Tabitha's POV

My father was the richest man in Brighton, but before he passed away, he donated most of our family’s wealth. His last wish was just to be buried in his hometown, Highland.

Because of the sensitive nature of my work, I kept a low profile when I brought his ashes back for the funeral.

On the day of the burial, we were part of the funeral procession when a girl in a bright red dress suddenly appeared, followed by ten red Rolls-Royces driving in the opposite direction down the road. She stepped out, chin tilted arrogantly, sunglasses hiding her eyes, and pointed straight at my father’s hearse.

“Move,” she ordered coldly.

The funeral director walking beside me panicked. “Miss, are you for real? You should be the one moving aside out of respect for the dead.”

Being refused, her expression hardened. She tore off her sunglasses, threw them to the ground, and snapped, “This is the Tomlinsons’ city. I don’t care if it’s a corpse or a king. You move when I say move!”

I clenched my jaw and asked, “The Tomlinsons? Which Tomlinsons?”

She gave me a smug smile and answered, “Which other Tomlinsons could there be? Of course, the Tomlinsons of Highland, Terence Tomlinson, the city’s richest man. And I’m his fiancée. And since you insisted on being his mistress, your father, even dead, should give way to me, the wife!”

Her words hit me like a slap. If she was Terence’s fiancée, then who the hell was I?

Just before my father passed, Terence had the nerve to beg him for forty million to save his collapsing company. And now, at my father’s funeral, the mistress he kept on the side dared to block my father’s hearse?

I wanted to see for myself whose city Highland really was.

——

“Forward! The gods will guide the way!” I called to the procession, holding my father’s portrait close to my chest.

A man ahead, holding a flower, suddenly turned and shouted, “Miss Sherman! Trouble ahead. Someone’s blocking the road!”

I looked up and saw ten red Rolls-Royces inching toward us in the wrong lane. The girl in the red dress stepped out and strode straight for me.

She lifted her chin and ordered, “Move.”

The funeral director’s voice cracked with frustration. “Miss, are you for real? You should be the one moving aside out of respect for the dead. And you’re driving against traffic. Roads go both ways, so you’d better back up!”

But she only grew angrier, throwing her sunglasses to the ground again. “This is the Tomlinsons’ city! I don’t care if it’s a corpse or a king. You move when I say move!”

I narrowed my eyes. There was no way this meeting was a coincidence.

“The Tomlinsons?” I asked evenly. “Which Tomlinsons are you talking about?”

She gave me a look full of disdain and replied, “Stop pretending you don’t know. Which other Tomlinsons could there be? Of course, the Tomlinsons of Highland, Terence Tomlinson, the city’s richest man. And I’m Jacqueline Tomlinson, his childhood sweetheart and legitimate fiancée. And since you insisted on being his mistress, you’d better remember the rules. Turn that hearse around.”

Terence Tomlinson? Mistress?

I’d spent most of my life working among researchers and scholars, and they were all with manners and decency. I had never met anyone this shameless. It felt like being a scholar facing a bandit, whose reason was useless.

The truth was, Terence and I had been betrothed since childhood. But after Father took me to Highland, I hadn’t seen him again. Years later, when the Tomlinsons’ business was in trouble, his father came to my father to revive the engagement, hoping we could help them recover. He even claimed that Terence had been waiting for me all these years.

Yet now, after my father’s death, not only did the Tomlinsons fail to send condolences, but they also sent his so-called childhood sweetheart to humiliate him.

Facing the sudden trouble, the funeral director faced me and urged, “Miss Sherman, the burial time has been set. People can wait for time, but time won’t wait for people.”

Tabitha's POV

My father had once served in the military. Later, after he became wealthy, he donated heavily to national projects.

Today, many of his old comrades-in-arms, as well as officials from Brighton, were waiting at the cemetery to see him off for the last time.

If word of this incident got out, the Tomlinsons could forget about holding their heads high in Highland ever again.

I took a deep breath, my voice turning cold. “I don’t care what you are to Terence. Today is my father’s funeral. The dead take precedence. Move your cars, or don’t blame me for what happens next.”

But Jacqueline only gave a short, mocking laugh. “Oh? I’d like to see what you think you can do to me.”

At her signal, five bodyguards in black suits stepped out from her motorcade.

I let out a humorless chuckle. So, this was all planned in advance.

A few of the older funeral workers muttered in outrage, “This is nothing but troublemaking!”

Still holding my father’s portrait, I stepped forward alone.

The lead bodyguard lunged, aiming a hard punch at my side. Yet I didn’t move my feet, just shifted my torso back a few inches so his fist cut through the air in front of me. Then I pivoted and drove a sharp kick straight into his face.

Seeing their leader fly backward, the other four froze for a second, glancing at each other.

The man on the ground glared at me, then at the portrait in my arms, his temper flaring. “You woman dare look down on us?”

I tightened my grip on the portrait and shifted my stance. “Let’s make this quick. All of you, come at once. I’m in a hurry.”

