Iris frowned deeply as she glared in irritation at my empty finger.
"Can you stop causing a fuss now? I'm not going to go back on my word since I already told you that I'm going to marry you. There's no need for you to play hard to get."
A hint of glee flickered in Aaron's eyes. He suddenly pointed at the ring box I was holding and exclaimed, "That's the newest, limited edition design! I haven't been able to get my hands on it yet!"
Iris' furrowed brow smoothed out. She snatched the ring box from me and handed it to Aaron, saying, "Here. Why don't you try it on?"
Aaron's eyes lit up. He was just about to untie the ribbon when I grabbed his wrist.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you that you're not supposed to touch other people's things without their permission?" I hissed icily.
Although I barely exerted any force, Aaron suddenly grabbed his wrist and began screaming in pain.
Iris immediately panicked and shoved me aside. She didn't spare me a single glance, even when her sharp nails left long scratches along my arm.
"I just wanted to take a look. Why did you have to squeeze my wrist so hard?" Aaron whined.
Iris' heart ached terribly. She turned on me and shouted, "You crossed the line, Jasper!"
I barked out a bitter laugh as I held my arm.
The outcome was always the same. Iris would always unconditionally take Aaron's side as soon as he opened his mouth.
Suppressing the bitter sensation spreading through me, I held out my hand and demanded, "That's my wedding ring. Give it back to me!"
Iris' expression darkened. She pressed the ring box into Aaron's palm and said, "This design isn't suitable for a wedding ring. Choose another one."
It was a flimsy excuse. I knew that she just wanted me to give in to Aaron's whims yet again.
Besides, I wasn't marrying her. She had no right to tell me that the design wasn't suitable.
Just as I was about to inform Iris that she was no longer my bride, she pulled Aaron to his feet and snapped impatiently, "I don't want to hear your excuses! If you keep harassing Aaron, I'll have no choice but to seriously consider whether our relationship is worth maintaining."
I barked out a self-deprecating laugh as I watched her storm away with resolute steps.
"You don't have to do that, Iris," I thought to myself. "I've already made the decision for you."
…
Rumors of Iris and Aaron being glued to each other spread like wildfire through the city while I was preparing for the wedding.
Everyone was curious about how I would react.
In fact, someone had started a bet some time ago, betting on whether I would still marry Iris no matter how many times she stood me up.
Aaron bet all the money he had when he learned that the Swanson and Miller families were hosting a wedding again, hoping to earn a handsome profit.
Unfortunately for him, he would be losing all his money.
…
On the day of the wedding, I received a panicked call from my assistant right after I woke up.
"Bad news, Mr. Swanson! Ms. Iris brought her men with her and is trying to trash the wedding venue!"
It was one thing for her to abandon me time and time again. Why was she trying to stick her nose into my business when I was marrying someone else?
Suppressing my anger, I rushed to the hotel just in time to see Iris barking orders at the staff members to move the floral arrangements out of the hall.
I wasn't able to get a word in before she began interrogating me furiously.
"Didn't I tell you to postpone the wedding indefinitely? What are you doing? Are you trying to force me to marry you by having the ceremony without first getting my consent? Aaron was really upset because of what happened with the ring that day. We won't be getting married until we get his approval."
I stopped the staff members before they could leave the hall and hissed, "Put everything back."
Iris' expression darkened. "Don't you dare! Don't forget that I'm the successor of the Miller family. He still has to bend to my whims even after he marries me."
The successor?
It seemed that Iris still had no idea that she was going to be stripped of that title soon.
I was just about to call the Millers to tell them to take Iris away when Aaron suddenly appeared, dressed in a wedding tuxedo.
He tugged on his tie and said coyly, "I already told you that it's barely passable, but you just had to force me to put it on. Well, I've put it on now. I won't forgive you if you think that it looks ugly on me!"
He seemed to only notice me after he was done speaking. "Jasper, what are you doing here?" he exclaimed in surprise.
"Do I have to report to you when I'm going to my own wedding?" I asked mockingly, feeling irritated at the interrogative edge in his question. "Are you going to take off that tuxedo by yourself, or am I going to have to find someone to strip it off you?"
Iris' expression darkened as she shielded Aaron behind her. "You're being unreasonable, Jasper!"
Iris had tried to wreck my wedding, and Aaron had put on my tuxedo that took two years to make, and yet I was the unreasonable one?
I looked at the security guards, who were stationed by the door, and barked out my orders.
"Kick both of them out!"
Iris grabbed my wrist, her eyes burning with fury. "This wedding is hosted by the Millers. Why the hell are you acting as if you're the one who's calling the shots?"
She waved her hand and exclaimed, "Tear down everything in the hall and burn it all to ashes! I'm going to teach him a lesson he'll never forget!"
It was obvious that Iris had no idea that the Millers had taken the initiative to handle the wedding preparations to compensate me for her multiple transgressions against me.
The staff members also didn't know that Iris was no longer the successor, so they immediately leaped into action to carry out her orders.
I shot to my feet when I noticed a staff member moving a painting from one of the rooms.
"Put that painting down!" I shouted.
