His words left me speechless. I let out a disbelieving laugh.
This wedding had been arranged by his family. By name, I was his fiancée. And yet, without knowing a damn thing about what had just happened, he was demanding I get on my knees and apologize?
“Marshall,” I said calmly, though my voice trembled, “we may not know each other well and I get that you care more about Reyna than you ever will about me—but legally, I’m still your fiancée. Don’t you think I deserve at least a little respect?”
I looked him straight in the eye. “She attacked me first. And instead of asking what happened, you automatically assumed I was at fault. Why?”
“Why?” He scoffed, repeating the word like it was a joke. “Because you're a conniving woman who manipulates everything to get her way. If it weren’t for my grandfather making my inheritance conditional on marrying you, I wouldn’t waste another second on you. A nobody from some backwater town, thinking she can claw her way into high society. You make me sick.”
His gaze dropped to the mud stains still clinging to my field clothes.
"Don’t think for a second that being engaged to me gives you the right to disrespect the people I care about. If you upset Reyna again, I’ll have you thrown out of the Rhodes Family so fast you won’t know what hit you."
I stared at him, stunned.
I stared at him in disbelief. “Let me make this clear, Marshall…this marriage? I never wanted it.”
“Oh, spare me the hard-to-get act,” Reyna jumped in, laughing smugly. “If Marshall actually dumped you, you’d come crawling back, begging for another chance.”
“Marrying into the Rhodes Family is the best thing that’ll ever happen to you, sweetheart,” she added, smug. “You must be out of your mind to throw it away.”
The two of them stood there, acting like they were doing me a favor.
I laughed.
“The Rhodes are nothing. I didn’t even know who you people were before this ridiculous arrangement. Do you think every woman on Earth is lining up, desperate to marry into your dysfunctional dynasty?”
Gasps rippled from the crowd outside the doorway.
“Did she seriously just say that?” a middle-aged woman whispered, eyes wide. “Does she not know they’re one of the richest families in the country?”
“She must be out of her mind. Who in their right mind would turn down a marriage into the Rhodes Family?” a younger woman scoffed. “They offered her the wedding, bought her this house and she throws a tantrum over some weird decorations?”
“Exactly,” another woman, about the same age, chimed in. “Why not just let Miss Hawke blow off some steam? She could’ve fixed it all after the wedding. Honestly, this girl’s being completely irrational.”
These people. What is wrong with them? So what if the Rhodes Family was rich? None of them knew the truth. The Rhodes Family’s wealth came from government contracts.
Ten years ago, they’d secured the ten-year rights to a research project developed by our lab. That deal brought them an easy fortune and years of smooth sailing. But that contract was set to expire in just a month. If they failed to get it renewed, all that shine and prestige would disappear overnight.
That was why Wilfred Rhodes, despite his age, had been making daily trips to our institute—smiling, bowing, kissing up to every higher-up he could find, trying to lock down an extension. He knew I was the project lead. He also knew I was single. So he parked himself outside my office, day after day, trying to sweet-talk me into “considering” his grandson.
When I didn’t fall for it, he went straight to my mother. Said all the right things, made promises and convinced her to lock in the marriage before I could say no.
Truth be told, the match was mutually beneficial. From a business standpoint, if I married into the Rhodes Family, it would stabilize their investment interests in the country and give our research more exposure. The higher-ups were still watching, still waiting to see if the Rhodes Family would be worth a long-term partnership.
But now…
Wilfred’s carefully orchestrated plan was going down in flames, thanks to his spoiled grandson.
My silence, while I sorted through all of this in my head, must’ve looked like hesitation.
Marshall crossed his arms and sneered. “I’m giving you one last chance. Get on your knees and apologize to Reyna. Or I’m calling off the wedding.”
I looked him dead in the eye.
