All Chapters of I Won't Say Yes this Time: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

"There's no dignity in two brothers marrying off without a mother or father to see to it. I'm still your teacher, after all, half a father to you. Let me handle the wedding for you."...I took a step back, my smile not reaching my eyes."Thank you for the concern, sir, but there's no need for you to walk me to the wedding."The moment I said it, Arthur Marshall's eyes went red."Nolan, I only want to see you settled and successful. Why do you keep putting me off?" He sighed. "Is it because you're ashamed of your old teacher, a poor village scholar who can't show his face among the powerful?"He sighed again. "Now that you're going to marry into money, you look down on me?"The village head standing beside him frowned, glaring at me."Nolan, your parents died young. Your teacher taught you to read and write. His wife cooked for you, mended your torn clothes, fed you when you were hungry."And now that you've made something of yourself, marrying the Chancellor's daughter, you

Chapter 2

Arthur glanced at me and smiled thinly. He said to the village head, "Don't scold him. Nolan's still young; he doesn't know any better. I'm his teacher, half a father to him. Why would I hold it against him?"He sighed, then added, "Once I meet the Chancellor, I'll make sure he does right by our village. After all, I'll be his daughter's father-in-law."Smiles broke out across every face around us."Nolan, listen to that! Your teacher's thinking of you!""Exactly. Mr. Marshall's got the heart of a true scholar.""That's great! Get the Chancellor to fix up some of our buildings and pave the roads for us. Where would Nolan even be without us taking care of him all these years?""That's right. Those wild greens up on the mountain, he couldn't have dug a single one without our say-so. He owes us."Arthur stood in the middle of the crowd, unable to hide the satisfaction in his eyes. He clearly thought that after all that, I wouldn't dare refuse.I smiled and spoke lightly, as if i

Chapter 3

Every word out of Arthur's mouth was filthy, and worse, each one landed exactly where an in-law family would care most.And the worst part was, I had no way to defend myself. We'd been poor enough to live on wild greens. I was in no position to worry about what people might say. Coming and going with the widows in the village had, admittedly, happened plenty of times.I was shaking with anger by the time Victoria let out a soft laugh.She didn't look at me. Her voice stayed flat."I don't care what Nolan's past looks like. All that matters is whether he's willing to marry me now."The smile on Arthur's face froze. He clearly hadn't expected a young lady of her standing to react that way."It's Nolan's good fortune that Miss Winslet doesn't mind any of that." He paused, his expression turning pained. "There's just one more thing. I shouldn't bring it up, but my conscience won't let me stay silent."He glanced at me, as if steeling himself for one last push, then spoke as though h

Chapter 4

My face went white. I dropped my wine cup and ran outside.At the lily pond behind the estate, the wedding guests had crowded in so tight there was no room to move.Arthur was wrapped in an overcoat by a few of the guards, soaked to the skin, his hair plastered across his face. He was tangled up with a woman in a bridal robe, skin against skin, and no amount of pulling from the chaperones could get them apart.My mind went blank with shock.The courtyard gate had been locked, with four or five guards taking turns standing watch. How had he even gotten out?The moment Arthur saw me, he staggered to his feet and lunged toward the pond as if to throw himself in. A few guards held him back, and he sank to his knees, choking on his own sobs."My reputation, built over half a lifetime, ruined in an instant. I'd rather die clean than live like this!"The crowd murmured with sympathy."Mr. Marshall's been a widower for ten years and never remarried. Everyone for miles around knows what

Chapter 5

The woman tore off her mask, revealing a completely different face underneath. "She" dropped to "her" knees in front of me with a heavy thud."My lord, I've been wronged!"Someone sharp-eyed in the crowd gasped."Isn't that Leon Hester, the head of the Gilded Curtain Troupe?!"The noise in the courtyard cut off like a hand had closed around its throat.Arthur knelt on the ground, water still dripping off him, glinting cold in the firelight. His eyes were locked on Leon's face, shifting from shock to blank confusion to despair, until his whole expression twisted into something unrecognizable."You're lying!"He lurched up off the ground, his soaked sleeves flinging out an arc of water, and it took several guards to hold him back."You're Miss Winslet! You're wearing a bride's robe!"Leon flinched back, startled.With shaking hands, Leon dug something out of his robes, a crumpled playbill and a neatly folded slip of decorated paper. He held both above his head, his voice cracki

Chapter 6

Arthur finally broke down completely. He collapsed onto the ground, his forehead striking the stone tiles again and again, over and over."Nolan! Nolan, have mercy on me! I'm your teacher! You can't do this to me. You can't!"I walked into the bridal chamber without looking back.Behind me, his wailing grew fainter and fainter until the heavy courtyard gate shut it out completely.In my last life, he'd spent his years at the Chancellor's estate living in luxury, ten years as the pampered Lord. This time, he hadn't even lasted one night.And this was only the beginning. His son was still waiting.Two guards dragged Denise into the courtyard, her arms twisted behind her back. A kick to the back of her knee sent her crashing down onto the stone tiles. All the color had drained from her face, but she kept her chin up, jaw clenched."My lady!"She looked up at Victoria, her voice sharp with urgency."Everything I said was true! You're the one who told me to get close to Mr. Marshal

Chapter 7

The next day, court was called into session.Two officers forced Arthur to his knees before the bench, his arms twisted behind his back.He never stopped talking, his voice scraping out of his throat, thin and hoarse, like a stray cat with its tail stepped on."Nolan Grey set me up! It was all him! He picked that play on purpose, made that performer wear bridal robes on purpose, he knew I would," he started, struggling to lift his head, his bloodshot eyes locked on me."You've all been fooled by him! He's the poisonous one here!"Murmurs rippled through the crowd of guests. Some frowned, some shook their heads, and a few still looked half-convinced.That was when the estate's front gate was thrown open from outside.Two rows of royal guards marched in, their lanterns lighting up the front courtyard as bright as day.The lantern light fell on a striking couple stepping over the threshold together. The man was tall, dressed in a moon-white silk robe, his face carved and elegant,

Chapter 8

I looked at Arthur and said nothing.In my last life, he'd spent ten years living in comfort at the Chancellor's estate, ten years as the rich Lord. His son had become the new consort to the princess, and father and son had both basked in the princess's favor, drowning in power and glory.And I'd frozen into a stiff corpse in the winter snow, clutching my brother's photograph.Had he ever once, back then, considered sparing my life?Preston didn't look at him either. He turned and walked back to the Princess's side, taking her arm, and said simply, "It's getting late, Your Highness. Let's head back. Now that things are settled for my brother, I can finally rest easy."The Princess nodded, sweeping a cold glance over Arthur on the ground, and gave an order to the guard captain beside her. "Take him to the dungeon. Join the Chancellor's estate in petitioning the Ministry of Justice for a full investigation."Four guards stepped forward at her word and hauled Arthur's limp body up o

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