Chapter 1
Chloe gripped Blake Miller’s hand tightly, pulling him to a halt in front of everyone. Blake gasped, trying to pull his hand back.
“Chloe, sweetie, this isn’t right. Your engagement to my brother was personally set by Grandpa Hayes.”
“I’m in love with you, Blake. I won’t agree to marry anyone else.”
She held Blake’s hand firmly, her eyes fixed on Grandpa Hayes, who sat in the place of honor.
“Grandpa, my heart has always belonged to Blake. I will only marry Blake and have him as my husband.”
The guests exchanged glances, filled with sympathy and thinly veiled mockery. Everyone knew that Chloe and I had grown up together, practically childhood sweethearts, and that Grandpa Hayes had internally designated me as his grandson-in-law.
But now, Chloe had publicly humiliated me in front of everyone in our social circle.
Chloe’s tone was absolute.
“Even though Asher and I grew up together, I’ve always seen him as nothing more than a brother. I never had any romantic feelings for him.”
“Blake and I are deeply in love; we confirmed our relationship ages ago. In my heart, Blake is the only man I can ever marry. No one else.”
Mr. and Mrs. Hayes’s faces paled, and they anxiously glanced at Grandpa Hayes’s expression at the head table.
Chloe linked her arm through Blake’s and looked over at me, a hint of sarcasm in her eyes.
“Asher, you must know I don’t feel anything for you. You wouldn’t want to force a woman who doesn’t love you into a marriage, wasting your life away, would you?”
“Besides, Blake and I are already together. You can’t possibly use Grandpa’s favoritism to butt in and break us apart, can you?”
I glanced at them both, then bowed respectfully to Grandpa Hayes.
“Grandpa Hayes, since they are clearly in love, how could I possibly stand in the way of their happiness? Let’s grant them their wish.”
“I wish Miss Hayes and my brother a lifetime of happiness together.”
Chloe’s face flashed with a flicker of displeasure when she heard me say that, but Blake cautiously linked his arm through hers.
“Chloe, your marriage to my brother was set by Grandpa. Won’t he be upset about this?”
Chloe soothingly patted the back of Blake’s hand, murmuring softly.
“Of course not. Grandpa adores me. He wouldn’t get angry with me over him.”
“Besides, you’re the true son of the Davies family, the heir. This alliance was always meant to be between our two families. Why would we care about an outsider like him?”
An outsider?
Only my father and Grandpa Hayes knew my true identity. My mother was the heir to the powerful, discreet Thorne family. My father and mother had initially only had a cooperative marriage, and I would inherit the Thorne family in the future, which is why I took my mother’s surname.
Moreover, she thought Blake was my father’s biological son?
Grandpa Hayes frowned at Chloe’s words.
“Chloe, don’t be foolish. Are you certain you want to marry Mr. Miller?”
Chloe firmly slipped the ring onto Blake’s finger, then had Blake seal it with a reverent kiss on her forehead.
“Grandpa, I’ve thought it through. I will marry no one but Blake Miller in this life.”
Grandpa Hayes looked at Chloe with disappointment. If it were simply a matter of switching engagement partners, he wouldn’t have thought much of her.
But her deliberate choice to humiliate me in front of so many people today proved that she was utterly unreliable.
“Fine, have it your way then.”