My Future, Not My Past

I'm the heiress of the Corleone family, with three childhood sweethearts who used to adore me and watch over me like I was their whole world. Then Daisy Washington, the little maid, showed up—and suddenly I didn't exist anymore. But my father, the don, didn't know. So at the family victory gala, right in the middle of the toast, my father said, "Freya, tell me, who's the one? Point him out, and we'll get you engaged tonight. Right here, right now." The whole room went quiet. Every pair of eyes swung to my three so-called protectors: Nico Gibson, Arlo Mcdonald, and Rhett Owens. But they acted like they hadn't heard a thing. One was feeding Daisy from his fork. One was whispering something that made her giggle. And the third just watched her with that soft, doting look I used to get. The room went dead silent. My father's face stiffened. I quickly jumped in, "Dad, my boyfriend's overseas. I'll bring him to meet you when he's back." The three of them snorted, shooting me mocking looks. I knew they didn't believe me. They thought I was just saving face. But I actually did have a boyfriend. Chapter 1 I walked back into those three estates one last time—to deliver wedding invitations with my own hands. Mrs. Gibson and I were having coffee in the living room when Nico came down the stairs. "Nico," she called out, "we were just talking about Freya's wedding—" His eyes locked onto me, voice dropping low. "Freya. Who the hell are you marrying?" "Don't use my mom as a shield. I'm not interested in you, and I'm not saying it twice." He turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him. Clara sighed. "That boy only hears half of what's said. Who said anything about him being the groom?" She glanced at me, a hint of apology in her tone. "Freya, don't take it to heart. Nico used to be so protective of you, fighting with the other two boys to treat you best. I saw it all." "Honestly, I used to think if you ever came into this family, we'd have to make Nico kick those other two out of the running. Who knew…" I shook my head. "Some things just aren't meant to be. I should get going, Mrs. Gibson." "Of course. We'll be at the wedding." I left the Gibson house and headed to the McDonalds'. The maid led me in just as Arlo hung up a call. He saw me and gave a tight smile. He walked over. "Nico just called. He said you got shot down at his place, so now you're coming to me next?" His face still wore that polished, gentlemanly look, but his eyes were cold. "Freya, I thought I made myself clear at the last dinner. None of us want to marry you. You shouldn't be here." I nodded. Smiled. "That's why I'm only here to deliver an invitation." He paused. Then the smile sharpened. "Same trick as last time with your father? Lure us to the venue, then spring a groom on us at the ceremony, betting we wouldn't have the nerve to walk out in front of everyone?" "Haven't you learned your lesson, Freya?" "Like I said, I'm not interested. Daisy would get the wrong idea, and I don't want to make her uncomfortable. If you end up with no one to save face at the altar and have to pull in some last-minute stand-in, well, that won't end well either. " I was about to say something when his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and his whole demeanor softened. "Daisy." "Yeah, I'm on my way." He hung up, shot me one blank look, and walked straight past me without a word. I stood there and let out a breath. It looks like that time my father made me claim a boyfriend in front of everyone really convinced them this was the same play. They thought I was trying to force one of them to cave. Whatever. They'd see at the wedding. Mrs. Mcdonald came out from the back room and took the invitation, her voice flat. "Arlo missed out." I'd delivered each invitation myself, not for them. For their parents. The ones who'd raised me when my mom passed and my dad was always working. Half my childhood was spent rotating through their three homes. Those people, those years, I couldn't forget them. Then I headed to the third house. Chapter 2 I took the cup Mrs. Owens handed me and was just saying, "The wedding's next month—" "Mom, how could you just decide Freya and I are getting married? This is my girlfriend, Daisy!" Rhett stormed in, dragging Daisy behind him, barely holding back his temper. "Mom, I know we used to joke when we were kids that Freya would be our family's daughter-in-law, but that was just childish talk. We're adults now. You need to respect my choice." Mrs. Owens blinked. "Rhett, that's not—" But Rhett had already turned to me, pure irritation in his eyes. "Freya, can you stop clinging to us? You think getting our parents to pressure us will make one of us say yes? Can't you see we're all avoiding you? " "Rhett!" Mrs. Owens snapped. Rhett's face went cold. He wasn't listening to anyone. "Bottom line—I love Daisy. I'm never marrying Freya. So you can all just watch that wedding crash and burn." He grabbed Daisy and stormed out. Mrs. Owens let out a long sigh. "You never even liked him. Where does he get this idea that she's after him?" I shrugged. "He's too annoyed with me to actually listen right now. He'll figure it out when the time comes." I walked out of the Owens house and found Nico, Arlo, Rhett, and Daisy all standing outside together. I couldn't be bothered. I walked straight past