When I arrived home, laughter spilled out from the dining room when I pushed the door open.

I frowned and walked in, only to find Matt, Maya and Uncle Henry seated at a table full of our mutual friends. The table was decorated and everyone was dressed up in fancy clothes.

For a split second, I foolishly thought Matt had come back to his senses. I thought he must have found out I was coming home and he arranged this dinner for me, until he looked up.

“Oh… Jada, you’re here.”

“You sound disappointed,” I said, already cursing myself for being so delusional. “What’s going on here?”

Maya smiled then. “Oh, Dad and Mattie are just throwing me a dinner party since my birthday was ruined by the incident.” She pointed to her bandaged foot.

Uncle Henry cleared his throat. “Jada, I heard what happened on the yacht.”

“Oh you did? And nobody cared to look for me for more than a week? You left me out at sea to die and now you’re throwing a feast to celebrate?”

“Oh please, enough of the theatrics Jada,” Matt said. “You’re here, aren’t you? It couldn’t have been that bad.”

“I almost died!” I screamed.

Maya rolled her eyes.

“What exactly happened?” One of our friends chimed in, eyes darting between me and Maya. “Why would you attack her like that?”

I blinked. “Attack her? You all think I pushed her foot into a rock?”

Maya dabbed delicately at the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “Don’t be mad at them, Jada. I told everyone it wasn’t your fault. You’ve been under a lot of stress. I understand.”

My stomach twisted.

Matt set down his wine glass, eyes cold. “We all know you’ve been having… issues lately. Maya’s just trying to be gracious.”

“Gracious,” I repeated flatly.

“Maybe it’s best if you rest upstairs,” he said. “We’re trying to have a nice evening.”

“You can have some of the leftovers when we’re done… if you’re hungry.” Maya added.

Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. They just watched me, silently judging. All the friends I introduced to Maya and Matt had turned on me. Nobody even cared about my side of the story.

I smiled faintly. “You’re right. I should get some rest.”

And then I turned and walked upstairs without another word.

My phone was on my bed when I entered my room and I picked it up to find missed calls from Asher. I dialed him back immediately.

He answered on the first ring. “Jada? Are you okay? I just got to the hospital and the nurse said you asked to be discharged.”

“Yes. I’m okay. They told me you stayed by my bed for days”

“Of course. I flew in the second I saw your face on the news.”

“You didn’t have to do that…”

“You almost drowned, Jada. I have no idea what exactly happened, but I can bet it had something to do with that Matt Bennett. You’re not safe with him. I’m coming over there to get you right now.”

I couldn’t stop the warmth from spreading in my chest. No one had cared about me like this in a long time. It felt like I was experiencing true love for the first time.

I closed my eyes. “I want nothing more than to leave too. But I can’t, not yet. There’s only three days until the wedding now. We just have to be patient.”

There was silence on his end before he asked in a soft voice, “are you sure?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Okay. Three more days and you’ll be mine.”

I called my lawyer the second Asher hung up.

“Miss Sinclair,” my lawyer answered groggily.

“I want you to draft eviction notices,” I said in a steady voice. “I want everyone out of my house in three days. And I want you to put a pause on the contracts that’ll bind Matt Bennett to my inheritance.

There was a pause. “Miss Sinclair, about that…”

I frowned. “What’s going on?”

“Matt Bennett has filed an appeal to the board to grant him full ownership and control of everything before the wedding. This was over a week ago. I’ve called countless times and sent a ton of emails but I couldn’t reach you.”

“What!? He can’t— he can’t do that right?”

“As it stands, you have more rights than he does right now because you’re not legally married yet. But don’t forget that your father officially betrothed you to him before he died. It’s public knowledge. Your father introduced him to everyone before he died. So if he’s able to prove that you’re mentally unfit, he might get the board to agree to his proposal.”

“What do you mean mentally unfit?”

“That was the basis of his appeal. And you know how these things work, Miss Sinclair. The board will only do things in the interest of the company, they don’t care about being loyal to you. So if they think Matt is a better fit for the job, they’ll give it to him.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It all felt like one big cruel joke.

“What do I do?”

My lawyer sighed. “You call a meeting tomorrow and fight like hell.”

The boardroom was silent when I walked in. Every member of the Sinclair board was already seated. Uncle Henry sat at the head of the table like he belonged there.

I walked straight to him. “You’re in my seat.”

He looked at me with his mouth slightly open like he was waiting for me to laugh and say that it was a joke, but when I motioned to the empty seat by his right instead, he scooched over with his cheeks bright red.

If they wanted to be petty, I would give them petty.

“Miss Sinclair,” one of the older members said, folding his hands. “We were surprised when you called this emergency meeting. You’ve been… difficult to reach.”

