Chapter 2

I chuckled. It wasn’t clear yet who would be begging whom.

Mindy’s grandfather left behind a will before his death, stating that she had to marry me in order to inherit 50 million dollars from him. Otherwise, the will would be rendered invalid.

James held her back and scoffed at me.

“You and that West woman who got disfigured from a car accident and ended up infertile are a match made in heaven! When you see for yourself how ugly Charmaine West is, don’t end up crying in fright on your wedding night. I don’t want to see you running to Mindy’s place, crying and pleading for her to see you!”

I rebutted him with a smile, “Well, someone else might just come begging me before my wedding night for the sake of her inheritance!”

Mindy glared at me with bloodshot eyes as she bit out, “Dream on! Jerry Bale, you'll be the one begging me at the end of the day!”

My eyes narrowed, and I said unceremoniously, “Ms. Sullivan has lost her mind. Please see her out.”

In this life, I would never fall for James and her trap.

-

The West family agreed very readily to the marriage. Yet, after discussing the date of the wedding, a headline went viral online.

[Jerry Bale marries the hideous daughter of the West family to exact revenge on Mindy Sullivan]

The article didn't just vilify me as a simp at Mindy’s beck and call. It even claimed that I had sold myself to Mdm. Yardley, who was well-known to have a strange fetish, and that I was all spent with indulgence.

The elders of both families made it clear that if I did not resolve this issue, the wedding would be called off.

The writer of the article did not even bother hiding his identity. His name, James Lambert, was written blatantly on it.

At the peak of my rage, I sought out James during the birthday party Mindy organized for him.

When Mindy saw me, she swirled his wine glass casually and chuckled, “Regretting your decision so soon? It’s too late even if you were to kneel and beg me now.”

James sneered and wrapped an arm around Mindy as he said, “Jerry, it’s too late to regret now. But if you beg me, I might just put in a good word for you.”

I charged forward, grabbed James’ collar, balled up my fist, and punched him square in the face.

“James Lambert! Have you thought of how that article you wrote could negatively impact the company? Killing you twice over wouldn’t be enough to make up for the crash in stock prices!”

Mindy flung a wine glass my way and pulled James behind her. “How dare you punch James! You’re tired of living, aren’t you? Jerry Bale, apologize at once!”

Glass shards grazed the back of my hand. I clenched my fists and roared with anger, “Why should I apologize? You should ask James what he did!”

I pulled my phone out and showed her the article that had caused Bale Corporation’s stock prices to plummet for three days straight, resulting in losses amounting to tens of millions.

She furrowed her brows and flung my phone back at me. “Even if James really wrote that article, he only did it because you angered him first! Whatever it is, you should apologize to James!”

James had wanted to explain himself, but the sight of Mindy defending him to her death made his arrogance grow.

“Jerry, I did write that article and publish it, but it’s all true! You should be blaming yourself for doing what you did and bringing harm upon Bale Corporation. Why are you pushing the blame on me instead?”

The look of nonchalance on Mindy’s face made my fists shake uncontrollably.

The article James wrote was filled with half-truths. That night, Mindy was drugged during a business dinner and she had called me, crying for help.

To save her from those bigwigs, I had to seek help from Mdm. Yardley who always had a penchant for me. I stayed by her side, serving her like a slave for three days and three nights.

After the ordeal, Mindy looked at me brokenheartedly as she fed me my medicine.

“I was too careless that night. Jerry, I’ll repay your kindness with my life.”