I Will Marry Her Instead

A vintage wine is poured by trembling hands, and rare, decadent delicacies cover the center of the table.

Throughout the course of the meal, Sofia and a few other maids circulate silently, pouring water and clearing empty plates with practiced caution.

Across the table, Edward barely touches the gourmet food on his plate, pushing a piece of steak around with his fork.

Vanessa notices his lack of appetite and leans in closer, batting her eyelashes.

"Does the dinner not suit your sophisticated palate, Edward?"

"It is acceptable," Edward replies flatly, not even looking at her.

Vanessa forces a strained, tight-lipped smile, though her eyes flash with annoyance.

"Well, you need not worry. Once we are married, I will personally ensure our future home employs only the finest Michelin-starred chefs in the world."

Edward stares straight ahead, offering absolute silence.

His cold indifference acts like fuel to a fire, deeply irritating her pride. Desperate to force him to look at her, Vanessa deliberately nudges her porcelain soup bowl with her elbow.

With a sharp clatter, the bowl tips completely over. Bright red, scalding-hot lobster bisque splashes violently across the pristine white tablecloth and soaks straight through the front of her expensive designer dress.

Vanessa gasps in an exaggerated, theatrical shriek.

"Oh! Look what you forced me to do, you utterly useless, clumsy maid!"

Every single servant in the dining room instantly stiffens into statues.

Panic flashes in Sofia's eyes. Knowing she will be blamed regardless of the truth, she steps forward immediately, bowing her head.

"I—I am truly sorry, Miss Vanessa. Let me clean that up right away—"

Before Sofia can even grab a napkin, Vanessa's hand snaps out.

Slap!

The vicious sound echoes sharply through the cavernous dining room. The brutal impact knocks Sofia completely off balance, sending her crashing hard against the floor. Her cheek instantly turns a vivid crimson.

"I am sorry..." Sofia whimpers, clutching her burning face.

"Sorry?!" Vanessa screeches, her mask of elegance completely shattering. She lunges forward, grabbing Sofia fiercely by a handful of her hair and jerking her head upward.

"You incompetent piece of trash! You could not even clean fast enough to prevent this humiliation!"

The other maids gasp, some turning away in discomfort, but none of them step in to stop her.

"Vanessa, control yourself in front of our guest," Mrs. Vance whispers sharply, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"Stay out of this, Mother!" Vanessa snaps back, completely losing her composure.

Ignoring the horrified expressions around the table, Vanessa twists her grip tighter and shoves Sofia's face violently toward the steaming, boiling-hot soup still pooled inside the overturned bowl on the table.

"Please! No, stop it—!" Sofia cries out in absolute agony as the burning liquid splashes directly against her cheek and neck.

The other servants lower their heads even lower, trembling in terror. Not a single person dares to interfere or risk Vanessa's wrath.

Vanessa jerks Sofia's hair again, her voice venomous. "Learn your proper place in this world, you filthy commoner."

A suffocating, deathly silence crashes over the entire dining hall.

Slowly, deliberately, Edward Dallion places his crystal wine glass down onto the table.

Clink.

The soft, precise sound echoes through the room, somehow sounding infinitely louder and more terrifying than Vanessa's screaming.

Edward slowly rises from his chair, his tall frame looming over the table. Every single pair of eyes in the room instantly snaps toward him.

His voice cuts through the heavy air. It is not raised. It is quiet. It is icy. It is absolute.

"I have seen quite enough."

Vanessa freezes, instantly releasing her grip on Sofia’s hair. She forces a frantic, incredibly nervous laugh, trying to cover her tracks.

"Edward, darling... please sit down. This is merely standard discipline for an incompetent, clumsy servant who does not know her boundaries."

Edward ignores her completely. Instead, he slowly steps away from his seat, turning his cold, piercing eyes toward the Vance family at the table.

"This marriage..."

His deep voice cuts through the stunned silence like a razor-sharp blade.

"...is officially canceled."

Total chaos erupts around the room.

"What?!" Mr. Vance sputters, slamming his hands on the table.

"Edward, you cannot possibly mean this!" his mother shrieks in horror.

"Mr. Dallion, please reconsider!" Daniel stammers, wide-eyed, rushing a step forward.

Vanessa’s face turns a chalky, sickly shade of white, her lips trembling.

"You—You cannot be serious! You are throwing away an alliance with the Vance family over a worthless maid?!"

Edward ignores every protest echoing through the hall as though they are nothing more than whispers.

Instead…

He slowly raises one hand. His index finger extends, pointing directly down at the trembling, bruised maid still kneeling helplessly on the floor.

"I will marry her instead."

A graveyard silence settles over the dining hall, stealing the breath from every person in the room.

Sofia slowly lifts her head, staring up at the billionaire in complete, paralyzing disbelief.

"S—Sir...?" Sofia breathes out, her voice barely a whisper.

Her mind spins wildly. For one terrifying second, she convinces herself that the heat from the soup has made her hallucinate.

Because there is simply no universe, no possible reality, where the most powerful, untouchable billionaire in the entire country could ever choose to marry a lowly servant girl.

The Vance Mansion dining hall explodes into pure, chaotic shock.

"What utter nonsense are you talking about?!"

Vanessa's shrill, hysterical voice echoes off the grand chandelier as she stares at Edward in utter disbelief. Her perfectly applied makeup fails to hide the demonic rage twisting her features.

"Edward, this is not funny! Take it back right now!"

Edward does not even spare her a glance. His entire attention remains fixed on the trembling young woman kneeling on the polished marble floor.

Sofia's breathing comes in short, ragged gasps. The lingering, burning pain on her cheek barely compares to the overwhelming shock flooding her mind.

"Marry... him?" Sofia mutters under her breath, her eyes wide with terror. "No... No, I must be losing my mind. The soup must have burned my ears..."

She knows who he is. Mr. Edward Dallion is the most powerful, untouchable billionaire in the entire country. And what is she? She is nothing more than a nameless, discarded maid.

"M—Mr. Dallion..." Sofia whispers, her voice shaking violently. "I—I think you have mistaken me for someone else, sir..."

Edward's expression remains as calm as a frozen lake. "I have not mistaken anyone."

"This is outrageous!"

Richard Vance, Vanessa's father, slams both of his heavy fists onto the dining table, causing the crystal wine glasses to rattle violently.

His wife, Margaret Vance, quickly jumps to her feet beside him, her diamonds glittering under the lights.

"Edward, be reasonable! Sofia is just a maid! She is a commoner with no lineage, no status! She is not worthy of walking the same halls as the Dallions, let alone becoming your wife!"

Edward does not even spare her a single glance. Instead, he walks steadily around the long table, stopping directly in front of Sofia.

She remains kneeling on the floor, her cheek weeping a fresh burn, tears of humiliation silently streaming down her face as she desperately tries to keep her head down.