Chapter 2 - The Shadow of the Marstons
Port Mercy had belonged to the Marstons for over a century, a legacy built on iron, coal, shipping lanes, and an unyielding code of conduct that brooked no weakness. While Cole was the charming, frivolous younger brother who spent his days schmoozing clients at country clubs and posing for local magazine spreads, Adrian was the engine that kept the empire grinding forward. People called him cold, ruthless, and untouchable. Sitting across her kitchen table while the rain beat against the glass, Emma began to understand why.
"Drink this," Adrian said, placing a small ceramic mug of hot tea laced with honey between her trembling hands. He had rummaged through her sparse pantry with an efficiency that suggested he was used to taking control of chaotic environments.
"Thank you," Emma murmured, wrapping her fingers around the warmth. "You really didn't have to do all that to Cole."
"I didn't do it for him. I did it for justice," Adrian replied, taking a seat on the edge of her worn sofa. He looked entirely out of place in her modest apartment, yet somehow completely in command. "A man who cannot keep his word in his personal life cannot be trusted with millions of dollars in corporate assets. Cole thought his last name made him immune to consequences. I proved him wrong."
"And Tessa?" Emma asked, her voice cracking slightly as the bitterness rose in her chest. "What about her?"
Adrian’s eyes darkened into something resembling obsidian. "Your sister believes she won a prize. She thinks she has secured a wealthy man and a luxury lifestyle. What she doesn't realize is that Cole without the Marston name, without the trust funds, and without my financial backing is just an unemployed thirty-year-old boy with expensive tastes and zero survival skills."
Emma looked down at her tea. A dark, vicious part of her—a part she didn’t recognize—felt a cold thrill of satisfaction. "She wanted him so badly. Let her have him."
"She won't have him for long," Adrian stated matter-of-factly. "Within a week, reality will set in. The apartment they plan to live in requires a guarantor that Cole no longer has. The car he drives is leased through Marston Enterprises—which means it was repossessed this morning. By Friday, your sister will realize she traded a stable, devoted woman who loved her for a broke parasite."
"You sound terrifying when you analyze people," Emma said, a faint, humorless ghost of a smile touching her lips.
"I am precise," Adrian corrected softly. "Precision keeps businesses alive, and precision keeps people safe." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Which brings us to why I am actually here tonight, Emma."
Emma’s heart skipped a beat. "Why are you here?"
"The wedding invitations went out to two hundred guests. The venue is booked, the catering is paid for, and half the town’s elite are whispering about the scandal," Adrian said, his gaze unwavering. "You can hide in this apartment, let the gossips chew on your dignity for a month, and let my brother slink away like a coward. Or... we can rewrite the narrative."
Emma stared at him, bewildered. "Rewrite it how? There is no wedding, Adrian. The groom is a fraud."
"I am aware," Adrian said smoothly. "Which is why I am proposing a different arrangement."
The silence in the room grew heavy, charged with an electricity that made Emma’s breath hitch.
May you like
"What kind of arrangement?" she whispered.
"Marry me instead."
