Chapter 4

When I walked out of the police station, the family Hudson had hit was just arriving from the hospital.

Luckily, the little girl wasn't badly hurt.

I let out a breath, then handed them the card of the Weiss family's private attorney.

"If you're taking it to court, go through him. Tell him the Weiss heir sent you."

"He'll make sure that piece of trash inside pays dearly."

After that day, I struck the whole James family off my schedule and threw myself into planning my wedding.

My fiancée wouldn't be back from abroad until the night before, so I handled everything myself.

Fittings, the diamond ring, the flowers.

Even if it was an arranged marriage, I had no intention of shortchanging my future wife.

Two days out from the wedding, Minnie blocked me.

The original wedding gown I'd forgotten to cancel had been delivered to the villa.

She thought it was my way of making peace.

She sent a photo of the gown after she'd cut it to shreds, and wrote:

【Two days, and my brother's still stuck in there. What makes you think you have any right to marry me?】

I stared at it for a few seconds before I remembered I'd forgotten to tell her that day.

【The wedding's still happening. Just not with you as the bride.】 The moment I sent it, a red exclamation mark popped up.

I shook my head, half amused.

Fine. She'd already said she wouldn't come.

Better if she didn't.

Minnie's mother was still parked at the mahjong parlor, same as always.

Her luck was bad, and she racked up one line of credit after another.

She still didn't know that come the end of the month, no one from the Weiss family would be settling her debts anymore.

Minnie's father was still going around collecting gifts on the strength of being the Weiss family's father-in-law.

A few people out of the loop still imagined they could squeeze some Weiss favor out of him.

Hudson was still in prison, and perfectly content about it.

Because he'd seen my lawyer that day and naively assumed I'd hired the man to get him out.

Time slipped by, and the wedding day arrived.

In the dressing room, I was going over the schedule with the wedding planner.

The door swung open.

I thought it was my fiancée and turned with a smile, only to find Minnie.

"Thomas, been waiting long? I told you, I'm not marrying you until my brother's out. I only came to take a quick look around, so we can plan our next wedding properly."

She flicked at the roses, careless, distaste on her face.

"Didn't I tell you I can't stand pink roses? They're everywhere in here. So tacky."

"And the lighting outside is too dim. It'll ruin the photos. If I come out looking dark in every shot, you're dead."

The more she talked, the more she got into it.

From the wine not being sweet enough to the bouquet not being big enough, from the seating order to the band's song list.

Finally she said:

"Bottom line, no wedding until my brother's out. Instead of standing here waiting like a puppy for me to soften up, you'd be better off pulling strings to get him out."

I let out a laugh, then waved at my bodyguards.

"Done? Good. Now get out."

A bodyguard clamped down on Minnie's arm, quick and clean.

She shrieked in fright.

"Thomas! Have you lost your mind?"

I looked her over, top to bottom.

"You're the one who's lost it. You stopped being my bride a long time ago."