Chapter 3

Nadia turned and walked into the mansion. As soon as she walked in, she saw Hector, his mistress, Ruby Lacewin, and her daughter, Celia Young, all seated on the couch in the living room, obviously waiting for her return. Hector's face immediately turned grim when he saw Nadia reeking of alcohol and looking a disheveled sight. "Where the hell did you go again just now? How dare you come home so late at night? And why are you dressed in these revealing clothes?" Nadia couldn't be bothered to waste her breath arguing with him. She headed straight for the stairs and said, "I already said that I wasn't going to marry him. And it's my freedom to go wherever I want and wear whatever I want!" Celia got up just then and walked up to Nadia, her face looking just the slightest bit delighted. "Nadia, Dad told me that… that you've decided to let me get engaged to Clive instead. Is that true?" Nadia looked at Celia's pretense and felt utterly disgusted. "Yeah, yeah. You can have him. You like picking up other people's trash anyway, don't you?" "Nadia Young! Stop talking nonsense!" Hector roared. "Don't you know how many people would die to have Clive as their son-in-law? It is our greatest honor that his family even considered having a marriage alliance with us! "Let me tell you that I have already discussed with the Gibsons about replacing you with Celia, and they are even more satisfied with that! I hope that you won't regret your decision later!" Nadia chuckled lightly and said in a determined voice, "Don't worry. I'll never regret what I said." Hearing that, Ruby sighed and said in a sarcastic tone, "Look, Nadia, it's not that I want to criticize you or anything, but you're a little too wild and aggressive for your own good. Once you give up your spot to marry into the Gibson family, I bet nobody else would dare to marry you…" Nadia's eyes darkened. Her pretty almond eyes turned sharp as she barked, "And who the hell do you think you are? Who makes you think that you even have the right to say anything about me? You're nothing but a homewrecker—no, you're a shameless bitch—so why don't you be more concerned about your dear daughter instead? "After all, it still depends on your skill whether you can hold on to what you stole from others or not! Who knows, you might even lose out on both sides and end up with nothing!" Ruby went white with anger. Hector was burning with fury and was on the verge of yelling back at Nadia, but Nadia didn't want to waste her time with them anymore. She just turned and stormed up the stairs and went back to her own room. The next morning, Nadia hadn't even woken up yet when Clive suddenly came looking for her. He was still as cold and aloof as ever, without a single hair out of place. As soon as he saw Nadia, he asked, "Where's the apology letter?" Nadia leaned lazily against the doorframe, her pajamas slipping off her shoulder and exposing her collarbone as she yawned loudly in his face. "I never wrote it, and I'll never write anything like it, ever." Clive's expression darkened at once. He sounded extremely displeased as he questioned, "When will you finally learn to be obedient, Nadia Young?" "I was born this way," Nadia said, meeting his gaze, her eyes filled with unrestrainedness. "You want me to be obedient? Never. I hate being told what to do." "You—" Just as the atmosphere was getting tense between the two of them, Celia walked up to them and interrupted them. She was wearing a plain yet elegant dress, looking very classy and presentable. There was also a gentle smile on her face. "Don't blame Nadia for last night, Clive," Celia said, her voice soft and sweet as he handed him a stack of papers filled with her neat handwriting. "I think Nadia only went clubbing yesterday because she was in a bad mood. This is the apology letter I wrote on her behalf. Would that do for you?" Clive took the letter from Celia and briefly glanced through it. Then, he looked at Nadia again with even more disappointment in his eyes. "See what your sister can do? And look at you! I can't believe that you both had the same type of upbringing in the family. Can't you be more understanding and obedient like your sister? "Fine. I'll forget about last night. But you're not allowed to make the same mistakes again. Now change out of your pajamas and come with me to a business cocktail party later," Clive said. Nadia rejected it without hesitation. "I'm not going. Bring Celia with you instead. Doesn't she fit your requirements more than me?" Clive frowned hard. "Nadia Young! You're the fiancee I've chosen for myself!" The sentence plunged right into Nadia's heart like a knife. She understood now. He was marrying her not because he liked her and wanted to be with her, but because the engagement was between them both, and he refused to go back on his word. In other words, it had absolutely nothing to do with whether or not he even liked her as a person. If Clive had the freedom to choose, he would probably have picked Celia over her a long time ago. So, this time, Nadia was going to let him have his way. Celia quickly intervened in her gentle tone, "Clive, I think it's because Nadia still isn't used to events like these. Maybe… Maybe I could accompany her, and we could both go with you. And if Nadia isn't too sure about what to do, I can always remind her discreetly by her side." Then, she hooked her arm around Nadia's and dragged her up the stairs. "Come, Nadia. I'll pick out a dress for you." As soon as they were back inside the room, Nadia shook Celia's arm off and glared at her icily. "There's nobody else here now, so you can stop it with all your sisterly act now." The warmth on Celia's face disappeared. However, she remained calm as she said, "You're mistaken, Nadia. I'm really trying to mend my relationship with you." "Mend our relationship? Impossible! Unless you're dead! Oh, no, even if you were dead, I'd go over to your grave and throw a massive party to celebrate. It'd be even better if you could bring that homewrecking mother of yours as well!" Celia's face turned livid with anger. She finally hit back at Nadia and yelled, "Don't cross the line, Nadia Young! Did you really think that I wanted to make amends with you in the first place? "I'm telling you, when Clive finds out that I'm replacing you as his bride, he'll be even more satisfied and happier than he'd ever be with you! Someone as wild and unruly as you don't even deserve him!" "Really?" Naida asked, cocking an eyebrow at her. Her tone turned sarcastic as she asked, "If that's the case, then why didn't you just tell him straight in the face that his bride was going to be swapped out, hmm? "Is it because you don't have the confidence that he wouldn't call off the engagement completely because he didn't want you?"