Chapter 7

Nerissa followed Lincoln out of City Hall.

The afternoon sun in Shorehaven was rather blinding, and the humid heat in the air was a stark contrast to the frosty air-conditioned environment they had just stepped out of.

The black Maybach was parked under the shady trees by the side of the road. Lincoln opened the rear door and waited beside it.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the canopy, scattering faint shadows across his brow and eyes. As he stood there, he gave the impression of a sheathed sword, hidden yet still dangerous.

When Nerissa bent down to get into the car, she could feel his gaze on her. It wasn't oppressive, but it was impossible to ignore.

"We'll be heading back to Hamilton Manor first. Grandma wants to see you," Lincoln said after getting in after her.

The door closed with a quiet thud, cutting off the outside heat.

Nerissa nodded. She was about to respond when her phone suddenly started buzzing inside her handbag. It was a call from a Northwell number she didn't recognize.

She paused, her heart lurching with a bad feeling. Why did it have to be now, of all times?

As Lincoln glanced over, she declined the call without even thinking about it. But seconds later, her phone rang again with a call from the same number.

Nerissa pressed her lips together and swiped to answer.

"Nerissa!"

The moment the call connected, Samuel's agitated voice exploded through the speaker, his tone harsh from the anger that had been brewing inside of him for days now.

"Why didn't you come home after getting discharged from the hospital? Where the hell have you run off to? Do you have any idea how many times I've called you…"

Nerissa's heart dropped. She looked to the side.

Lincoln had already withdrawn his gaze. His eyes were now lowered as he toyed idly with a lighter in his hand. Even though he was just sitting there without doing anything in particular—and without even looking at her—his presence alone put her under intense pressure.

She moved her phone farther away and muttered, "What do you want?"

"What do you mean, what do I want? Even if you're trying to kick up a fuss, Nerissa, you need to know your limits!" Samuel roared. "Yes, I acted poorly that day, but you hit Sasha! My parents have been upset about it for days now. They want you to apologize to her… Forget it. Let's drop this for now. Where are you? I'll pick you up, and we'll talk properly."

They expected her to apologize to Sasha?

Those words pricked Nerissa like fine needles stabbing into her fingertips. How absurd it all seemed to her now.

But before she could say anything, she heard a light click beside her. She glanced to the side and saw that Lincoln had taken out a small medicine bottle. There was no label on it. Opening the cap, he poured out a couple of white tablets onto his palm and popped them into his mouth in one swift motion.

She watched as his jaw tightened and his throat bobbed as he chewed the pills. The sound of crushing tablets was abnormally loud in the quiet car, giving off an almost feral sense of aggression.

Nerissa froze, momentarily forgetting that Samuel was still shouting on the other end of the call.

What medication was that? Was he unwell?

Lincoln glanced sideways at her before quirking a brow and extending the bottle toward her. "Want some?"

Nerissa didn't know what to say. Why would she take the medicine when she didn't even know what it was?

Meanwhile, Samuel caught the voice and demanded grimly, "Who's beside you? Who are you with, Nerissa?"

Nerissa dropped the call, giving him no chance to continue questioning her. She swiftly turned off her phone as well.

Silence returned to the car, leaving only the low hum of air conditioning and the steady breathing of the man beside her, whose presence felt overwhelmingly strong.

"Your boyfriend?" Lincoln abruptly spoke up, breaking the quiet.

"Nope." Nerissa immediately shook her head. "My ex."

Lincoln hummed in acknowledgment, his tone unreadable. It wasn't certain if he'd believed her, but his gaze was a little scrutinizing when it landed on her face. After a moment, he looked away toward the rapidly passing streets outside.

"Since we're married, there are some rules that need to be made clear in advance." His tone was calm and even. "First of all, during the contracted period, you're my wife. You will need to watch what you say and do."

Nerissa nodded. "I understand."

"Secondly, the situation within the Hamilton family is a complicated one. Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask, and don't interfere where you shouldn't interfere. If someone makes things difficult for you, tell me."

"Got it."

"And thirdly…" Lincoln paused.

