Marcus Fairhaven's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Marcus Fairhaven had shaken the man's hand three days ago, and the man had told him he would never marry his daughter. No reason. Just a firm grip and a cold no. Now Marcus stood in the driveway of the family's modern mansion, cameras blinking above the garage, and he could not make a single move. He wanted her father's blessing. But he didn't know what he'd done wrong, and every guess he made could make it worse. Riley Morgan found him there, leaning against the fire pit's cold stone. She was his oldest friend, the one who told him hard truths when nobody else would. She wore torn shorts and a black tank, roses inked down her arm, and she cleaned the estate's pool three days a week. That was why he'd come. She heard things. "You look like a man waiting to be arrested," Riley said. She dropped her skimmer against a lounge chair. "He said no and gave me nothing," Marcus said. "I keep replaying dinner. My manners were fine. I complimented his horses. I don't understand it." Riley crossed her arms. The gold bracelets slid down her wrist. "You really don't know?" "Would I be standing in his driveway like a fool if I did?" She glanced at the cameras, then pulled him toward the willow tree near the fence, where the sunflowers hid them from the lenses. She lowered her voice. "He heard you gave your business to your brother," she said. "Signed it over. No money changed hands." Marcus blinked. "My brother has three kids. He needed it more than me." "I know that. He doesn't. He thinks a man who hands away everything he built can't provide for a wife. He thinks you're soft." Riley watched his face. "He didn't judge your manners, Marcus. He judged your bank." The words landed hard. Marcus had done the kindest thing of his life, and it had cost him the woman he loved. He almost laughed. "That's it? He thinks I'm broke and reckless?" "He thinks you'll never afford her," Riley said. "And nothing you say will change a rich man's mind. Only what you do." Marcus looked back at the mansion. The cold no finally made sense. It wasn't about who he was. It was about what the father believed he could give. "Then I stop guessing," Marcus said. "I show him I can build something new. On my own." Riley shook her head slowly. "You gave away the only thing you had. You'd be starting from nothing." "I've started from nothing before." He pushed off the tree. His voice was steady now, the way it always was once he had a target. "He wants proof. I'll bring him proof." Riley picked her skimmer back up. "He wants it fast. She's meeting someone else's family next month." Marcus stopped walking. Now the clock was real, and empty hands were his only starting point.