All Chapters of The billionaire's discarded bride: Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

"No."The word slipped out before I could stop it. It sounded too small in the drawing room, but it was enough to make the very air freeze.My father slowly looked up from the contract in his hand."What did you say?" Victor Rowan asked, his voice calm.I swallowed, though my throat had already dried up. "I said no."Across from me, Sienna gasped like I had committed a crime."Dad, do you hear her?" she said, one hand flying dramatically to her chest. "She's doing this on purpose."Of course I was.In this house, everything was always somehow my fault.The chandelier above us glittered warmly, but nothing in that room felt warm. Not my father's eyes. Not my mother's face. Not Sienna's trembling lower lip as she sat there in her dress, looking like a fragile angel instead of the woman who had just thrown me into hell."You ungrateful girl," Marianne Rowan screamed coldly. "Do you have any idea what is at stake here?"I almost laughed.For the past week, all I had heard was stake, merge

By the third day of my marriage, I had learned my place in this house. Invisible.I stood just inside the dining room, fingers tightening around the edge of my sleeve as sunlight spilled across the polished silver and crystal glasses. The table was long enough to seat twelve, yet only four places had been set.Vivian Lancaster, Adrian's mom sat at the far end in cream silk, elegant and cold. Beside her, Eleanor Lancaster, his grandmother, stirred tea with thin, delicate fingers, despite her age. Adrian was already there too, dressed in charcoal, scanning something on his phone with a face carved from indifference.No one looked up or even noticed when I entered. For one foolish second, I wondered if I could slip away unnoticed.Then Vivian's voice cut through the silence."You're late."I glanced at the clock. It was Eight-oh-two. A whole two minutes."I'm sorry."She finally lifted her eyes to me. "In this family, punctuality is expected, not applauded."I moved to my seat without a