"She's not coming!" Hendrick answered quickly, watching my expression like he was trying to read every shift.

"After what happened, I stopped hanging out with her. The guys did, too. Everyone else there's a guy. I swear. Not a single girl."

If that was the case, I didn't see a problem. I agreed to go without thinking much of it.

I wasn't close with his friends, and they didn't really talk to me either. They kept to themselves, drinking and joking around, and I was perfectly fine sitting off to the side in peace.

But just as things were getting loud and loose, the door to the private room swung open.

Linda leaned in, dressed in a tight black dress.

The same group that had barely acknowledged me suddenly lit up.

"Whoa, Linda? Since when do you dress like a real woman?"

She clicked her tongue, clearly annoyed, then dropped into a seat across from Hendrick, legs casually spread.

"Can you guys ever talk like normal people? I've always been a woman."

The room burst into laughter, the energy instantly shifting.

When Hendrick didn't react, Linda stood up under the noise and plopped herself straight onto his lap.

"Everyone else notices me, but you won't even look?" she teased. "What, are you shy now?"

Hendrick's face flushed. He forced out a weak smile, but his hands hovered awkwardly, making no move to push her away.

A flicker of satisfaction crossed Linda's eyes. Then, as if she had just remembered I existed, she hopped off his lap.

"Oh, right," she said lightly. "Madeline's still here. Guess I forgot to keep my distance again."

She tilted her head at me, smirking. "It's his bachelor party. You're not about to call his parents again, are you?"

I was about to fire back when Hendrick tugged lightly at my sleeve.

"All my friends are here. Don't embarrass me, okay?"

I didn't want to cause a scene, so I swallowed it for the moment.

But Linda took my silence as a win. She lifted her chin, looking at me like she was in charge.

"Hendrick's marrying you in a few days," she said. "So yeah, I should probably see what you're worth first."

She turned and waved at the others. "Hey, someone bring a bowl of warm water."

They didn't even question it. Laughing, they actually went and got one.

Linda shoved the bowl into my hands.

"Go on," she said casually. "Take care of him. Wash his feet, loosen him up a little."

She shrugged. "He's got money. He takes care of you, so you should take care of him. Seems fair."

My expression didn't change.

Then I lifted the bowl and dumped the water straight over her head.

"You keep talking like you own him," I said flatly. "What are you, his manager? Didn't his mom make enough of an impression last time?"

Linda clearly hadn't expected me to do that in front of everyone. She shrieked, stunned.

"Hendrick! Look at your girlfriend!" she snapped. "If she's already acting like this now, what's she going to be like after you're married?"

I slapped her again before she could finish.

"If you have feelings for him, just say so," I said sharply. "All this posturing, all these little games. You just want to prove you matter more, don't you? Let me make something clear. His family asked me to marry into theirs. Not the other way around."

The anger still hadn't burned off. I lifted my hand again, ready to strike, but Hendrick caught my wrist midair.

A vein pulsed at his temple, his gaze ice-cold.

"That's enough, Madeline," he said. "Do you need to drive away every single person in my life before you're satisfied?"

He grabbed a towel from someone nearby and draped it over Linda's soaked body.

"You're going to catch a cold," he said, his tone softening. "It's just washing feet, right? I'll do it."

Linda let out a small laugh. "Knew you still had my back."

Something twisted in my chest as I reached for him, but he didn't even look at me.

Instead, he brought over another bowl of warm water, kneeled down, and took off Linda's shoes himself. One hand held her ankle while the other tested the water temperature.

The room erupted.

"Damn, Hendrick, you've got guts! Doing that in front of your fiancée? Aren't you scared of what happens when you get home?"

"What are you talking about? He and Linda go way back. No one's replacing that!"

"Linda's right. Gotta put his fiancee in her place early, or she'll think she runs things."

Their laughter and jeers filled the room.

I pulled out my phone, glanced at the screen, then lifted my shoulders slightly.

"Julie," I said calmly, "your son's out here acting like he's some kind of servant. You and Dave might want to keep an eye on him."

At that, Hendrick stopped what he was doing entirely. He snatched my phone and hurled it straight into the water.

"Madeline! Are you ever going to stop?"

Linda seized the moment. "Hendrick, if you don't deal with her now, then we're really done."

Something in her tone set him off. He reached out and grabbed my hair.

"If you still want to marry into my family, then drink that water and promise you'll stop getting in between Linda and me!"

I had never been humiliated like this in my life. My eyes stung, tears threatening to fall.

"Hendrick, you think I'm dying to marry you? We're done!"

Linda clapped from the side, delighted.

"Well, look at that. The bachelor party just turned into a freedom party. Congrats, Hendrick! Some people walk away, thinking they'll find better. Good luck with that."

Before she could say anything else, someone kicked her sideways, sending her stumbling hard.

Hendrick froze when he saw who it was, his face draining of color.

"Dad, Mom, can you give me some space? These are my friends. I…"

He didn't even get to finish. A sharp slap cut him off.

"Hendrick, we told you. Treat Madeline right, and everything we have will be yours. But if you're going to act like this over someone like her, then you are no longer our son."

Hendrick held his cheek, completely stunned. He couldn't understand how someone who wasn't even married into the family yet could matter more than he did.

"Mom… Dad…"

Dave and Julie didn't soften.

"We don't have a son who can't tell right from wrong."

The room had gone dead quiet. His friends stood there, shaken, whispering among themselves, trying to figure out who I really was.

Linda rushed forward, eyes glistening.

"Mr. and Mrs. West! I know you don't like me, but I've never wanted anything from Hendrick. Why are you forcing him like this? Why make him cut me off?"

Hendrick looked at her, something in his expression shifting as he saw her vulnerability. His jaw tightened, his resolve hardening.

"Madeline, don't think controlling my parents means you can control me," he said firmly. "If Linda doesn't forgive you, I'm not marrying you."

He grabbed her hand.

"Linda, let's go."

As they pushed past me, she deliberately slammed her shoulder into mine.

The rest of their group followed, clearing out until the room was empty.

Only my godparents and I were left.

They let out a long, heavy sigh, eyes reddening.

"Madeline, we thought bringing you in would help straighten him out. We wanted everything we built to go to you someday. We never imagined it would turn out like this."

"You've always been strong-willed. After today, we won't force anything on you anymore."

I understood what they meant.

If I cared about money more than anything else, I could've swallowed all of this and stayed, become the future Mrs. West.

But my family wasn't any less well-off than theirs, and Hendrick wasn't someone I couldn't live without. There was no reason to stay and get dragged into this mess.

I thanked them politely, let out a slow breath, then pulled out my phone. I sent a message to a wealthy heir who had been relentlessly pursuing me.

[I ended things here. Is the marriage offer still on the table?]