them. "Freya!" Daisy ran after me and grabbed my arm. "Don't get the wrong idea. Rhett just asked me to pretend to be his girlfriend." "Daisy, why are you telling her that? I did it to get rid of her!" Rhett yelled from behind. "Rhett, don't be like that. We're all still friends. I only got to know you guys because of Freya. I really miss when it was the five of us." She turned to me, her voice dripping with sweetness. "Freya, stop being so stubborn, okay? I really want us all to hang out again, like before." As she spoke, her nails dug deep into my arm. I yanked away in pain. "Ah!" She went flying backward like I'd shoved her with full force. "Daisy!" All three of them rushed to catch her. "Freya! Daisy was just trying to be nice to you, and you push her? What the hell is wrong with you?" Rhett was shouting. Arlo's face went cold. "Daisy's been wanting you to come back. Clearly, you don't deserve it." "Apologize. Now." Nico's voice was low and tight. Daisy leaned weakly against Nico, looking up at me with that familiar glint of triumph hidden in her eyes. I brushed off my arm and swept my gaze over them, cold. "If I'm so awful, why would I apologize? Just keep her away from me. That way she won't get hurt again." I turned and walked off. "Freya!" Nico's voice shot after me, icy. "If you can't even be decent to Daisy, then there's nothing left between us." A bitter smile tugged at my lips. I didn't look back. There'd been nothing left between us since the day Daisy showed up. Chapter 3 That night, Mrs. Gibson asked me to drop off some medicine at the villa on the outskirts. When I got there, Nico, Arlo, and Rhett were all inside. We figured it out pretty fast—our parents had set us up. The car was gone too. No way back to the city that late. Clara called and said she hoped we could spend some time in this place we'd grown up in, find our way back to each other. Rhett snorted. "What a waste of time. Hope Daisy's okay alone." That made Nico and Arlo frown. I thought it was a waste too. But standing in that familiar living room, I couldn't help feeling a little strange. I walked over to the piano. It'd been sitting there for over a decade. I remembered when we were kids, all four of us would sit together playing eight-hand pieces. Rhett was always messing around, and we'd chase him around the room. The parents would sit on the couch watching and laughing, taking pictures—all of them around this piano. "Daisy's been learning piano. Look what I recorded." Rhett pulled out his phone and played a video. Nico and Arlo leaned in right away. Choppy notes, mixed with her sweet little giggles. The three of them watched with soft smiles plastered across their faces. I stepped outside. The pool lights were on. A memory hit me. That year, the three of them were in the water, seeing who could hold their breath longest. I was too young to understand—I thought they were drowning. I jumped straight in to save them. "Nico! Arlo! Rhett! Don't worry, I'm coming—" I swallowed a mouthful of water the second I hit the pool. They fished me out, laughing despite themselves. "Freya's so cute and so dumb. We're gonna have to take care of her forever." I could still hear those words. And they did. They'd always had my back through everything—taken me to eat, taken me to run wild, shielded me from every trouble that came my way. My head was full of laughter and noise. Then reality pulled me right back. "Daisy, don't worry—we're coming!" Nico hung up the phone, already panicked. "There's thunder in the city. Daisy's scared crying. We have to go be with her." The other two jumped at that. They all rushed outside and looked around. "No car!" "Forget it. I'm walking back." Rhett was already heading into the dark. The other two followed. "Wait." They turned. Rhett glared at me. "Freya, Daisy's crying scared, and you're still jealous enough to hold us back?" Nico and Arlo shot me annoyed looks too. My face stayed blank. "You walk back? By the time you get there, the thunder'll be long gone and Daisy will have cried herself out." "Then what? We can't just sit here!" Rhett started charging again. Arlo grabbed his arm. "Let's call someone to pick us up. And look around for anything else that runs." The three of them swept through the villa with flashlights. We knew every corner of this place—we'd hidden in all of them during countless games of hide and seek. "There's a tricycle over here. Still runs." I shone my phone light into the corner. They rushed over and wheeled it out. Nico took the handlebars. Arlo and Rhett jumped into the back. It was tight—three grown guys packed in, no room for a fourth. They looked at me, hesitant. I shrugged. "I wasn't planning to ride that thing back anyway. Go ahead." "Freya—" Arlo started. I cut him off flatly. "Keep stalling and Daisy's really going to be scared." That did it. They snapped out of it. "We'll send someone for you," Nico said. Then he hit the gas and the tricycle rattled off into the night. I stood there watching them bounce and wobble down the dark road, speeding toward the girl they actually cared about. Twenty years with them—gone, riding off on that tricycle. "Goodbye, Nico. Arlo. Rhett." Headlights suddenly swept across the driveway. A car pulled up and stopped. The door opened and a man got out—just flown in, straight here. I smiled and ran into his arms. Zane Jordan. Heir to the Jordan