I took my seat, spine straight. “That’s because I nearly drowned,” I said flatly. “I was stranded after an incident on the yacht and was in a coma for more than a week. Nobody thought to check on me.”

A few of them shifted uncomfortably, but most just exchanged glances.

Matt gave a small laugh, oozing charm. “She’s exaggerating. It wasn’t as bad as she’s making it out to be.”

I ignored him. “I called this meeting because I’ve been informed that my fiancé, Matt Bennett, filed an appeal to gain full control of the company before our wedding. Without my knowledge.”

The murmurs started instantly.

“Yes,” one of the directors said. “We’ve received the appeal. Mr. Bennett has argued that you’ve been unstable and absent from key responsibilities, and that granting him early authority is in the company’s best interest.”

I raised a brow. “Instability? Based on what?”

Uncle Henry leaned back, looking regretful— like he hated to say this. “Jada… you’ve been under a lot of pressure. The breakdown at Maya’s party, the days you went missing without telling anyone… It scared people.”

I looked at him like he was a pesky fly. “And why are you here? Last time I checked, you’re not even a part of this company.”

Matt sighed. “Jada, he’s your father’s brother. He has a right to be here. And he’s also here for support. You have no idea how worried we were when you disappeared.”

“You mean when you left me to die?”

The room froze.

Matt’s jaw tightened, but he quickly recovered, wearing his perfect fake smile. “I would never hurt you, Jada. But the company can’t afford uncertainty. I stepped up while you were gone. The board knows I’m capable of leading Sinclair industries.”

“Capable?” I laughed once, coldly. “You mean capable of taking credit for my deals?”

A few board members shifted at that.

“You’re forgetting,” I said, pulling out the most recent quarterly reports. “It was my leadership that secured the partnership with Leston Technologies. I personally negotiated the deal that brought in $1.2 billion last quarter. Or have you all forgotten that?”

The room went silent.

One of the directors cleared his throat. “Miss Sinclair, nobody doubts your intelligence. But the company also values stability. It’s clear you’ve had… personal difficulties.”

“Everyone has personal difficulties,” I said evenly. “But my track record speaks for itself. If you think giving Matt power will magically solve everything, you’re mistaken. And anyway, his name will be on the papers after our wedding, so why the rush? Have any of you even thought about that?”

Matt spoke up again in a fake sweet voice. “Babe, we’re on the same side. This company is our future. You know I’ll take care of everything—”

I cut him off. “I’m not handing my family’s life’s work over to you before the wedding. If the board wants to replace me, they’ll have to do it the right way— the way my father stated in his will. This company and everything else will only be signed off to the man that I marry.”

A long silence took over the room.

Finally, one of the senior members said, “We’ll table the appeal for now. But we’ll be watching closely. The final decision will depend on what happens in the coming weeks. If there’s still any reason to believe that you’re unstable after the wedding, you’ll be stripped of all your rights and your husband will have total ownership over everything.”

I nodded in agreement. “Thank you.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Matt and Uncle Henry shared a secret smile.

---

Matt walked into my bedroom with a plate of food in his hand later that night, looking remorseful.

It took everything in me not to roll my eyes. I was used to his games now.

”You didn’t eat dinner, I brought you some.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You’re not upset about what happened at the office, are you? You know I didn’t mean any harm.”

I looked at him for a long time, suddenly drowning in memories of the past, when we used to be so in love. He used to be so gentle and so kind to me. Was it all an act? Was he just putting on a show to get what he wanted? I wanted to ask him if he thought that I was stupid. I wanted to ask what gave him and my uncle the audacity to think that they could take what belonged to me. But instead, I smiled.

“Of course not. You love me. I know you were only trying to take care of me.”

He smiled brightly like he had just hit the jackpot. “Our wedding is the day after tomorrow. It’s going to be the best day of my life.”

I smiled back. “Yes, it’ll be the best day ever.”

“Come here, I’ll feed you.” He placed the food in front of me and picked up the spoon, but just as he was about to scoop some of it, Maya’s voice called out from downstairs.

“Mattie! I can’t reach the remote!”

He dropped the spoon with a clatter, like he was being remote controlled. He was out of the room and running down the stairs to her in a heartbeat.

I pushed the plate to the side and snuggled into bed.

Our wedding was in two days, and my darling fiancé had no idea what was coming for him.

“Jada!” Maya’s voice was sugary sweet as she stepped into the bridal suite, her silk gown flowing like she owned the place. “You look… radiant.”

I glanced up from the mirror where my stylist had just finished pinning the veil. “Thank you.”

Maya walked closer, her hands brushing along the bodice of my wedding dress. “Oh wow, it’s so delicate. This fabric must be hard to move in.”

