Chapter 3: Marrying the Cheater's Uncle? Why Not.

Nora turned toward the voice. It belonged to Richard's uncle, Nathaniel Whitfield, the man who currently ran Whitfield Enterprises.

He had a presence that filled the room without trying, though up until now he'd said nothing, content to stand at the edges and watch.

Nora remembered him from her last life. He was the one who'd built Whitfield Enterprises into something untouchable. After she and Richard had married, the company had split in two, half to Richard and Nora, half to Nathaniel.

Her half, merged with Sinclair Holdings, had become Whitfield-Sinclair Group. She'd worked herself half to death just to stand anywhere near the empire Nathaniel built on his own.

He was, simply, one of the most formidable businessmen she'd ever known.

In her last life, even in his fifties, he'd remained sharp, elegant, and completely unmarried. Silver-haired and devastatingly composed, he'd once told a reporter on camera, flatly, that he had no interest in women.

So if he was offering himself now, was this about getting his family off his back? A convenient cover?

He clearly had the standing to ignore family pressure entirely by now. But his parents had never asked anything of him except this one thing, marriage and they'd given him half the company without a single string attached. Maybe this was his way of finally giving them something back.

Which suited Nora just fine. All she wanted was her career, untouched.

"But"

Richard cut her off. "No."

An ex becoming an aunt by marriage was the kind of plot twist he only tolerated in fiction.

"What business is it of yours?"

This time it wasn't just Nora glaring at him, her whole family turned on him too. They'd been hesitant about the idea seconds ago. Watching Richard oppose it so hard was all the convincing they needed.

Nora crossed her arms, smiling coldly. "Exactly. Who I marry has nothing to do with you anymore."

"Are you really that desperate to stay attached to this family?"

"Say one more word and you can take Vivian and leave the Whitfield name behind you."

Nathaniel's voice cut through, flat and final. Richard turned to find his uncle's face set in cold, quiet warning.

Richard had nothing to throw back at that. Even in his last life, he'd folded the second Nathaniel raised his voice.

He knew Nathaniel wasn't bluffing. If his uncle wanted him cut off, no inheritance, no cards, no name, no one in the family would stop it. Not even his own father, who'd probably thank Nathaniel afterward for teaching his son a lesson.

Richard went quiet.

Nathaniel turned to Nora. "Let's go."

"Go where?"

"Don't you two move in together first? Isn't that how the Sinclairs do things?"

Living together before the wedding, keeping things proper until then, that had been the agreement between her and Richard. She hadn't expected Nathaniel to already know it.

Nora glanced at the older Whitfields. Neither objected. She nodded. "Give me a moment, let me speak with my parents first. It won't take long."

She didn't dare keep him waiting either.

"Take your time."

Nathaniel gathered the rest of the Whitfields and stood back, waiting patiently while Nora spoke with her family off to the side, a courtesy the Sinclairs would never have been shown an hour ago.

Nothing had changed except the groom.

Richard, heir apparent as he was, still couldn't compete with a man who'd come along late, been spoiled by aging parents, and turned out brilliant anyway.

Richard alone hadn't let it go.

The thought of Nora marrying his uncle, living with him, touching him, all of it, sat wrong in his chest for reasons he couldn't name.

So he finally asked, "Uncle. You're actually going to marry her?"

"You'll call her Aunt Nora from now on."

That settled it.

Richard pressed anyway. "She only cares about her career. She doesn't understand love, doesn't care about anything but the company. She's marrying you to use you."

Not like Vivian, who praised his work, worried over his health, who was soft where Nora was sharp.

"Then I'll help her build her career instead of forcing her to give it up."

It was rare for Nathaniel to say that much at once, rarer still for it to be in someone's defense. The older Whitfields exchanged a pleased look.

"I looked into the Sinclair girl a while back. Sharp, successful, keeps her brother's business afloat too. She's a good match."

"A woman like that doesn't come along twice. If our grandson can't see it, good thing Nathaniel can."

"Settle things with this, Vivian, was it, quietly. Stop worrying about your uncle's business."

Her name is Nora now? Richard thought, jaw tight. An hour ago she'd been a distant in-law they barely acknowledged.

Before he could argue, his father pulled him aside without a word.

"Richard. What exactly are you doing? You already broke the engagement. Why do you still care who she marries? You think the Whitfields will just hand you approval for Vivian without a fight?"

Richard said nothing.

Vivian had no name, no money, a father who gambled, a brother who couldn't hold a job. Worlds apart from the Sinclairs. He'd made his big, public declaration today precisely because he feared the family wouldn't approve otherwise.

Now that they'd agreed so easily, mostly because Nathaniel had signed off, he had no excuse left to protest.

So why did it still bother him, watching Nora walk toward someone else?

"Richard, honey, Grandma and Grandpa said yes! I'm so happy, let's go pick out my dress. What do you think of this place?"

Vivian held up her phone, all wide-eyed innocence.

She knew families like the Whitfields had dresses tailored, not bought off some website, but that hardly mattered. It did its job.

Richard's attention snapped away, and he said nothing more.

On the other side of the room, the Sinclairs had their own doubts.

They were thrilled Richard opposed it, that alone made them want to say yes out of spite, but Nathaniel was still Richard's uncle, even if the age gap wasn't huge.

"Nora, honey, are you sure about this? Marrying Nathaniel?"

Unlike the Whitfields, the Sinclairs said exactly what was on their minds.

Nora nodded, calm and certain. "Don't worry, Mom. I found out a while ago, he's not interested in women. This marriage is just to get his family off his back."

"What?"

That one landed. Her father and Jake, who kept close tabs on the Whitfield family, hadn't known that.

But Nora had said it, so it had to be true.

"Took me forever to confirm it. I figured it wasn't relevant to us, so I never mentioned it."

"And now it is?"

"Of course it matters now! Mom, Dad, this marriage is a business arrangement, plain and simple. Mutual interest. He gets his family off his back, I get to build my career without some husband demanding I stay home. It works out for both of us."

"I don't know, Nora..."

Her mother wavered.

"If it stops working, we get a divorce. Nothing's actually happening between us, so there's nothing to lose."

Her father nodded slowly at that. "If your mother's fine with it, I am too. You're a grown woman with your own mind. Just remember, this family's got your back, whatever you decide."

Jake nodded, satisfied. Nora smiled back at all of them.

"I'll head over to the Whitfields' now. I'll grab my things from Richard's place myself, no need to worry. Think of it as just... swapping out the groom."

She'd been living with Richard for months already. The man had changed, but she'd still be collecting what was hers and leaving the rest behind.

"We'll take care of everything on our end."

A groom isn't a rental car, you can't just swap him out, Jake thought. But none of them said it out loud, not wanting to add to Nora's stress.

Once she was out of sight, the three of them finally let their guards down. Nora's mother was the first to spit, quite literally, on the ground.

"That animal. Why wasn't he hit by a bus on his way here today?"

"His skin's thicker than city hall. A bus wouldn't do it, needs a semi-truck, back and forth a few times."

"A truck's too quick for him. I say we rough him up first, strip him down, march him through downtown with a sign around his neck, and let people throw rotten eggs so the whole city knows exactly what kind of man he is."

"Dad. Remind me never to make you angry.”