The Price of a Stolen Marriage Chapter 02
Chapter 2 The Wrong Woman to Threaten
Author: Perfect Timing
My expression did not change. I set my cup down on the table with a sharp clink. “Are you done?”
Natalie’s smile faltered.
I looked at her. “You keep saying you’re the Ashcroft family’s precious granddaughter. Then, do you know how your grandmother married into the Ashcroft family in the first place?”
Natalie frowned. “What are you trying to say?”
I smiled. “You want to marry into the Wellington family? Keep dreaming.”
Natalie shot to her feet. “Mrs. Wellington, you’d better think this through. If you treat me like this today, then once I marry into this family, there’s no way we’ll ever have a good relationship.”
Instead of getting angry, I laughed. “Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, you’ll never marry into the Wellington family.”
She snatched up her purse and stormed toward the door. “You’re going to regret this!”
Regret?
The greatest regret of my life was that I had not exposed every one of those people while my mother was still alive. At least then, she could have seen their true faces with her own eyes.
But she could no longer see it. That was all right. I would do it for her.
…
The next morning, the housekeeper came in and announced, “Mrs. Wellington, someone from the Ashcroft family is here.”
I set my book aside.
The housekeeper led a woman inside.
It was the mistress who had taken my mother’s place all those years ago. Now, she was Benjamin’s wife, Hailey Morgan.
She wore an impeccably tailored navy silk dress. A pair of emerald earrings dangled from her ears. Every inch of her radiated wealth and comfort.
“Mrs. Wellington, I’m Natalie’s grandmother. I’d like to discuss their relationship with you.”
She pulled a document from her purse and laid it on the table.
“This is the development rights to the Ashcroft Group’s land in Southgate. Your husband, Frederick, has had his eye on it for quite some time, hasn’t he? As long as you give your blessing and let them be together, this land will belong to Wellington Group.”
I lowered my eyes to her hands.
They were fair and delicate. The emerald ring on her left ring finger was bigger than my thumbnail. It was obvious those hands had never done a day’s hard work.
My mother’s hands had never looked like that. They had been soaked in laundry water year-round, with dirt permanently lodged beneath her fingernails.
Even when she died, they were still like that.
“Mrs. Ashcroft,” I said, looking up, “my son’s future isn’t any concern of an outsider.”
Her expression darkened.
“Mrs. Wellington, the Ashcroft family may not be as wealthy as the Wellington family, but Natalie is our only granddaughter. We’ve cherished her since the day she was born. Your son would be lucky to marry her. A woman like you…”
She placed deliberate weight on those words.
“A woman who married into the Wellington family halfway through life shouldn’t be so ungrateful.”
Halfway through life. She had chosen those words well.
“Not enough?” She glanced at the document on the table. “Then, name your price.”
I looked her in the eye.
“Mrs. Ashcroft,” I said evenly, “when the Wellington family chooses a daughter-in-law, we look at two things: character and upbringing. From what I’ve seen, neither the Ashcroft family nor your granddaughter measures up.”
Hailey’s face changed instantly. “What did you just say?”
