The Bride They Rejected Owned Half Their Empire Chapter 09

The Bride They Rejected Owned Half Their Empire Chapter 09

A simple apology? Do you really think that’s 

enough to fix everything?” 

I stood rooted in place, unmoving. 

Kael stared at me, no excuses ready to offer. 

His lips pressed into a tight line, his eyes filled 

with tangled regret and guilt. 

“I never once considered the legal eldest daughter 

named in the covenant could be a completely 

different woman.” 

“You never considered it because you never 

bothered to check the facts.” 

He stayed silent, unable to argue against the truth. 

I picked up the teardrop emerald pendant from the 

table and slipped it into my pocket. 

This was my mother’s heirloom. No matter how 

today’s chaos ended, I was taking back what 

rightfully belonged to my family. 

Brianna’s voice came from the hallway outside. 

“Mother, the lawyers have arrived.” 

The elderly matriarch stood to leave, pausing to 

glance at me one last time before walking out. 

Her gaze held a strange, quiet warmth–not pity, 

but a quiet confirmation of who I was. 

In the adjacent private lounge, Alden sat slumped 

on the sofa, refusing to speak a word. 

Marigold was barred from entering by Harrington 

security. 

Seraphina had been escorted to another private 

room under guard. 

Rowan had been asked to leave the Harrington 

estate entirely. 

The lawyers spread out all the legal documents 

across the table. 

They reviewed the breach compensation clause, the marriage covenant’s legal validity, and the notarized household records line by line. 

The entire Harrington legal team pored over the paperwork for half an hour. 

Not a single one could find any legal loophole to invalidate the covenant. 

“This prenuptial covenant is fully legally binding.” 

The lead lawyer removed his glasses, turning to 

Brianna. 

Brianna’s face was rigid with anger and 

embarrassment. 

She turned to face Alden. 

“Alden Voss–what is your family’s final stance on 

this marriage arrangement?” 

Alden kept his head bowed low. 

His reputation had been completely destroyed 

today. 

One daughter embezzled massive corporate 

funds and had a secret affair with a business rival. 

His wife had hidden the truth from him. 

He’d slapped his own biological eldest daughter in 

front of high–society guests. 

“Elowen.” He finally spoke, using my proper name for the first time all day.

“Mother, the lawyers have arrived.” 

The elderly matriarch stood to leave, pausing to 

glance at me one last time before walking out. 

Her gaze held a strange, quiet warmth–not pity, 

but a quiet confirmation of who I was. 

In the adjacent private lounge, Alden sat slumped 

on the sofa, refusing to speak a word. 

Marigold was barred from entering by Harrington 

security. 

Seraphina had been escorted to another private 

room under guard. 

Rowan had been asked to leave the Harrington 

estate entirely. 

The lawyers spread out all the legal documents 

across the table. 

They reviewed the breach compensation clause, the marriage covenant’s legal validity, and the notarized household records line by line. 

The entire Harrington legal team pored over the paperwork for half an hour. 

Not a single one could find any legal loophole to invalidate the covenant. 

“This prenuptial covenant is fully legally binding.” 

The lead lawyer removed his glasses, turning to 

Brianna. 

Brianna’s face was rigid with anger and 

embarrassment. 

She turned to face Alden. 

“Alden Voss–what is your family’s final stance on 

this marriage arrangement?” 

Alden kept his head bowed low. 

His reputation had been completely destroyed 

today. 

One daughter embezzled massive corporate 

funds and had a secret affair with a business rival. 

His wife had hidden the truth from him. 

He’d slapped his own biological eldest daughter in 

front of high–society guests. 

“Elowen.” He finally spoke, using my proper name for the first time all day. 

“Dad… owes you a sincere apology.” 

His voice held a raw, broken emotion I’d never 

heard from him before. 

“Before your mother passed away, she held my 

hand and begged me to raise you well.” 

“I made her that promise.” 

“But after Marigold entered the household and 

Seraphina was born… I convinced myself you were 

better off living quietly with your grandmother in 

Coastal Haven Town.” 

“Alden… I don’t want to hear any more excuses.” 

“I know.” He pushed himself slowly to his feet, then 

bowed deeply forward. 

A man in his fifties, bowing in full humility in front 

of the entire Harrington legal team and family. 

“I struck you across the face today.” 

I stared at his hunched, bowed back. 

“An apology and a bow won’t erase the slap.” 

“Even if you apologize now, you can never turn 

back time and become the father you should have 

been.” 

“You let me grow up alone for two decades. You 

let my mother’s precious heirlooms be stolen and 

worn by someone else.” 

“Now that everything has fallen apart publicly, you suddenly remember you owe me a debt?” 

“Do you think one simple bow makes up for a 

lifetime of neglect?” 

His body trembled with shame and guilt. 

I turned away, refusing to look at him any longer. 

Kael walked over to stand beside me. 

He hesitated for a long moment before speaking 

carefully. 

“Elowen, I’ll respect whatever decision you make regarding this betrothal.” 

“If you’re willing to proceed with the marriage, I’ll sincerely apologize and do everything I can to 

make this right.” 

I glanced at him coldly. 

“Are you offering this because you truly mean it…. 

or because your grandmother pressured you into 

it?” 

He paused for two seconds, honest and 

unguarded. 

“Her influence is part of it. But this is also my own 

genuine choice.” 

“I was wrong to judge you instantly as a fraud. 

without verifying the truth first. I owe you that 

apology.” 

“You weren’t just wrong to skip the verification.” 

“You never once stopped to wonder if there was 

another Voss daughter hidden away from society.” 

“Seraphina spent two years spinning you fake 

childhood stories using my real memories, my old 

photos, my mother’s heirlooms–and you believed 

every word without a single question.” 

“Now you want to proceed with the marriage out 

of guilt… is it genuine regret, or fear of paying 

thirty percent of the Harrington assets in 

compensation?” 

He gritted his jaw, unable to give a perfect answer. 

“Then don’t bother answering at all.” 

I picked up the formal marriage covenant from the 

table, flipping to the final sealed page. 

The official family stamps of Harrington and Voss 

sat side by side at the bottom. 

My fingers brushed over the embossed wax seals 

for a moment. 

Then I closed the covenant and set it back down. 

on the table. 

I turned toward the lounge doorway. 

“Elowen, wait–where are you going?” Kael hurried 

after me. 

“I never said I’m rejecting the betrothal entirely.” 

I paused at the door, not turning back to face him. 

“But I also never said accepting the covenant 

means I’m committing to spend my entire life 

married to you.” 

“Figure out the difference between those two 

statements for yourself.”