"A man like that doesn't release you," Marcus continued. "He tightens his grip. He pushes the marriage forward specifically because you tried to escape it. And when it's done — when the contract is signed and the heirloom is transferred and the Lancaster Family has what they came for — he makes sure every day afterward is a consequence." He looked at her. "You haven't freed yourself. You've handed him a reason."The color had changed in Elize's face. The chin was still up, but the architecture behind it was different — the specific expression of someone who had been running on anger and defiance and had just encountered the wall that both of those things run into eventually."He wouldn't—" she started."He called someone from his car before it left the parking structure," Marcus said. "Tonight. To deal with me before morning." He picked up his glass. "That's who you're engaged to. That's the man you handed a personal grievance tonight on top of an already existing business transaction