Chapter 549

In an instant, the air crackled with tension as Frederick and Maurice locked eyes, a fiery spark seeming to ignite and sizzle between them.

Marguerite felt suffocated, trapped between the two men. She couldn’t understand why Frederick, who clearly didn’t love her, always used her to provoke Maurice. She hated it because it gave her the false hope that Frederick still held some affection for her.

Maurice held Marguerite so tightly she could barely breathe. Desperate to end this silent standoff, she quickly patted Maurice on the shoulder and pleaded, “Can we please just go? I’m feeling awful, I need to rest in my room”

Maurice shot Frederick a glare that could cut steel before turning on his heel, carrying Marguerite toward the staircase.

Hackett was still seething with anger, turning to Powell with a face twisted in resentment.

Powell, taking a break from his usual silence, reprimanded from his wheelchair, “Frederick! What the hell did you say earlier? What if Yuna heard you? How would she feel?”

Frederick’s response was nonchalant, “What’s it to her?”

Powell heaved a deep sigh and threw a last glance at Maurice and Marguerite’s retreating figures, raising his voice just enough for all to hear, “What’s it to her? She’s your betrothed, isn’t she?”

“Betrothed? Since when?”

“When Yuna was born, our families arranged it. Now that Hackett has brought her back to the Winston Mansion, she’s your fiancée, isn’t she?”

Marguerite’s heart dropped like a stone upon hearing this. So Yuna and Frederick had been promised to each other since birth; no wonder Hackett kept showing up at the mansion to support her.

Her thoughts tangled like a ball of yarn as Maurice carried her to her room. As soon as they were inside, she quickly demanded, “Leave me alone. Don’t bother calling me for dinner.”

But Maurice just sat on the edge of the bed, clearly not intending to leave. “Aren’t you going to explain?”

Marguerite instinctively shrank back, putting some distance between them. “Explain what?”

“Why were you with Frederick?”

“It was a coincidence. My car crashed into his.” She didn’t want Maurice to know that she was now working at the same company as Frederick, so she lied.

But Maurice’s piercing gaze was unsettling, “Don’t lie to me. Stonebridge City has thousands of roads, a million cars. You’re telling me it’s just a coincidence that you both happened to be on the same street and had an accident?”

“There’s such a thing as fate,” Marguerite retorted coolly, stirring the fire.

Maurice’s face fell, his voice rising in frustration, “Marguerite!”

“Whatever I say, you won’t believe me, so why ask?”

“All you do is lie, why should I believe you?”

Marguerite, exasperated, shot back, “Then lock me up if it pleases you!”

Drained of the energy to argue, she burrowed into the bedclothes, wrapping herself up tightly.

“Get out, and close the door behind you!”

She didn’t want to see him, but Maurice mercilessly pulled back the blankets. He loomed over her, a malicious smile playing on his lips.

“Marguerite, how could I lock you away now? Your beloved is about to marry Yuna, and it’s going to be a celebration for the heavens. I wouldn’t do something so disgraceful.”

Marguerite sat up abruptly, eyes blazing with fury. The next moment, she tasted the salty bitterness of tears.

Maurice’s smile never waned as he gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, his fair face highlighting the cruel red of his lips, “Rest well, don’t make me worry, alright?”

With that, he left the room.

Maurice’s twisted amusement left Marguerite with a pounding heart, but she knew it wasn’t fear she felt towards him.

After three years of living together, he knew exactly how to hit where it hurt the most.

She couldn’t bear the thought of Frederick and Yuna getting married in front of her. She could accept that Frederick didn’t love her, but she couldn’t accept that she would never be close to him again