The four men quickly attacked together, but within seconds, I had sent each one sprawling. One even coughed up blood.

The funeral director behind me gaped. “Miss Sherman, your skills are incredible! You took them all down by yourself!”

Seeing her men down, Jacqueline was nearly shaking with rage. “What the hell am I paying you for? Get her! Whoever knocks her down today gets seventy grand!”

The bodyguards hesitated, fear flickering in their eyes, until the promise of money made them straighten, ready to try again.

“Stop!”

The command came from a deep, pleasant male voice.

From a distance, a tall man in a tailored suit walked toward us, a group of people trailing behind him. His gaze was cold and sharp, like an iceberg in human form. The faint scent of cologne drifted ahead of him.

He closed the distance quickly, heading straight for Jacqueline. Taking her hand, he looked her over with concern. “Who bullied you? I’ll handle it.”

Jacqueline immediately switched to a pitiful expression, pointing at me. “It’s her! She refused to give me the road, just because she’s got a dead man in her car. And she beat up all my bodyguards! Terence, you have to teach her a lesson. I never want to see her again in my life!”

Terence turned toward the injured bodyguards and asked, “Who was foolish enough to lay a hand on my sister—”

But his words were cut off when his gaze slid past them and landed on me. For a moment, surprise flickered in his eyes, followed by a frown. “Tabitha? You did this to them?”

I nodded.

His face darkened, his tone shifting to scolding. “You’re a woman. Why are you fighting like this? The future young mistress of the Tomlinsons should be gentle and well-mannered. This won’t do. Jacqueline is my family’s adopted daughter. We grew up together, so I’ve always treated her as my own sister. This is just a misunderstanding, nothing more.”

He then straightened, as if settling the matter, and added, “This was clearly your fault. How about you kneel and apologize to Jacqueline, then turn your father’s hearse around and give her the road? Do that, and we’ll call it even.”

Tabitha's POV

I couldn’t help but laugh.

So this was the “talented, refined man” his father claimed had been waiting for me all these years?

First of all, the man was blind. Jacqueline’s entire motorcade is still parked directly across from us, very obviously driving the wrong way, and yet he can’t see that. Instead, he’s here to lecture me.

Second, I seriously doubt his moral integrity. A man who could fall in love with his own adopted sister, what kind of person was that?

I want nothing to do with a family this dirty and twisted.

I let out a cold snort and answered, “It was Jacqueline who blocked my father’s procession. Why should I be the one to apologize?”

That made Terence’s face darken. His voice was icy as he said, “Tabitha, think carefully. Your father is dead. He donated away most of your family’s fortune before he died. You have no one left to rely on. You’re just an orphan, and yet I’m still willing to honor my promise to marry you. What more could you possibly want?”

He then turned to put an arm around Jacqueline and said in a low, comforting tone, “Marrying her is only a matter of obligation. She’ll never be more than my wife in name. I’ll love only you for the rest of my life. I’ve already decided that everything our family owns will one day belong to our children.”

My hands trembled with rage.

Just days ago, when my father was already on his deathbed, his father brought him to the hospital under the pretense of visiting, only to ask for another forty million to save their failing business. My father agreed, even in his final hours, to help them one last time.

And now, barely after my father’s funeral had begun, Terence couldn't even hide his true colors. While eating off my family’s money, he was plotting to marry me as nothing more than a decorative wife. His greed was so blatant that it was practically shoved in my face.

As such, I shook my head. “Terence, I will never marry you. Now move aside. I’m taking my father to his final resting place.”

Upon hearing that, his expression tightened, his pride clearly wounded. It clearly never crossed his mind that I might refuse him.

Jacqueline, on the other hand, looked delighted as she was finally going to get her dream man.

“At least she knows her place, right? That she’s not good enough for you. Let me tell you the truth, Terence is about to lead the Tomlinson Corporation to become Brighton’s new number one!”

Her flattery made him puff up with pride. He gave a smug, dismissive laugh. “Tabitha, I might as well tell you this. I’ve secured Brighton’s power project through my own abilities. I know your family business has already been taken over by your cousin, and you’ve been kicked out of your household. So you’re nothing but a stray dog now. But if you marry me, I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life out of respect for your late father.”

I stared at him in disbelief. The arrogance was almost comical.

Yes, my father had donated most of our liquid assets to the state before his death. But the antique figurines and paintings, the jewelry, and the real estate passed down through our family were all left to me.

As for his so-called “Brighton power project,” that was actually a project under my department’s direct supervision, and I had personally requested special approval from my superiors.

Since my father always said, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."

I was scheduled to go abroad later this year for work, so I figured I might as well help Terence fully. But because of my position, I couldn’t tell him outright.

As such, I deliberately arranged for him to “overhear” information about the project’s bidding process, making it easy for him to get through every stage and secure it.

The Tomlinsons might be Highland’s wealthiest, but there are countless other top families across the country who could have taken that contract. Without me, there was no way such a prime opportunity would have landed in his lap.

And yet, here he was, truly believing it was all thanks to his own brilliance.