Chapter 1
Hearing my father’s inquiry, I could only offer a faint smile.
“I’m not joking,” I replied softly.
“I just suddenly realized that he’s the one I truly like.”
“He’s also the one I should marry.”
Seeing my determination, my father had no choice but to agree.
“As long as you’re happy, I’ll support your decision,” he conceded.
“I thought you were so dependent on Felix and the others that you’d choose one of them.”
As my father mentioned Felix and the others, I felt a dull ache in my heart.
Memories of the recent kidnapping flashed through my mind - their cold indifference as they abandoned me, then blaming me for wandering off with Mia.
Perhaps I should have realized sooner that Felix and the others had long since shifted their affections towards Mia.
From the very moment they arrived, in fact.
Thinking about this, I forced myself to nod, fighting back the bitterness I felt.
After finalizing the engagement with my father and Ethan’s family, I left the main house and headed to our villa in the countryside.
As soon as my car pulled up to the entrance, I could hear deafeningly loud music blaring from inside. I frowned in annoyance.
Pushing open the door, I saw that the originally elegant European-style decor had been transformed into a tacky karaoke setup.
And at the center of it all, surrounded by Felix and the other two, was Mia Gray.
“Miss White, you’re back,” her sickeningly sweet voice rang out, drawing Felix’s attention to me. His eyes were filled with disgust.
“You dare to come back,” he sneered.
I opened my mouth to speak but before I could say anything, Lucas Reed, standing beside Felix, let out a cold snort.
“Of course she dares. She’s the high and mighty heiress after all. How could she possibly compare herself to us?”
“Who knows, she’s probably been complaining to Mr. White about how we abandoned her these past few days!”
Even William Hayes, who usually kept quiet, nodded in agreement.
Seeing the three of them united in mocking me made me frown in anger.
“What do you mean?” I demanded.
“This is my home. Why wouldn’t I come back?”
“Besides, I don’t have time to complain to my father about you.”
Of course, I was also worried about upsetting my father and damaging his health.
But my explanation only seemed to fuel their suspicions of guilt.
“How do we know if you’re telling the truth or not?” Lucas challenged.
“Now that you’re back, hurry up and apologize to Mia.”
“I didn’t get a chance to deal with you properly that day because there were too many people around! If you hadn’t dragged Mia out with you, how could she have gotten kidnapped?”
Lucas was the first to speak up, with the other two nodding in agreement.
But it was clearly Mia who had asked me to go out that day. How had it become my fault?
I couldn’t help but try to defend myself. “But that day it was clearly Mia who—”
Before I could finish speaking, Mia, who had been playing the innocent bystander, suddenly fell to her knees with a loud thud. Tears immediately began streaming down her face.
“Miss White! Please don’t blame Felix and the others. They’re only harsh because they were worried about me.”
“It was all my fault that day. I’m to blame. I was the one who asked to go out with you, Miss White. It was all me, I’m so sorry…” she wailed.
Her act instantly filled the eyes of the three men with sympathy, while their gazes towards me grew even colder.
“Aria White, if you have a problem, you can take it out on me. There’s no need to keep targeting Mia behind our backs!” Felix snapped.
“I’m ordering you to apologize right now! Otherwise, none of us three will ever marry you!”
Felix’s cold ultimatum made my breath catch. Memories of the humiliation they put me through at my coming-of-age ceremony flashed through my mind.
At that grand banquet attended by all the most prestigious families, Mia had been in charge of helping me get dressed. But just before the ceremony was about to begin, she came to me crying, saying she had ruined my gown.
I lost my temper and yelled at her. She suddenly collapsed to the ground, dramatically tearing at her clothes.
“Miss White, I’m so sorry! Please don’t rip my clothes off!” she cried out.
At that moment, Felix and the other two walked in. Without even asking what happened, they immediately forced me to apologize.
They even found some ragged clothes for me to wear, utterly humiliating me in front of everyone.
When my father asked me about it afterwards, I was afraid the three would be punished, so I lied and said I had suddenly wanted to wear those clothes.
Looking back now, I realize how utterly foolish I had been!
But I wasn’t going to let them push me around anymore.
I raised my head and glared fiercely at the three men, loudly refusing, “I won’t apologize!”