Chapter 4

Christian acted quickly, as Gavin asked me to return to the Lambert residence just two days after Jasper and Isabella departed for Miraluna. It was an unspoken rule in the Lambert family that Jasper couldn't get married until Christian did. Hence, though Jasper and I were both old enough to get married, we hadn't done so since Christian was still unmarried. I had no idea what Christian had said to Gavin, but when I saw Christian at the Lambert residence, he had a bruise at the corner of his mouth and a cut on his forehead. He even turned his gaze away the moment I walked in. Meanwhile, Gavin acted as if he were only now learning about Jasper's disgraceful behavior. As if in an effort to stand up for me, his voice was full of feigned anger. "Jasper has truly gone too far, Madison! You've basically grown up under my care, so I won't allow you to be wronged. How about getting married to Christian instead? I can assure you that I'll break his legs myself if he ever dares to behave like Jasper!" It sounded very convincing, but it was nothing more than empty words. I simply remained silent, and my eyes glistened with unshed tears to make it seem like I was still deeply in love with Jasper. Gavin sighed in response. Then, he ended up giving me 1% of Lambert Group's shares under his name and another 2% from Christian's holdings as compensation for the sudden switch in fiancés. He then said, "Christian isn't that young anymore. You guys should register your marriage first. Your grandfather and I will pick out a good day to hold the wedding." After that, I didn't tell anyone that my fiancé was a different man now. I simply went to my mother's grave and said, "I've changed my fiancés, Mom. It's the one you met last time." … Christian and I were on our way to the courthouse to get our marriage certificate when I happened to come across Isabella's latest social media update. She had posted nine photos of Jasper sleeping, with his neck and chest covered in what looked like fresh hickeys from a very passionate night. She had also included a caption to the post that read, "How can my boyfriend be this handsome?" I calmly took a screenshot of the post, sent it to my father, and then double-tapped Isabella's post to like it. In the end, my father merely responded with a shrug and an infuriating remark. "It's better to keep the good stuff in the family, right? I mean, men will always look for women on the side anyway, and at least Isabella is your sister, so she's on your side." Having already expected such a reply, I turned off my phone. What else could I have expected from such a father, if not disappointment? Isabella and her mother were used to taking the easy way out, and that meant living off other people's hard work. Yet she forgot that, even if Jasper didn't marry me, he would never marry her. I was, after all, still the heiress of the Stone family. Meanwhile, she—aside from being my stepsister—was no different from the university students and models Jasper once toyed with. "What's the matter?" Christian asked, momentarily taking his eyes off the road to glance at me. I shook my head and replied, "I was just wondering where I'll be sleeping tonight." Christian took my hand, brought it to his lips, and softly kissed it. "You're not going to make your husband sleep all by himself tonight, right? I pulled my hand away. "We can talk about this after the wedding."