Before I could stop her, I heard it.

Riiiiip.

The seam tore open down the side of the dress.

Maya gasped, hand covering her mouth in feigned shock. “Oh no! I didn’t mean to—It just… caught on my ring. I’m so sorry, Jada.”

She wasn’t sorry.

“It’s fine.” My voice was calm as I reached for scissors on the table and ripped it even more.

Maya’s mouth opened in shock, and then her face morphed into anger when she saw that the dress wasn’t ruined. Instead, I’d made it look like the split was intentional.

“The show must go on.”

Maya tilted her head. “Maybe it’s a sign. Maybe you’re not ready for Mattie after all. You’re not ready to be a wife. You don’t deserve to be his wife.”

I smiled back, a perfect imitation of her fake sweetness. “Don’t worry, dear cousin. I’m always ready for what’s mine.”

Minutes later, the music swelled as I stepped into the aisle— alone.

Gasps rippled through the crowd. My dress was imperfectly perfect, and my head was held high. Cameras flashed like a million fireflies.

Matt stood at the altar, grinning like the happiest man alive. He had no idea this was about to be his worst day on earth.

At the altar, the officiator’s voice droned on, but my focus was sharp. I glanced around to make sure all the press I needed had made it. They had. They had their cameras and laptops ready to be the first to update the world on the marriage between the billionaire heiress and her darling fiancé.

Matt went first with his vows— sweet, rehearsed and utterly fake. “Jada, you’re my everything. I promise to cherish you for the rest of my life. I can’t wait to build our future together.”

He smiled at me like I was the fool of the century.

I smiled back and began my vow. “My dear Matt, I’ve known you since we were teenagers, I know you better than you can even imagine. So I vow to give you exactly what you’ve given me. I vow to give you exactly what you deserve.”

Our guests cooed and ‘awwed’. I bet none of them understood the underlying truth in my words.

“Do you, Matt Bennett, take Jada Sinclair to be your wife, to have and to hold, until death do you part?”

“I do.” Matt answered immediately.

I smiled.

“And do you, Jada Sinclair, take Matt Bennett to be your husband, to have and to hold, until death do you part?”

I waited for a couple seconds, long enough for our guests to start murmuring and giving each other confused looks. Then with so much grace and poise, I took the microphone from the officiator and turned to the crowd.

The cameras were flashing faster than ever now. It was perfect— just what I wanted.

“No, I do not.” I said clearly.

Gasps erupted in the hall.

“Before I leave, I want to tell everyone a little story about Matt Bennett.”

I turned to the side and winked at my videographer, giving him the go ahead to play the tape I had prepared on the large projector screen behind us. It was a video of Matt and Maya kissing on the balcony in my penthouse.

After that, a video recording of Uncle Henry and Matt plotting was played for everyone to hear.

Chaos erupted. Reporters leaned forward with cameras rolling as I continued:

“The man standing beside me has been sleeping with my cousin Maya Sinclair for months, or even years before I finally caught them. Together, with my uncle Henry, they’ve been plotting to steal everything my father left me.”

“They left me to die on a yacht less than two weeks ago. But I survived. Matt, my uncle, and his daughter have been nothing but emotionally abusive, and a danger to my life. They never cared about me. All they cared about was the amount of money they would gain from me.”

Maya stood up and ran to the screen as the video of her and Matt kept rolling over and over. “Liar! She’s a liar! She’s crazy!”

Her father, on the other hand, looked like fumes would start coming out of his ears at any time.

Matt kept trying to pull the microphone out of my hands. I ignored all of them and kept talking.

“And I stand here today, in the dress Maya ripped moments ago, to tell you all— Matt Bennett will never own me. Not my company. Not my name. And certainly not my heart.”

I signaled to my lawyer in the audience and he walked up with files in his hand. One by one, he handed each to three of them.

“What the hell is this?” Matt asked.

“Eviction notices,” my lawyer answered. “You’re all to leave my client’s house by 2pm today or risk getting arrested.”

“Don’t worry,” I added. “I hired people to pack all your things for you. They’ll be in the garage when you get there.”

“Jada, what the fuck is wrong with you? You can’t do this. It’s our wedding day.”

I turned to him with a big smile on my face. “Oh honey, I think I just did.”

I dropped my bouquet at his feet and turned my back on him.

I could already imagine all the headlines.

“Billionaire heiress, Jada Sinclair reveals shocking secrets at the altar… walks away from long time fiancé Matt Bennett.”

I didn’t care anymore. It was not my problem to deal with anymore.

Right now, I had a new life to walk towards. And with that thought, I broke into a sprint all the way out of the gates to the shiny Rolls Royce where Asher was waiting for me.