As my father’s voice echoed through the grand hall, the union between the Hayes and Sterling families was irrevocably solidified.
The entire room erupted in congratulations. “Congratulations, congratulations!” “One oil magnate, one oil baron–a powerful allian
ce that will now dominate the entire petroleum empire!”
Hearing the chorus of compliments, Jax and Caleb’s faces visibly paled with alarm. Aiden’s complexion, too, grew progressively whiter. He stepped forward, clutching my hand, his voice hoarse. “Willow, are you really going to marry him? Are you serious?” Befo-
re I could even pull my hand away, Liam’s grip tightened around my own, wresting it from Aiden’s grasp. He fixed Aiden with a gaze that barely contained his rage. “Excuse me, but my fiancée’s hand isn’t for just anyone to touch.” Then he leaned close to my ear, his voice a soft whisper. “That sort of thing… it makes me jealous, you know.”
Aiden tried to approach me again, to pester me, but Liam’s accompanying bodyguards swiftly blocked him. The three men, still refusing to give up, shouted at me. “Willow, are you really not choosing any of us? You’re actually going to marry that… effeminat useless Sterling?” Liam’s eyes darkened, and his bodyguards swarmed them in an instant. A few swift punches landed on their faces, leaving them bruised and battered.
Just then, the heads of the three subsidiary companies, who had rushed in from outside, cried out to my father, “Mr. Hayes, have mercy! Please, have mercy!” Aiden’s mother, her face etched with indignant pride, stepped forward. “You personally said it, Mr Hayes! You asked our three families to send our sons to be personally trained by you, as candidates for Willow’s fiancé!” Her voice rose. “They’ve been away from us for ten years! You promised to choose one of them as your heir! How can you go back on your word now?” The other two families also protested vehemently. “Exactly! You said you’d choose one out of the three. What kind of trick is this, changing your mind at the last minute?!”
At their outcry, the crowd below erupted in murmurs. “Yeah, isn’t Mr. Hayes just ditching all three of them?” Just then, Liam, standi- ng beside me, addressed the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, I personally heard all three of them say they voluntarily withdrew from being fiancé candidates!” The crowd grew noisy again. “Yes, I can confirm, I heard it!” “Me too!”
Aiden, however, lowered his voice. “That was just a joke, we didn’t mean it.” Caleb and Jax chimed in. “That’s right, just a joke! We just wanted to scare Willow.” The parents of the three families immediately surrounded my father, complaining bitterly. “Mr. Hayes, you can’t go back on your word!” “That’s right, Mr. Hayes! For ten years, our sons haven’t been by our side! You can’t just separate us from our ov/n flesh and blood for ten years for nothing!”
Just as my father found himself in a dilemma, I stepped into the hall, now wearing the diamond–encrusted gown Liam had given me. The moment I entered, all eyes turned to me. Aiden stared, a silent gasp of admiration in his eyes. Aiden’s mother quickly took my hand, her voice sweet and gentle. “Willow, weren’t you always talking about marrying Aiden?” “Did he upset you again? Auntie will definitely teach him a good lesson for you!” A flicker of triumph sparked in Aiden’s eyes, as if victory was already his. But Liam’s eyes darkened, his fists clenching, a flicker of raw panic in their depths.
Just as everyone thought I might change my mind, I gently pulled my hand from Mrs. Reynolds’s grasp, my voice cool and distant. Since everyone is so curious why I suddenly didn’t choose any of these three candidates and instead chose to marry Liam Sterling… “My gaze swept across their faces. “Then I’ll show you all their true colors!”
