Chapter 3

"Peter, that's more like it. A woman who's marrying out with no family of her own to back her up—we can't let her act so high and mighty."

Ada Dickerson looked at Peter Gilbert with satisfaction.

"Sign it, Cora. Sign it, and I'll still marry you."

Looking at that condescending face of his.

"No. I won't sign, and I don't care to."

He stared at me, eyes wide with surprise. "Cora Fox, are you crazy? It's just signing your name. It's not going to kill you."

"Either way, once you marry in, the houses and shops belong to our family."

"Jayden is my nephew, he's not an outsider."

"Ivy is my sister, she's not an outsider either."

Ada had it all worked out: since I couldn't bear a son, I'd have to hand houses and shops over to Jayden.

Ivy is her daughter, and to make her marriage look respectable, I'd have to give up houses and shops as her dowry.

In the end, the Gilbert family wasn't marrying me—they were marrying my womb and my properties.

"Peter Gilbert, get this straight, will you? Those houses and shops are all my premarital property."

Before I could finish, Ada cut me off.

"Don't try that. In the Gilbert family, once you marry in, everything you have is ours."

I looked at her coldly. "Don't even think about it. I had a prenuptial asset agreement notarized long before the wedding. You won't get a single penny."

Ada's face changed. She turned on Peter. "What is this?"

Peter looked at her, meek and stammering. "Mom, I didn't know. But once she marries in, everything will still belong to the Gilbert family."

So it turned out he'd gone to all that trouble to get close to me, playing the loving couple for five years.

All of it just for the houses and cars in my hands.

"Not a chance. The notarized agreement spells it out in black and white. Even if you seize it, you won't get anything."

"And what's more, I will not be marrying into your Gilbert family."

In an instant, Peter stared at me in shock. "What do you mean? Cora Fox, with all these people watching, you want to call off the wedding?"

Afraid I'd bolt, the two men holding me down gripped even harder.

"I'm not calling off the wedding—I've just seen clearly. Seen clearly what kind of thing you are, and what kind of thing your Gilbert family is."

The people present whispered among themselves.

"This girl really is a tough one. What's the harm in signing an agreement?"

"We're all family here, no need to draw such fine lines."

"Looks like the boss's wife was right—this woman won't back down easily."

"If it's time for hard measures, then use them. In front of the ancestors, who's got time to waste words on her?"

"Any more delay and we'll miss the auspicious hour. She hasn't even come through the door—we can't indulge a nasty habit like this."

Ada's face darkened.

She glared at Peter, pushing him to give me an ultimatum.

"Cora, sign it. There are so many people watching."

"If you sign, I'll take everything you said as words spoken in anger."

"The wedding goes ahead, and you're still the one I love most."

The thought that behind all his fake affection was nothing but calculation.

A wave of nausea rose in my chest.

"I won't sign, and I won't go through with this marriage."

"Peter Gilbert, while I can still talk to you nicely, have your people let me go."

"Otherwise, this is a consequence you can't bear."

As if he'd just heard the biggest joke in the world.

He pointed at the pack of relatives eyeing me like predators, and at the two burly men behind me.

His face was full of smugness.

"Cora, that's a line I should be saying to you!"