LOGINTristan had been wounded and missing for six months. The Blade family eventually found him in the country where I'd been studying.Eric's eyes went wide, and he shook with rage.Despite all his scheming, he had never imagined it would all come back to destroy him.But he wasn't about to let this opportunity go to waste.He had kept backups of all our online chats from back then, just in case.Eric spread them everywhere, trying to make it look as though I'd been seeing two men at once.He cast Tristan as a lowlife homewrecker.My reputation suffered, and even the Commission asked Tristan if it was true.Tristan was furious and wanted to go to the South Side to find Eric.But I stopped him.It wasn't out of hatred. I just understood what was really going on.Knowing Eric, this was only the beginning.He wanted to test the Perrin family's limits and use the opportunity to regain his position in the Blade family's inner circle.Some scores, it seemed, had to be settled in person.Eric was
"This was between me and my brother. Did you have to take it this far?"Even now, he didn't believe he'd done anything wrong.He only knew he was finished.He blamed me for showing up at the party and taking the matter all the way to the Don.But what if I still weighed 220 pounds?I would have fallen into his trap and been forced to run away.I would have disgraced my family and left us at the mercy of the Blade family.My fate wouldn't have mattered to him.He would have kept the fortune he'd made from my mother's plantations.Then he would have lived comfortably with Jasmine, without a care in the world."Weren't you the one who set up the bet so Tristan would propose to me first?"Weren't you the one who told me not to choose you?"I reminded him calmly."Now that I've played along, why are you getting so worked up?"A bet's a bet."Eric's voice shot up."It was a joke!""But I took it seriously."I gave him an icy look.Eric could see my mind was made up and nothing would change i
I'll never forget that night.My classmates had rented a bar for a Christmas party.When it was my turn to go in, they deliberately blocked the door.A slim girl swayed her hips and sneered at me. "Squeeze in through the crack. How else are you going to get into the party?"I did my best to squeeze through and keep my dignity.Then they threw the door open, and a tub of ice water came down on my head.In the cold wind, they all pointed at me."Frozen pork!"Canadian winters are brutally cold. My whole body shook.And yet my face was burning.I was about to run off in shame, as I always did.Then Ian showed up."You taught everyone who bullied me a lesson."My voice broke. "You were my hero. Then you pressed a gift into my hands and vanished."I thought you were dead."I was heartbroken every moment after that."Tristan's hand stilled against my cheek.Then he pulled me tight into his arms."Three years ago, I was overseas on a job for the family."I was betrayed. Everyone with me was k
The once-noisy room fell silent, leaving only me and my family's bodyguards.My composure finally began to crumble.I sat down, my nails digging into my palms.Over the past two years, I had lost 110 pounds, and it wasn't just because of my feelings for Eric.I still remembered the Christmas gift Ian had pressed into my hands.The earrings came with a note that read, "Be brave and face whatever life throws at you."His words had made me want to change my life.I remembered every meal that left me hungry, every moment I wanted to give up.And every night I was too exhausted to stand.I had thought living bravely meant giving up my dream and accepting the marriage for my family's sake.I never imagined it would end in humiliation.My fists clenched involuntarily.But this time, I wasn't going to run away.When I got home, I told my parents everything.My father might not have liked me, but the insult enraged him.He rushed off to call a family meeting, swearing to cut all ties with the B
When Tristan finished, Leon's expression barely changed.But his eyes darkened.Jasmine still tried to turn things around. "This is a setup!"You've been talking to Emma behind everyone's back, haven't you?"You set this whole thing up to frame us?"Everyone knows you and Eric don't get along. You don't count as a witness."I glanced at my watch again. Perfect timing."Then I'll give you the hard evidence."The moment I said it, I got a text.It was a notice from the casino confirming the bet had settled.Clearly, everyone had forgotten there was an actual bet involved.From the moment I walked into the party, I'd kept quiet to stall for time.I wanted to keep everyone's attention on me.That way, they would forget about the betting pool.The payout on the notice no longer mattered.What mattered was the bet itself. They had wagered on the Perrin family's prospective bride.To aristocrats, that alone was an unforgivable insult.Eric had grown up in the countryside. He knew nothing of a
Tristan and Eric's father had arrived.Don Leon Blade walked into the room.He'd only bothered to show up at a party like this to show my family some respect."You must be Ms. Perrin."Please convey my respects to your family."My father had been pushing the marriage forward all along.Perhaps he'd been too ashamed to tell them I weighed 220 pounds.Or perhaps the two families had still been feeling each other out.Either way, my father had never told them what I looked like.Leon had recognized me at a glance. He must have had someone investigate me beforehand.I responded with an elegant curtsy.I couldn't help thinking back to the party two years earlier.What if Eric had had someone investigate me afterward, or simply confronted me about it?He might have learned how hard I was working to become someone worthy of standing beside him.But what-ifs couldn't change anything.Leon was a busy man. He'd come for one reason: to find out which of his sons I would choose.My choice would af







