5 Sorry, Son. That Was Me

“Uh...”

Soren’s face turned deathly pale. He answered once and stepped backward, already preparing to run for his life.

Before he could, Calder grabbed him by the collar and dragged him hard into the room.

Bang!

The door slammed shut.

“Talk.”

Calder’s voice was furious.

One word was enough to drain all color from Soren’s face, as if he had just seen the Grim Reaper.

“Dad, listen to me... You were the one who had me locked in the room last night. How was I supposed to know she was in there? This can’t be blamed on me...”

No, it could not be blamed on his son.

It was his fault.

Calder shoved Soren away and pinched the tired space between his brows. His mood only grew worse.

Meryl entered the suite and found the place in complete disarray, with white feathers scattered everywhere.

Then she saw Nola on the bed. The girl was wrapped in a blanket, curled into herself, sobbing helplessly.

“Nola!”

At the sound of Meryl’s voice, Nola lifted her tearful eyes. Her eyes and the tip of her nose were red, and more wronged tears spilled out.

“Meryl, someone hurt me... Wuu...”

“Nola...”

Meryl’s heart ached so badly she could hardly breathe. Guilt nearly drowned her. It was all her fault. She had hurt Nola.

Nola threw herself into Meryl’s arms and cried out loud. Meryl held her sister and comforted her.

“Nola, don’t cry... Don’t cry... It’s my fault. I got the room wrong last night. I’m sorry, Nola...”

Soren followed Calder into the room. He swept a glance over the scene, then saw Nola crying like that. Only then did he realize that his bride in name had been forced by someone last night.

No matter what, Nola was supposed to be his arranged marriage wife. Soren still had his pride.

He clenched his fists in anger and looked at his father.

“Dad! Which bastard hurt her? He clearly doesn’t take the Rook family seriously at all. He dared steal my bride?”

Calder looked at him with a complicated expression.

Sorry, son. Your father stole your bride.

“That bastard already ran off, didn’t he? I’ll call someone to check the surveillance right now. Once I find out who it was, I’ll throw him into the sea to feed the sharks.”

Soren turned to leave in a fury, but Calder grabbed him.

“Get back here.”

After Meryl calmed her sister down and Nola’s sobs grew quieter, she asked, “Nola, tell me. Who hurt you last night? I’ll stand up for you.”

Even if this arranged marriage fell apart, she would never let the person who hurt Nola get away with it.

Nola sniffled and lifted her tear streaked little face. She pointed at the man by the door.

“It was him! It was that old bastard!”

Calder was silent.

Soren was silent.

Meryl was silent.

It was as if someone had pressed pause on time. Everything froze, and the atmosphere turned strange in an instant.

The awkwardness was suffocating. It was even more terrifying than running into a ghost.

Neither Meryl nor Soren had likely imagined that the person who had hurt Nola was Calder himself.

It was also hard to imagine how he could have done such a thing.

He was powerful, stern, old fashioned, and cold. In the twenty years since his wife passed away, he had never gone near women. How could he have laid a hand on Nola?

Not to mention, Nola was supposed to marry his son.

Soren was the first to react.

“No way, Dad...”

He had thought some bastard had stolen his bride. After all that, it turned out to be his own father.

Being betrayed by his own father was not exactly something to be proud of.

But after Soren thought about it again, he could not help feeling a little relieved.

Ha. He had caught his father’s weakness now.

Then his father would not blame him for what he did last night, right?

From now on, he could do whatever he wanted. Even if he turned the world upside down, his father would not dare hit him, right?

“Mr. Rook, last night, you and Nola... That can’t be true, right?”

Meryl stared at Calder in horror. She had always respected him as much as she respected her own father.

Her brain was about to burn out. How had she brought Nola into Room 710 last night? And how had Calder ended up with Nola?

How did this happen?

This joke had gone way too far.

“Ahem.”

Calder raised a fist to his lips and gave a light cough, then offered the necessary explanation.

“I didn’t know Nola was in my room last night. I had been drugged... I am responsible for this matter, but right now, we should discuss how to solve it.”

Once she understood the reason, Meryl knew she could not put all the blame on Calder. She explained, “I am responsible too. I was a little seasick last night, and I had been drinking. The room card Nola gave me was 716, but I misread it as 710 and brought Nola here. What are we supposed to do now?”

Meryl regretted it so badly that she almost lost her composure. One careless mistake from her had thrown all four of them into chaos last night.

How were they supposed to clean this up?

“The wedding ceremony still has to be held this morning. We have to settle this first.”

Calder looked at Meryl.

“Meryl, I know I should not ask this, but did something happen between you and Soren last night too?”

Meryl’s cheeks turned red, her guilt written all over her face.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Rook... I...”

Nola blinked her tear filled eyes.

What was going on?

Her sister and Soren had slept together last night?

“Dad, this can’t be blamed on Meryl. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself. You forced me into this marriage. You were the one who had me tied up and brought back. Then you slept with my bride, which led to Meryl and me ending up together by mistake...”

Soren crossed his arms, raised a brow at Meryl, then looked at his father with a touch of gloating.

His father had never made a mistake in more than forty years.

This time, he wanted to see what his father would do.

“Fine.”

Calder came up with a solution.

“The responsibility is mine. But this concerns the Rook family’s reputation. The marriage cannot be canceled. Still, it would not be appropriate for Nola and Soren to hold the ceremony today. In that case, why not change the bride to you, Meryl?”

Soren stared at him.

“Dad, what did you say? You want me to marry Meryl?”

Meryl’s heart tightened. She quickly found an excuse to refuse.

“I’m afraid that would not be appropriate, Mr. Rook. I have a fiancé...”

At those words, a shadow crossed Soren’s unruly face.

She already had a fiancé, yet she had dared flirt with him at the private club?

Nola had stopped crying. She had calmed down completely and was now thinking about both herself and her sister.

When she heard Calder suggest that Meryl replace her in the marriage, she could not bear for Meryl to suffer. Everyone knew Soren was a spoiled rich playboy, arrogant, unruly, and reckless. Marrying a man like that meant there was no hope of a happy life.

“I object!”

Nola spoke up and grabbed Meryl’s hand.

“Why don’t we just cancel the marriage with the Rook family?”

Neither of them needed to marry. The sisters could support each other and still live well.

“Impossible.”

Calder’s dark eyes turned cold, carrying a sharp edge.

“The marriage concerns the family business and the rise and fall of Rook Maritime Group. The news of the alliance has already been announced publicly, and the outside response has been favorable. If we suddenly cancel it, it will deal a serious blow to both Rook Maritime and the Rook family.

“I will never allow that to happen. The marriage cannot be canceled. The ceremony must be held this morning.”