Chapter 4

Ewan gently ran a hand through my hair, looking almost satisfied that I'd finally stopped fighting him.

"Three days from now, on our wedding day, I will step in and help the Waller Group out of this mess," he said.

When he saw the confusion in my eyes, he took the time to explain. "Lilith and I weren't married that day. The whole thing was just to make you jealous. The new wedding date is still set for us."

"Mr. Holland has already compromised for you time and again. Don't throw that away by being ungrateful now," Lilith chimed in from beside him, her voice dripping with envy.

My vision blurred with tears, and I let out a bitter laugh. "You're really willing to marry me after all this? Doesn't the thought of touching me disgust you?"

His smile was cruel. "I guess we're even now. Let's put this behind us. Once we're married, we'll start over and live our lives properly."

When I said nothing, he didn't seem concerned. "Take your time to think about it. I believe you'll come around eventually."

Like a lost soul, I walked out of the building.

When I checked my phone, all I saw were threats from shareholders, flirtatious messages from business partners, and whispers that my dad's love children were already circling the company, waiting for their chance to take advantage of the chaos.

I sat in my car all night before finally deciding to give in. But on my way home the next morning, I spotted Lilith sitting inside a café by the roadside.

Several men were sitting across from her. I recognized them instantly; they were the same men who assaulted me five years ago.

My eyes widened. "Aren't they supposed to be in prison?"

I pulled over, stumbled out of the car, and crouched nearby where they couldn't see me. Their conversation carried clearly through the window.

"For every time you do this to her over the next three days, I'll pay you another ten grand." Lilith pushed my photograph across the table. "I don't believe Mr. Holland can keep swallowing this forever. There's no way he'll marry a loose woman like her."

She was clearly trying to make the lie she'd told years ago look like the truth.

A thug picked up the photo with one hand while casually picking his teeth with the other.

"Well, look who it is. An old friend," he said, clicking his tongue. "We got a job involving her five years ago, and now it's her again. What, you guys have a grudge against her?"

"What do you mean?" Lilith blinked, but she didn't press him.

After giving them a few more instructions, she hurried away.

She didn't understand, but I did.

I ran back to my car and broke down sobbing. No wonder Ewan had found me even faster than the police back then. No wonder he'd insisted I stay out of the courtroom during the trial, saying it might bring back those painful memories.

It turned out that he'd orchestrated the entire thing himself, and those men had never gone to prison. My mind flashed back to the day my mother learned what had happened and died with her eyes still open.

"If I hadn't fought so hard to keep the company, would my daughter have been safe? Would she have been spared all this?" she had said.

I remembered Ewan standing beside her hospital bed, promising her that he'd protect me for the rest of his life. "Alicia, as long as I'm around, no one will ever hurt you again."

He had killed my mother, yet somehow, he'd convinced me all these years that her death was the work of the illegitimate heirs fighting us for the company.

I cried in the car until exhaustion finally took me under. When I woke up, my phone was flooded with more than countless messages and missed calls from Ewan.

Only then did I realize I'd been unconscious for an entire day and night. I scrolled through the messages.

Ewan: [Alicia, stop being stubborn. This is the company your mother nearly gave her life to build for you.]

Ewan: [If you walk away, there are plenty of women waiting to marry me. But once I'm gone, do you think anyone will want you?]

Ewan: [This is your last day.]

...

I sneered and called him back.

"Ewan, I'll do it. But this time... I'll choose the guests."

Satisfaction colored his voice. "Fine. Invite whoever you want. Say my name, and they'll show you the proper respect."

I hung up without another word and drove straight to the police station.

On the day of the wedding, I invited every major media outlet in the industry. The ballroom was filled with flashing cameras as reporters pointed their lenses toward the stage.

I wore the same wedding dress I'd worn the last time, while the giant screen behind us played footage of our supposedly romantic history together.

Ewan dropped to one knee, looking deeply affectionate. "Alicia, will you marry me?"

The moment the words left his mouth, the screen behind him abruptly changed. The sound of my screams during the assault filled the ballroom.

Ewan spun around in shock. "Who did this? Turn it off! Now!"

"I did," I said calmly.

He turned back to me, stunned. "What? Why are you doing this?"

I turned toward the ballroom doors. "The guests I invited are here. They say you don't deserve to marry me."

Police sirens sounded outside. The doors opened, and officers marched in with the six men who had assaulted me five years ago.