official member of the family.”
Zachary’s thoughts drifted back to his nana’s persistent pleas, which ultimately led him to sign the marriage papers. “Out of all my brothers and cousins, except for the youngest two, anyone could have married her. But Nana specifically chose me for the task. I refused, of course. I was furious. I believed she was scheming to use my nana’s gratitude as a way to secure wealth and power. Nana insisted that this was entirely her own idea.
“I didn’t want to hear any of it and firmly decided she was a gold digger. I warned Nana repeatedly not to be deceived, but she wouldn’t listen. As the matriarch, she insisted that I marry her.”
The days leading up to the wedding were incredibly frustrating for Zachary. His nana was relentless in her pursuit of what she wanted. With her sights set on Serenity, she repeatedly drilled into Zachary the notion that he could repay Serenity’s life-saving kindness through marriage. His refusal would only brand him as an ungrateful grandson, a fact she emphasized repeatedly.
Zachary, raised in privilege, felt that his nana’s coercion would only tarnish his image of Serenity further.
Remy served tea to Zachary and his brother before pouring himself a cup. He enjoyed the canapés and savored the tea as Zachary vented.
“So, you ultimately agreed to marry her?” Ben inquired.
Zachary nodded. “My nana called me ungrateful, so I felt I had no choice but to marry her.
“I told Serenity the day we got our marriage license that we should keep our marriage a secret since it wasn’t born out of love. I didn’t mention that I’m the heir of the York family.”
Ben looked at him with a mixture of surprise and understanding.
Zachary was keeping quiet about his true identity, similar to how he had previously been dishonest with Jane.