Chapter 2

Sienna forgot all about maintaining her composure and rushed forward to stop me. "Violet! Have you lost your mind? You just came back. You don't understand the situation in our circle at all. Drake has a terrible temper and a bad reputation. Most importantly..."

She bit her lip, glanced at Drake, and then looked back at me. "He already has someone in his heart. If you force him like this, you won't be happy!"

Callum seemed to have received a signal and stumbled forward. "That's right, Ms. Violet..." His eyes were red-rimmed, his voice slightly choked.

"A relationship that's forced never works out. Actually, instead of choosing someone who doesn't love you, why not look at the people around you who truly understand and cherish you?"

The pop-up messages before my eyes started spinning their narrative again.

[Listen! What a kind boy!]

[Are you really going to be a heartbreaker? Callum is being so humble!]

[Drake is damaged goods. Even Sienna doesn't want him, but you're treating him like treasure!]

I looked coldly at these two putting on their coordinated performance.

"Oh? Someone in his heart?" I ignored Sienna and turned to look at Drake instead, my gaze playful as I deliberately raised my voice. "Mr. Weston, Sienna says you have someone in your heart and that you look down on me. Is that true?"

In my previous life, Sienna used this exact method to drive a wedge between us, turning Drake and me into enemies before our relationship even began. She spread rumors everywhere, claiming Drake was madly in love with her and that I had stolen him away.

Drake had too much pride to bother explaining, and eventually, we grew further and further apart.

This life, I would make him speak for himself.

Drake raised an eyebrow. "Sienna, are you delusional? When have I ever said that I liked you? Was it that time you got drunk and threw up all over me, or that time you stood me up for Callum? The only reason I haven't beaten you senseless is out of respect for Mr. Harlow."

The entire venue erupted in gasps and murmurs. Guests began whispering among themselves.

"I knew it. How could the eldest son of the Weston family possibly be interested in an adopted daughter?"

"So, Sienna was just fooling herself this whole time..."

Sienna's face turned scarlet. She never expected Drake to humiliate her so publicly.

"Drake, you... Don't use Violet just to spite me!" Sienna tried desperately to recover.

Drake let out a cold laugh, turned around, and took my arm again with natural intimacy. "Violet, I've liked you for a long time."

My heart stirred slightly. He was not opposed to this marriage?

Seeing that, my parents laughed heartily. "Wonderful! Wonderful! Mutual affection is the best outcome! This marriage is approved!"

Mom took out an exquisite pendant she had prepared in advance and placed it around Drake's neck. "Welcome to the family. I'm entrusting my Vy to you!"

That settled it. I looked at Sienna's eyes, which were filled with venom, and leaned slightly toward her ear.

In a voice only the two of us could hear, I said softly, "Why are your hands shaking, Sienna? Are you afraid that once Drake becomes your brother-in-law, you won't have the chance to use him to swallow up the Harlow family's assets?"

Sienna's pupils contracted sharply as she jerked her head up to look at me.

In that instant, the pop-up messages that had been scrolling frantically before my eyes suddenly got cut off. They dissolved into a complete mess of meaningless garbled characters.

[#@￥%...&]

It seemed the person operating behind the scenes had lost control.

The scheme she had carefully designed was intended to have me marry an illegitimate son with no background, making it easier to sideline me later. If I married Drake and gained the Weston family as backing, how could she possibly compete with me?