Chapter 3

As I stared at the blatant threat in Ciara's eyes, I found the entire situation laughable. She was the woman I'd loved and cherished with all my heart for three years—a woman who'd use our marriage to coerce me for the sake of Carl, her adopted brother, whose sole desire was to sleep with her.

"So?" I questioned. "Are you now begging me to help him?"

"Why, you!"

Ciara was shaking with rage, but after thinking of something, she said with a sneer, "Don't think I don't know what's going through your head, Julian. You're just acting like this to make me beg you, right? Fine, then. I'm begging you. Happy now?

"Go out there and bring him back right this minute!"

After a pause, she added fiercely, "Otherwise, even if we get married tomorrow, I won't ever let you touch me! Once we're married, I'll get an IUD—I'll even tie my tubes to see to it that the Spencer family bloodline ends with you!"

Staring at her vengeful expression, I let out an abrupt chuckle.

She wanted to end my family bloodline, huh? She sure thought highly of herself.

Just as I turned to leave, however, I noticed that the keys to my limited-edition Maybach were now missing from the counter in the hallway.

Carl must've stolen them.

Noticing that I'd paused, Ciara realized what had happened, and her face took on a look of triumphant smugness.

"If I recall correctly, you can track the GPS location of that car, right? Even if you don't care about Carl, you should think about that precious car of yours, the one you spent over six months waiting for."

My heart clenched. In all honesty, no matter how expensive a car was, it was nothing more than a car to me. However, the emerald locket that my deceased grandmother gave me was hanging in that car. It was the last token of hers I had to remember her by.

"Why are you still standing there?" Ciara snapped impatiently. "I'm warning you. If Carl does anything rash—"

"Shut up."

Cutting her off, I called up my assistant, Henry Verne. "Bring over a car for me, and send me the location of my car."

I turned back around and eyed Ciara coldly. "Stop bothering me with asinine threats."

…

When Henry brought the car over, I got in, buckled my seatbelt, and drove straight to the GPS location of my car.

My phone started ringing. I wanted to reject the call, but after seeing who the caller was, I took a deep breath and answered it.

Serena Langston's voice was as crisp as ever. "Julian, about tomorrow, are you sure this decision you've made isn't just a whim of yours in the heat of the moment?"

Rubbing my forehead, I replied, "Do I look like the type of person who'd be this impulsive with a marriage alliance?"

"Nope," Serena admitted with a laugh. "But you do look like a fool who's lost his mind because of another woman."

"That's why I need a partner who's clear-headed," I replied.

I checked the location of the Maybach. It was racing toward a mountainous area on the outskirts of the city.

Frowning, I continued, "Langston Group wants to claim the renewable energy market in Eudorea, and my family's business channels are your easiest way in. Our marriage will be a mutually beneficial one."

After a moment of silence, Serena said, "But I won't want to marry a man who's in love with another woman."

"From tonight onward, that's no longer the case," I said, still staring at the GPS tracker on my screen. "See you at the wedding ceremony tomorrow."

I ended the call and floored the accelerator. At the end of the mountain road, I finally spotted the familiar car. However, it suddenly turned around and sped straight toward me.

The headlights blinded me. I couldn't react in time.

The impact of the crash made me lose control of the car. My forehead bashed against the steering wheel, and blood immediately trickled down my face.

As the pain ripped through my body, my vision began to dim. Through the shattered window, I saw the door of the Maybach opening.

Carl stumbled out of the car, clutching a glinting item in his hand—the emerald locket Grandma left to me!

"This is probably worth quite a bit of money, huh?"

I tried my best to crawl toward him, but a few of my ribs seemed to have broken. Even the slightest movement made me tremble from the pain.

"Let go of it…"

"Let go of it, you say?" Carl repeated as he kicked my car door aside. "You've been pestering Ciara for years now! I don't see you doing me a favor and letting her go."

Carl raised his hand and flung the emerald locket heavily onto the ground. Even though it cracked with a crisp sound, it wasn't enough for him. He even stomped on it for good measure.

"Carl!" I bellowed, my throat raw. "That belonged to my grandma!"

"Who the hell cares about your grandma!" Carl roared back at me before clutching me by my bloodied shirt and dragging me out of the car.

Pointing at the hickeys on his neck, he declared, "Ciara gave these to me. I'm the only one who gets to touch her. Do you think she actually likes you? She simply treats you like a personal ATM!"

The more he spoke, the more exhilarated he became.

"As for all the properties, shares, and sports car she demands from you, haven't they all been for me?"

Carl stared at me for a moment before letting out a maniacal laugh, saying, "You think you're so great, don't you, Julian? Since you stole Ciara from me, I'm going to kill you for it!"

With that, he grabbed my collar and started hauling me toward the cliff.