“Back then, Lettie had an allergic reaction so bad her face swelled up, and you were off talking to suppliers the whole time. You locked her in a storage room——just so you wouldn't miss your precious deal!”

He was breathing hard. “You've never cared about anyone. All you've ever cared about is what benefits you!”

He turned and left, the others following.

Winston shook his head with a cold laugh. “Jocelyn, you're just betting that Alex will feel sorry for you, aren't you? You could cripple yourself and he still wouldn't look back.”

I ignored him and limped toward the end of the corridor.

Wind poured in through the windows.

I leaned against the cold wall, pain rolling through my left shoulder in waves.

But I didn't let go.

It was time to let go of everything else, too.

……

At one in the morning, I made it back to the Henson estate.

My father, Jerome Henson, sat in his pitch-dark study. The ember of his cigarette flared and dimmed.

“I know everything that happened tonight.” He crushed the cigarette out. “Alex can't protect your position.”

I stood in the darkness and said nothing.

“Your grandfather will see the briefing tomorrow. Your marriage can't wait three days.”

“I already broke things off with Alex, just like you wanted.” My voice was raw. “What more do you want from me?”

He lifted his head. His eyes were vicious. “I want to see you married to a ‘suitable’ man.”

“Three days. Before your grandfather gets back, I want a signed marriage contract.”

That word, “suitable,” meant exile.

He wanted me married off to someone who posed no threat to the Henson line of succession.

Either one of Alex's rivals, or some disgraced aristocrat living abroad.

The moment I was married off, Grandpa would have no legitimate reason to hand Henson Group to me, even if he wanted to.

Alex's influence in Harbor City was immense. Without his approval, no one would dare take on my marriage contract.

……

Six in the morning. The emergency room at the Henson family's private hospital.

I had just walked out after having my dislocated shoulder reset when I ran into the whole group in the corridor.

Alex was helping Letitia out of the car, a strip of gauze taped around her ankle.

She walked unsteadily, brow furrowed tight.

Frederick, Barret, and Winston trailed behind them, arms full of tonics and supplements.

“Josie?” Letitia spotted me, and her eyes instantly rimmed red.

She stared at the sling strapped across my chest. “What happened to you? Is this because I took the Jeweled Tiara last night? Are you upset about that?”

Alex looked up. The moment his gaze hit my sling, his pupils contracted.

Barret stood beside Letitia, his face ashen.

Winston leaned against the nurses' station, looking like he was settling in to watch a show.

“Getting a wound treated.” I turned to leave.

“Josie.” Letitia called after me in that soft, syrupy voice of hers. “I heard Daddy already picked out a groom for you? In three days?”

The air in the corridor went still.

Alex's expression darkened instantly. “Three days?”

He strode up to me. “Jocelyn, are you done with this? When did I ever say anything about a wedding in three days?”

I stared at the tile beneath my feet and said nothing.

Less than five hours had passed since that conversation in the study.

Letitia had not only gotten the information, she had delivered it right in front of Alex with surgical precision.

“Alex, I……”

Tears slid down Letitia's cheeks. “If you really are going to marry Josie, I'll give you my blessing. I just thought it was so sudden……”

Something wild flickered through Alex's eyes.

He turned to Frederick. “Take her inside for the checkup. Make sure the wound doesn't reopen.”

Frederick nodded and guided Letitia into the examination room.

Winston passed by me, letting out a scoff.

“Miss Henson really knows how to play the game. Last night she's faking a dislocated shoulder, and today she drops a marriage announcement. Bold move.”

Alex stood in front of me, his gaze dropping to the bandage slung around my neck. He stared at it for a few seconds.

He didn't ask if I was in pain.

His voice came out cold：“Jocelyn, using a marriage arrangement to force my hand is beneath you. Tell your father to retract the announcement.”

I looked up at this man I had loved for three years.

The wound on my shoulder was still burning.

This injury had finally made everything clear. The difference between how we were treated was night and day.

Letitia got a scratch, and four men stayed by her side all night.

I had a dislocated bone, and I sat alone in the ER waiting room at 2 a.m.

“Alex, what makes you think this has anything to do with you?”

“Has anything to do with me?” He let out a disbelieving laugh and seized my chin, fingers digging in.“Everyone in Harbor City knows you're mine. And now you're telling some random man you'll marry him? What does that make me?”

The warning in his eyes was barely contained.“Don't test me. Cancel the arrangement, and I'll pretend none of this happened.”

“And if I don't?”

His grip tightened sharply.

“Jocelyn, don't push it. If you don't want to lose the Harding family's backing, go home and do as you're told.”

“Then let's end this, Alex. I don't need the Harding family's backing anymore.”

Dead silence.

Alex stared at me like I'd lost my mind.

He knew me. He'd even taught me my negotiation tactics himself.

He had always believed that without him, I couldn't hold the Henson empire together.

“Jocelyn, I taught you those skills so you could use them on outsiders. Now you're turning them on me? How are you any different from the scheming climbers you accused Letitia of being?”

I almost laughed.

The difference was that I had genuinely believed he was my only safe harbor.

I stepped back, pulling free of his fingers.

“From now on, my affairs are none of your concern, Mr. Harding.”

“Jocelyn.”

His voice cut through the air behind me, cold and sharp.“Walk out that door today, and when you come crawling back, remember how Letitia was on her knees last night begging me to forgive her!”

I didn't look back.

I got into the car. My phone screen lit up in the darkness.

A text from my father. Ice-cold in tone：

“The list is finalized. Be there in three days.”

He wanted to corner me.

I turned off the screen and looked out the window toward the Henson manor.

They were hanging decorations through the night over there.

And my groom was still asleep on the other side of Harbor City.

Soon enough, everyone would find out exactly who Jocelyn Henson was marrying.