Chapter 3

The entire ballroom fell dead silent.

But Ethan's useless friends only looked excited.

The guy in the floral shirt let out a low whistle.

"Looks like Ethan's really pissed now."

"Miss Sterling, stop acting so tough."

"When Ethan loses his temper, nobody can calm him down."

Another one laughed. "Why didn't you just bow your head earlier?"

"You had to push him to this point."

"Girls always need to be taught a lesson before they learn to behave."

I looked at Ethan.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Ethan took slow, deliberate steps toward me.

"You know exactly what I'm doing."

"The marriage is still on."

"The engagement stands."

"And the partnership between our families must continue."

I replied coldly, "You can't bear to lose the Sterling family's assets, but you also can't let go of Luna and your bastard."

"So, you want both?"

He didn't even try to deny it.

"I have the power to have both."

"Chloe, you're not a little girl anymore. How many marriages in our circle are actually clean?"

"You want the status of Mrs. Vanderbilt and the business benefits. I'm giving them to you."

"Luna wants me, and I'm giving myself to her."

"There is no conflict here."

I looked at him, feeling a deep wave of disgust.

"No conflict?"

"Ethan, you've never seen me as a human being."

"To you, I'm just a giant bag of cash sent by the Sterlings."

He scowled. "Don't put it so crudely."

I smiled coldly.

"Then let me put it in terms you can understand."

"You do not meet the Sterling family's standards. You are disqualified."

Ethan's eyes flared with anger.

"Say that again."

I spoke slowly, pronouncing every single word.

"I refuse to marry you."

"The Sterling family will never beg for an alliance with a man who can't control his zipper and brings a bastard to ruin our business."

"If you're so tough, go confess everything to your grandfather."

Hearing that, Ethan suddenly laughed, but the laughter didn't reach his eyes.

"You think you can just run to my grandfather and destroy me?"

"Chloe, you are so naive."

He raised his hand.

A guard beside him stepped forward, holding a professional video camera.

The dark lens pointed directly at my face.

My heart sank as I realized what he was planning.

Sure enough, he smiled wickedly.

"Chloe, I know you feel like you're losing because of my son."

"So, let's make it simple."

"Once I have some dirt on you, we'll be even."

A wave of nausea hit my stomach.

"Ethan, don't you dare cross that line!"

He leaned in close, his voice dangerously low.

"I'm just teaching you how the real world works."

"Once we record a little video of you tonight, will you still dare to complain to my grandfather? Will the Sterlings dare to break the engagement?"

"You'll have no choice but to marry me quietly."

Luna stood behind him, her face turning pale.

She whispered, "Ethan... is this really a good idea?"

Ethan sighed, turning to comfort her.

"Luna, you are too soft-hearted."

"With women like her, you have to show them some force, or they'll never submit."

Then, he barked an order to his men:

"Take her phone."

John's guards immediately rushed forward to protect me.

But they were severely outnumbered and were quickly pinned to the ground by Ethan's security team.

John was held tightly by two large men.

He struggled wildly, screaming, "Ethan Vanderbilt!"

"If you touch Miss Sterling today, there will be war between our families!"

Ethan chuckled.

"Once I have her in my hands, the Sterlings will be far more terrified of a public scandal than I am."

A guard stepped up to snatch my phone.

I gripped it so tightly that my fingernails nearly tore, causing a sharp pain.

In the next second, my phone was snatched and violently thrown to the ground, the screen shattering into a spiderweb of cracks.

Two guards grabbed me by the shoulders, dragging me toward a VIP dressing room nearby.

I struggled, kicking one of them hard in the shin.

"Get your hands off me!"

Ethan stood under the bright chandelier, his face cold and ruthless.

"Chloe, you brought this on yourself."

The red light on the video camera blinked on.

The lens crept closer and closer to my face.

At that moment, a chill ran down my spine.

I had never imagined a human being could be so utterly vile.

For a title.

For the Sterling family's resources.

He actually dared to use such disgusting, criminal tactics to force me into submission.

John's eyes were bloodshot.

"Miss Chloe!"

I gritted my teeth and kicked another guard.

But in the next instant, a heavy slap landed on my left cheek.

The force knocked me to the floor. My forehead slammed against the hard marble, a sharp pain radiating through my skull.

As the men with the camera walked toward me, a deafening crash echoed from the entrance of the ballroom.

An elderly man, leaning heavily on a gold-headed cane, stepped through the shattered remains of the door.

"You worthless bastard! What the hell do you think you are doing?"

The moment Ethan saw the man, every drop of color drained from his face.