Chapter 3 The Man I Married

Linda started wailing too. "That's right, Mr. Carter. Just look at her!"

She pointed at me. "She's just your woman. Back where we come from, a wife is supposed to obey her husband. A woman who talks back to her husband like she does would've been strung up and beaten."

I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

What shocked me even more was that Ryan actually bought their ridiculous nonsense.

A look of sympathy crossed his face, and instead of standing up for me, he turned and tried to persuade me instead.

"Victoria, come on. They're just two women from the countryside. They've had a hard life. Can't you be the bigger person and let this one go?"

When he saw the look on my face, he actually added, "You're all women. Why make things harder for each other? It's over a hundred degrees outside. You can't just throw two pregnant women out like that. That's going too far."

I could practically feel my blood pressure shooting through the roof.

"Ryan," I said, laughing out of pure anger, "you've got some nerve. You eat my food, live in my house, spend my money, and now you're taking the side of two strangers against me? You've gotten awfully comfortable living off your wife."

Those last words hit Ryan square in his fragile ego.

His face instantly turned crimson. Humiliated and furious, he jabbed a finger at my face and roared, "Victoria, who do you think you are? If it weren't for me, Harper Group would've been picked clean by those old vultures a long time ago. Do you think you'd still be sitting where you are today?"

He stepped in front of the two women, shielding them behind him.

"I'm telling you, Victoria. I'm the head of this family. And I'm standing up for them. If you don't like it, then you can leave."

The sheer audacity.

As I looked at the man who had forgotten his place, and the two smug shrews grinning behind him, the last bit of affection I had left for him vanished without a trace.

I was done tolerating him.

I walked into the study, pulled a document from the drawer, and slapped it across his face.

"The one who needs to leave is you. Ryan, I only wanted to focus on my pregnancy, so I let you serve as acting chairman for a few months. Did you really start believing you were somebody? You actually think you can walk all over me now?"

With a cold laugh, I raised my voice toward the empty staircase. "Nicholas, how much longer are you planning to stand there and watch the show? Throw all three of them out. Now."

The moment I finished speaking, a figure emerged from the shadows on the second floor.

Dressed in a black suit, he stood tall and straight. His expression was cold, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.

Nicholas Harrington was the most capable assistant my father had left me. Other than me, he was the only person in this house with any real authority.

The moment Ryan saw Nicholas, half the arrogance on his face disappeared. In its place was unmistakable panic. "N-Nicholas? What are you doing here?"

Nicholas ignored him. He walked straight over to me and bowed his head slightly. "Ms. Harper, my apologies. I failed to do my job."

I waved him off and pointed at the three people still standing there in stunned silence. "Enough talking. I want them gone. Now."