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?]