Chapter 3

The whole way home.

The moment I pushed open the front door, I saw my parents sitting by the sofa, their faces full of worry.

When they spotted me, they stood and came over, not a word of blame, only taking my hands and looking me over, this way and that.

"Sylvie, did Stuart hurt you? Don't be afraid, your dad and I are right here."

When I was sick and learned Stuart had left me behind to go find Jocelyn, I didn't cry.

When I learned Stuart had bought Jocelyn a diamond ring and wanted me to give up the wedding car for her, I didn't cry either.

But now the tears came like floodwater through an opened gate, and no matter what I did, they wouldn't stop, sliding down the rims of my eyes.

I threw myself into my parents' arms.

"Mom, Dad, Stuart wanted me to give up the wedding car to Jocelyn just now, and in a fit of anger I decided I don't want to marry him. Will you think I'm being childish?"

As I spoke, a knot of unease sat in my chest.

Because the marriage to Stuart was something I'd practically begged for in front of my parents.

At the start, they'd fought us both, hard.

If it weren't for how much they loved me, they never would have given in.

And now, everything was ruined.

Mom let out a deep sigh.

She gently wiped the tear tracks from my face.

"Sweetheart, you are my whole heart. No matter what you do, your dad and I will never blame you."

Dad was even angrier, his face flushed red.

"That Stuart, lower than an animal. I said she shouldn't marry him. He actually has the nerve to make my daughter give up her wedding car to someone else? Does he see the Sinclair family as anything at all?"

I took my parents' hands and sat down on the sofa with them.

My eyes, just done crying, were swollen red and frightening.

Mom watched me carefully.

"Sweetheart, have you thought about what comes next? If the Gilbert family won't step forward, your dad and I can handle it."

I shook my head.

Since it was something I'd done, I would settle it myself.

A child of the wealthiest Sinclair family wasn't so fragile.

Once I'd steadied myself, I looked at Dad and said quietly,

"Dad, halt every deal the company has with the Gilberts."

Dad hesitated for a moment.

"You're sure? Without those projects, the Gilbert family will go bankrupt fast."

I nodded firmly.

All these years, if not for the Sinclair family's backing, how could a small company like Stuart's ever have had the chance to go public?

How could he ever have become the new tycoon everyone praised?

Thinking about it now, it was only because I'd given him too much face, helped him too much, that he'd forgotten exactly whose help all of it rested on.

"Not just the Sinclair deals. Every company that works with the Gilberts is barred from working with the Sinclairs again."

Back when we were together, the thing I heard most from Stuart was this:

A pampered heiress like me would be useless the moment she left her family.

Then let me tell him this now.

A man like him, the moment he lost the help of this "useless" heiress, would sink straight into the mud.

Dad listened, then pulled out his phone and called the person in charge at the company.

When he hung up, he looked at me.

"It's all been arranged."

I stood, picked up my handbag, and smiled at my parents.

"Mom, Dad, let's go to the hotel. It's time to clean up the mess."