Chapter 2~ Her mother's legacy

Miriam seemed to have a warm smile on her face, but Roxanne could see through her façade that Miriam just didn't want her daughter to marry a disabled man. 

What an excuse.

Internally rolling her eyes, Roxanne was about to say something but Miriam continued, "My dear daughter, since your mother passed away, your father and I have worked hard to raise you and your sister. We all hope that you can marry the best man, and now, Henry is a good choice.

Moreover, if we break the agreement, the reputation of the Smith family will be ruined. Likewise, the friendship between your father and the Ford family will cease to exist. As the best-behaved daughter of the Smith family, this must not be what you want, right? Kenneth?"

Miriam threw the ball into Kenneth's hands. Indirectly urging him to convince Roxanne. Having mentioned the Smith family's reputation, Miriam knew Kenneth would not change his mind.

Kenneth cleared his throat and looked at his daughter, saying, “I think there’s no problem. Both of you are engaged to rich and powerful men. You’ve merely just exchanged grooms. Roxanne, Henry is a good man and I believe he will make you happy.”

Roxanne sighed. Her father always cared about the reputation of the Smith family and her stepmother also knew what her father cared about most. This was why Miriam used the family's reputation as a weapon to thrust her into another arranged marriage. 

To be honest, Roxanne didn’t really care who she would marry knowing she had no choice in that matter. Marrying for love was a luxury and this was a fact she had accepted a long time ago.

Maya suddenly approached her and placed her hand on Roxanne’s shoulder, saying, “Congratulations, sis. I’m sorry I fell in love with Victor and he chose me too. Henry is not so bad… he might be a cripple but he’s rich.”

Roxanne could feel how fake Maya’s words were and they made her stomach churn.

How dare she pretend to congratulate her when she deliberately changed grooms to avoid marrying Henry?! She created all this mess just because she didn't want to get married to a disabled man.

Just thinking about it made Roxanne's blood boil. The mother and daughter always did this. Acting kind and sweet in front of Kenneth and when he wasn't looking, they showed their true colours. 

Despite knowing what her stepsister and stepmother were doing, Roxanne couldn’t reject the marriage. She would still end up in another arranged marriage with someone else so there was no point in fighting it.

From the corner of her eyes, she could see Maya’s gloating smile and anger flared through her. She didn’t want to give her the satisfaction.

Roxanne smiled brightly and replied, “Although Henry Ford is a “cripple”, he’s the richest man in Brentwood City. And so much better than my Ex-fiancé.”

She glanced at Maya and then at her stepmother before adding as a smirk curved the side of her lips, “Thank you for making me the most powerful woman in the City.”

Maya and Miriam’s smiles instantly dropped at those words.

“I’ll marry Henry Ford but only on one condition,” Roxanne declared after taking in a sharp breath.

There was no point in refusing the marriage as it was inevitable. However, that didn’t mean she would accept it blindly without fighting for something else.

She had to benefit from this arrangement and her eyes were only on one thing. 

The legacy that her mother left for her. 

Looking at her father, she proposed, “I’ll marry Henry in place of Maya if you put me in charge of the shopping mall. The one my mother left for me.”

Anger surged within Miriam when she heard Roxanne’s condition. A vicious look flashed through her eyes but she quickly hid it before saying, “My dear, why are you mentioning the shopping mall? You don't even know how to run a shopping mall. Don’t be childish, it has nothing to do with your agreement to get married."   

She glanced at Kenneth and said sweetly, "Honey, Roxanne is too young. She's still acting like when she was a child, every time she encounters something she is not satisfied with, she becomes vexatious."

 Miriam didn't miss the opportunity to discredit Roxanne.

There was a smile on her face but her blood was boiling with hatred.

How dare this little bitch try to steal the most profitable shopping mall?

Miriam had other plans. Only her daughter deserved to inherit the shopping mall and all the businesses that Kenneth owned. She had no intentions of giving anything to Roxanne, never!

She didn’t marry a rich man for her and her daughter to end up empty-handed.

Kenneth sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and remarked, “Your mother’s right, Roxanne. With no skills or the right qualifications, how would you run a shopping mall? Besides, unlike your sister, you’re an introvert and have no connections. How will you improve the shopping mall if you can’t bring in big clients?”

Roxanne scoffed internally at his words. Whose fault was it that she wasn’t known among the socialites? Whose fault was it that she didn’t have a proper degree?

When Kenneth married Miriam, it was at a time when Roxanne had poor health.

Miriam took advantage of that fact and made her stay home while her daughter got the best education and nurtured her talent.

If Roxanne didn’t have an online business course secretly, she would still have no qualifications to her name to that day.

‘I have to get my mother’s shopping mall back at all costs! I’ll never let Maya and her mother have it, ever!’ Roxanne promised herself. 

For years, she had watched Miriam take over almost everything that her mother had contributed to until all traces of her disappeared. The RG shopping mall was different since it belonged to Roxanne as per her mother's will. 

She would never forgive herself if it landed in the wrong hands.