Arlie's gaze stayed on the lawyer, her mind a quiet hum beneath the storm of her family's outrage. She knew her grandfather. A gift this big never came without strings.
Arthur, his face still flushed with anger, seemed to have the same thought. He forced a calm into his voice. "Sullivan, my father's will can't be that simple. There must be other conditions."
Eleanor, recovering from her initial shock, chimed in, her voice sharp and accusing. "That's right. Charles would never leave the family's future to an uneducated girl who knows nothing."
Robert Sullivan adjusted his glasses, his face unreadable. "Mr. Solomon is correct. There is a second part to the will."
A flicker of hope lit up Eleanor's and Candis's eyes. This was it. The loophole. The clause that would restore the natural order.
The lawyer paused, letting the tension build. His gaze swept the room before finally settling on Arlie. "There is one condition to this inheritance."
He cleared his throat. "Miss Arlie Solomon must enter into a contract of marriage with the heir to the Ward family, Mr. Kerr Ward."
Another bomb dropped. A collective gasp rippled through the hall. Every head swiveled in unison, a sea of shocked faces turning to the back of the room—to the silent, imposing figure of Kerr Ward.
That name alone was a force of nature in Olympus City. It represented a level of wealth and power that made the Solomons look like new money. Kerr Ward was the ultimate prize, the man every debutante and socialite dreamed of.
The blood drained from Candis's face. She'd spent years positioning herself, dreaming of the day she'd catch Kerr Ward's eye. This news was crueler than losing the inheritance. It was the theft of her entire future.
For the first time since she'd entered the room, Arlie's composure cracked. A faint line appeared between her brows. Her gaze drifted to the back, landing on the man who was now her problem. Her eyes were cold, assessing, as if she were looking at an inconvenient piece of furniture.
Everyone held their breath, waiting. They expected tears of joy, a cry of disbelief, a rush of overwhelming gratitude. A poor girl from the country, handed a fortune and the most eligible bachelor in the city. A fairy tale.
Arlie broke the silence. Her voice was flat, empty of any emotion.
"I refuse."
A beat of stunned silence. Then she added, her tone making it clear this wasn't a negotiation, "The marriage contract, along with the inheritance. I refuse it all."
The quiet in the hall became absolute—a thick, suffocating blanket of disbelief. Refusing billions was madness. Refusing Kerr Ward was sacrilege. They couldn't comprehend it. It was a rejection of everything their world was built on.
Arthur and Eleanor stared, mouths open. They'd prepared for tears, for pleading, for a fight. Not this. Complete and utter rejection.
Across the room, Kerr Ward's impassive mask finally showed a hairline crack. His eyes, which had been watching with detached amusement, now held a sharp, probing intensity. He looked at Arlie. Something unreadable flickered in his gaze. It was the first time in his life he'd been so thoroughly, so casually, discarded. Along with a fortune, no less.
Arlie turned, her back straight, ready to walk away from billions and a power marriage as easily as walking away from a boring conversation. Her action was a grenade thrown into their value system. Power, money, status—none of it seemed to mean anything to her.
"Miss Solomon, please wait!" Robert Sullivan's voice was urgent. "Mr. Solomon anticipated that you might refuse."
Arlie paused at the aisle but didn't turn around. Her posture radiated impatience.
A ghost of a smile—so faint it was barely there—touched Kerr Ward's lips. This was getting interesting. Far more interesting than he'd expected.
Candis saw that smile, and a fresh wave of jealous rage washed over her. Why would he look at the woman who'd just humiliated him with anything other than contempt?
Arlie's refusal had put the Solomons in an exquisitely awkward spot. They were the beggars now, scorned by the person they'd just been scorning.
Kerr's gaze met Arlie's for a brief, charged moment across the crowded room. His was filled with a hunter's curiosity. Hers was filled with annoyance.
Then, for the first time, Kerr Ward spoke. His voice was a low, resonant baritone that commanded attention without effort.
"Let her finish, Mr. Sullivan."
