fear gripped her as Sol reared back to strike. But Aden barely flinched, as if he'd expected the reaction. He also didn't do anything to protect himself.

Fortunately his father did. “Solomon!” His voice boomed through the office, bringing Sol to a halt.

The two brothers faced off, their eyes locked—Sol's look hateful and challenging, Aden's stoic and strong.

“Outside, Solomon,” Bishop Troyer said, his voice lower, but still edged with steel. “You need to gain control of
yer
temper.”

Sol glowered at Aden, then stormed out of the office, the door slamming hard behind him.

Sadie's heart jumped to her throat. She'd never witnessed such a violent reaction from someone before. But Aden didn't move, and his expression became vacant. How could he be so unaffected in the face of Sol's physical threat?

Unable to stop herself, she moved closer to him. It was then she realized his outward composure was only pretense. She could feel his body shaking as he stood his ground.

“I'm sorry about that, Sadie.” The bishop calmly looked at her, as if the explosive exchange had never happened. “You can be certain Solomon will be disciplined accordingly.”

But Sadie didn't think she was the one who deserved the apology.

“If I had been aware that you and Aden were a couple,” the bishop continued, leveling a blame-filled gaze at Aden,
“we could have avoided this misunderstanding and the ensuing unpleasantness.” He turned to Sadie. “The marriage will take place next week.”

“So soon?” Sadie squeaked.

“If you love
mei sohn
, there's no need to wait, is there?”

She swallowed, forcing herself to nod. She felt trapped, like a rabbit in a cramped cage.

“We'll have the ceremony at
mei haus
. It will be small. Private, just like
yer
courtship. You may invite one attendant.” Bishop Troyer kept his attention on Sadie. “I am sure this is what
yer vatter
would have wanted, to know that his daughters and his possessions will be well cared for. You have
mei
word on that.” He finally looked at Aden. “I will leave you two alone for a short while. Do not linger, Aden. You are expected home within the hour.”

Aden nodded but didn't say anything.

Sadie frowned, troubled by the condescending way the bishop spoke to Aden. She knew he was a stern man, but this went beyond sternness. There were no congratulations, no handshake. No smiles. No happiness.

Then he cast both of them a long look, one that seemed to penetrate straight through them. Her pulse seemed to stop. He had seen through her and Aden's lies, like Sol had. Yet that didn't deter him from approving the marriage and wanting it to take place as soon as possible.

After the bishop left Sadie put her palms on the desk, her head hanging, her breathing quickening.

“Sadie?” Aden moved close to her—he had the right to, she realized, now that they were officially betrothed. “Are you all right?” His voice was soft and surprisingly kind.

She shook her head, the full force of what had just happened
hitting her. Somewhere inside her mind she knew Aden had saved her and that she owed him. But all she could think about was how she'd been forced to make a choice, one she resented having to make at all. “Why is he doing this?” she whispered, her voice splintering.

She heard him suck in a deep breath. “I don't know.”

“How can you not know?” She turned to him, everything tightening inside her. “He's
yer vatter
. He's the bishop!”

But his eyes looked hollow. She knew he was telling the truth.

I have to spend the rest of my life with him.

The realization slammed into her like a bitter winter wind. She would make that sacrifice, and somehow she would come to terms with it. But not now. Now she had to fight to keep from breaking down in front of him.

She took a deep breath and turned to Aden, digging deep inside herself to keep her tone neutral. “You should
geh
.”

“We need to talk,” he said. But even as he spoke, he started to back away.

“There's
nix
to say.” She bit the inside of her cheek, suppressing the urge to lash out at him. Of everyone involved, he was the least to blame. Yet she resented him with equal fervor. “You and
yer
family have decided
mei
fate.”