family. My fiancé. Chapter 4 At the gala celebrating Jordan heir's return to take over the family business, the who's who of the city had gathered. Zane went off to handle something, so I walked into the ballroom alone. Along the way, I caught knowing smiles from people in the know—silent congratulations, no words needed. Nico, Arlo, and Rhett walked in with Daisy. She was wearing an elaborate princess gown, thriving under their care—chin up, confident, striding toward me without a trace of the timid, shoulders-hunched little maid she used to be. I still remembered the first time she came to the manor. She'd knocked over my housekeeper's soup tureen in the kitchen and was shaking like a leaf as she got scolded. I stepped in for her. She said her mother was sick and she had to work, so I felt sorry for her, looked out for her from time to time. Even when I went out with the three boys, if I saw her standing alone under the hallway, I'd bring her along. They were annoyed at first, thinking I was dragging along a stranger. I told them she was pitiful, asked them to go easy on her. Then I watched them go from annoyed to protective. From frowning to accommodating. From accommodating to taking her side. From taking her side to having eyes only for her. Little by little, the one shut out became me. "Freya, I heard at that villa the other night, Nico and the others left you all alone to come find me?" Daisy walked up, her voice pitched just right—loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. "Don't blame them, okay? Blame me if anything. I'm such a scaredy-cat, crying over some thunder, making them worry." She said it all sweet and innocent, but the smugness in her eyes was impossible to miss. To them, though? This was pure thoughtfulness. "Daisy, Freya's not going to blame us. She handled it well that night, even helped out." Nico's voice was surprisingly calm. Arlo smiled too. "Freya, if you could just be that reasonable from now on—stop hurting Daisy, be good to her—we'd all welcome you back." "Yeah, Freya," Rhett chimed in. "You know Daisy grew up with nothing, always at someone else's mercy. Isn't it only right we look out for her more? Stop being jealous and picking on her, okay? Can't we all just be good to her together?" Daisy blinked, then grabbed Rhett's arm. "Freya, come back. I'll make them all be nice to you. If they're not, I won't talk to them—I mean it!" The three of them immediately played along, hamming up their fake panic. "Okay, okay—the queen has spoken. How could we dare not treat Freya well?" "As long as Freya stops bullying you, of course we'll welcome her back." They were laughing, joking around, their voices dripping with affection. Nico turned to me, his expression turning a little serious. "Freya, see how Daisy's willing to let bygones be bygones? If you come back, just treat her well and stop making her unhappy." I shrugged. "No thanks. You guys have your thing going on. I've got mine. I'm not interested in being nice to anyone, and I'm not joining your little group either." Chapter 5 My words caught them off guard. Daisy suddenly piped up, "I'm so hungry. Nico, Arlo, Rhett—I didn't even have lunch…" The three of them instantly snapped to attention. "Idiot, why didn't you say something earlier? Starving yourself—let's go find you something to eat right now." Whatever they'd been thinking about a moment ago was gone. They swarmed around Daisy and steered her toward the food. Daisy glanced back at me, dropped her voice, and let her lips curl. "Freya, since you know you don't belong, stay away from them. Or next time, I'll have Nico and the others dump you in some remote forest." I suddenly called out behind her, "Nico, did you hear that?" Daisy's face went white. She spun around, slipping right back into that frail, innocent act. "Nico, it's not—" But there was no one there. She whipped back to me, the wounded act crumbling into rage. "Freya, you tricked me?" I looked at this girl—the same one who used to tremble in the corner of the kitchen—now holding her head high, showing her true colors to the only person who'd ever helped her. I let out a small laugh. "Hope you can stay their little princess forever." "Oh, and—take a look around. See where you are. Talk to me like that again, and I can make things ugly for you too." I spotted Zane walking into the ballroom, heading my way. I turned and went to meet him. On stage, the host finished his speech. Over at the food area, Nico was feeding Daisy something. Arlo was gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Rhett was holding up a glass of juice, asking if she was thirsty. Me? Zane took my hand and led me onto the stage. Mr. Jordan took the microphone again. "Tonight isn't just a welcome home party for my son Zane." "It's also to officially introduce his fiancée—Freya Corleone, heiress of the family." "Save the date—eighth of next month. Drinks are on us." Thunderous applause. A wave of congratulations. From the food area came a sharp crash—a plate and a glass shattering at once, followed by a yelp as Daisy got splashed on the foot. But that little commotion was swallowed up by the joy filling the room. The lights stayed on us. Zane wrapped his arm around me, pressed a kiss to my forehead, and smiled calmly as he accepted the flood of well-wishes. And I stood beside him, the corners of my lips lifted.