He turned back toward her, his deep gaze slowly tracing across her face as if memorizing every flicker of her expression.

"You will need to keep your private life scandal-free. I don't care about your past. But from now on, I don't want to see people that shouldn't be appearing in front of me or hear things that I shouldn't be hearing."

His words were blunt, carrying the harshness of someone used to being superior to others and never being questioned.

Nerissa met his gaze, her tone hardening as she replied, "You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Hamilton. Since I agreed to the contract, I will follow the rules. I also hope you do the same."

Lincoln's brows lifted ever so slightly, as if surprised by her counterattack.

He stared at her a little longer, his lips curling so briefly that it looked like a fleeting illusion.

"Of course."

Now that the conversation about the rules had ended, the car fell silent again.

Nerissa looked out at the increasingly familiar road along Silver Bay, her heartbeat quickening. She was about to meet Doreen Whitmore, the Hamilton family matriarch. According to the rumors that circulated in Shorehaven, she was the one who truly called the shots in the entire Hamilton family.

…

Back in Northwell, Samuel stared at his phone, livid at the fact that Nerissa had dropped his call.

He tried three different numbers, only to receive the same automated message informing him the number was unavailable.

"Damn it!"

Samuel threw the phone against the wall. The screen shattered into a spiderweb of cracks, and the room fell silent.

His friends exchanged uneasy glances before one of them passed him a shot of whiskey. "Calm down, Samuel. You know what Nerissa's like. She'll come back by herself once she's cooled off."

"Exactly. She's madly in love with you. It's not like she'd really leave you."

Samuel downed the shot of whiskey in one gulp. The cold liquid burned down his throat but did nothing to extinguish the fire in his chest. He tugged at his collar irritably.

At that moment, someone scrolling through his phone suddenly exclaimed, "Whoa! The second son of the Hamilton family is getting married at the end of this month."

"Lincoln Hamilton? Isn't he supposed to be severely ill and almost on his deathbed? How can he get married?"

"It's probably a last-ditch attempt to somehow turn things around for him. You know how superstitious those families can be. His bride is the oldest daughter of the Reese family… Jennifer Reese? Hey, Samuel, is she related to Nerissa?"

Samuel's hand paused. Jennifer Reese, Nerissa's stepsister?

"When did the Reese family manage to establish a connection with the Hamilton family?" someone remarked. "The Hamilton family is practically royalty. Their line has gone on for centuries. Compared to them, the rest of the wealthy elite families in Northwell look like a bunch of new-money upstarts."

"Tell me about it!" someone else piped up. "I heard that Lincoln took charge of the majority of the Hamilton family's businesses when he was only 18 years old! It's said that he has connections on both sides of the law, too. A man like him…"

His voice trailed off, sounding slightly intimidated.

People with money and power could easily be found in Northwell, but the Hamiltons were a class above them all.

During the country's civil unrest in the last century, the Hamiltons had already established themselves as a powerhouse in Shorehaven. The family had made significant military contributions in the past. Not only did they survive the war, migration, and generational upheaval, but they'd also grown immensely in numbers and influence.

By the time Lincoln's generation came along, the family had absolute power in Shorehaven.

"Samuel, does this mean you'll soon be Lincoln's brother-in-law?" someone commented jokingly. "In the future, we'll be counting on you to help us out in Shorehaven."

Samuel pressed his lips thinly and said nothing.

"Oh!" someone else piped up. "Now that I think about it, we haven't been able to find Nerissa lately, right? Maybe it's because she went back to Shorehaven to attend her sister's wedding."

Samuel's brows creased. "Kirk, help me look up Nerissa's flight information."

"I'll get someone on that right away."

Ten minutes later, Kirk got off the phone and looked at Samuel. "They found it, Samuel. Nerissa flew back to Shorehaven today."

Samuel swirled the wine in his glass. Recalling the male voice he heard from the call earlier, he frowned and downed the drink in one go. "Book me a flight to Shorehaven."

From the looks of it, Nerissa was genuinely mad this time. Surely she'd be appeased if he went to Shorehaven to bring her back himself, right?