After Three CEOs Abandoned Me, I Married the Disabled Billionaire

When the freezing water rushed down my throat, I could barely breathe.

I clung to the stone edge, my fingertips too numb to feel anything.

On the shore, Harrison only frowned.

"Vivienne, stop faking it. Chloe was in the water for less than a minute, and you had her shaking all over. When you shoved her in, did you ever stop to think about how she can't stand the cold?"

Garrett stood in front of Chloe, shielding her.

She was wrapped in his coat, her eyes red-rimmed, a few damp strands of hair clinging to her cheeks. She looked helpless and innocent.

"Vivienne, apologize to Chloe. She spent three months working on that design. You destroyed her computer and forced her into the lake. You owe her an explanation."

My lips had turned purple from the cold, but I still managed a smile.

"The design was mine. She broke her own computer. And she jumped into that lake herself."

Nathan stood further back.

He didn't look at me. He just leaned down and wiped the tears from Chloe's face.

"Don't be scared! We're here. No one's going to bully you."

Those words pressed slowly into my heart like a dull needle.

Nathan used to be the one most afraid of seeing me cry.

When I was sixteen, someone spilled juice all over my gown at a party. I hid in the bathroom and cried.

Nathan kicked the door open and carried me out.

The next day, Garrett bought out the boutique that made the dress. Harrison forced the person to apologize publicly. And Nathan showed up at my door with over a dozen new dresses.

He'd said, "When Vivienne Lane cries, all of Ashford feels the rain."

But now, I was soaking in freezing water, so cold my bones ached.

They, meanwhile, surrounded Chloe as if she were something precious they'd nearly lost.

Harrison lost his patience and kicked apart the thin ice in front of me.

"Apologize. Now."

I tilted my head up to look at him.

"And if I don't?"

"Then stay in there and think about what you did."

Chloe let out a startled cry.

"Harrison, what if something really happens to her?"

Harrison's expression flickered.

But Garrett spoke first. "She's a better swimmer than any of us. She's putting on an act."

Whatever hesitation remained vanished completely.

The whole thing suddenly seemed absurd.

They'd been by my side for twenty years, and yet they'd forgotten I couldn't swim.

In the end, it was a groundskeeper who couldn't stand watching anymore. She knelt by the bank and grabbed my hand.

"Come on, sweetheart, get out of there!"

She dragged me up the stone steps. I was shaking from head to toe.

No one came to help me.

Harrison picked up Chloe and carried her toward the lounge.

Garrett sent someone for hot water, blankets, and medicine.

Nathan slowed for half a step as he passed me.

I thought he might reach out.

Instead, he said quietly, "Vivienne, stop going after Chloe. You have options. She doesn't."

I looked up at him. "So she gets to take what's mine?"

Nathan was silent for a moment.

"You have everything. Would it really kill you to let her have this one thing?"

He walked away.

I sat on the frozen stone steps and pulled out my waterlogged phone.

The screen flickered on and off.

I dialed the number I'd refused so many times before.

It rang once.

"Miss Lane."

The man's voice was low and calm.

I stared at the three familiar silhouettes walking away.

They surrounded Chloe, just as they used to surround me.

But I didn't want to fight for them anymore.

"Mr. Thorne.

"I accept the marriage arrangement."

The line went quiet for two seconds.

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Miss Lane, I'll ask one last time.

"Are you doing this because you're being pushed into a corner, or because it's what you want?"

I gripped the phone, my palm numb from the cold.

"It's what I want."

"Very well."

Damian didn't ask anything more.

"Tomorrow night at ten. I'll send someone for you."

The call ended.

Harrison happened to come back just then.

He stared at my phone, his expression darkening.

"Who were you just calling?"

I slipped the phone into my pocket.

"None of your business."

"Vivienne."

He grabbed my wrist.

"Running to your grandmother to tattle again? No one's going to coddle you this time."

I pried his fingers off.

"Don't worry. This time, I won't turn to any of you."