Chapter 27
Fifty percent.
O
e
+8 Pearls
Adrian’s voice rang through the room, steady but distant, as if the weight of his own words made it difficult to meet my eyes. He stood at the doorway, avoiding me, speaking to everyone else instead.
“We’ll return fifty percent of her dowry. If Lord Sinclair and Mr. Sinclair disagree, they’re welcome to take it up with the courts and see if my actions are unfair.”
I scoffed internally. Unfair? That word barely scratched the surface of what this was.
Theodore’s face darkened with rage. Vincent, standing protectively beside him, wasn’t nearly as composed.
“Fifty percent?” he barked. “When Cassandra married into this family, she brought a dowry so grand it stretched across multiple accounts, prime real estate, business shares do you even understand how much she sacrificed? How dare you try to claim any of it?”
Adrian clenched the crumpled letter in his hand, his knuckles turning white. His voice was cool, almost indifferent, “Take it to court if you must. The agreement is ready. You can review it first.”
A servant stepped forward, presenting me with the crisp document. I took it from his hands, my fingers steady despite the storm raging inside me. I had memorized his handwriting from the letters he’d sent me over the years words filled with promises, with dreams we were supposed to share. Now, his penmanship condemned me, listing my ‘disobedience‘ and jealousy‘ as reasons for our separation. As if my love, my loyalty, had been a crime.
“I hope that when you remarry, you won’t resort to such tactics and will be sincere with others.” Adrian’s tone held an odd mixture of detachment and regret. “That’s the only way you’ll find happiness.”
I let out a soft laugh, void of any real amusement. “Thanks for the life advice, Mr. Warren.” I waved the document slightly. “It still needs the official seal.”
Adrian nodded stiffly. “I’ll take it to the office myself. As for the dowry, you should be grateful, By law, a woman isn’t entitled to take it. Don’t blame me. This is your own doing.”
Grateful? I had funded his education, stood by his family, and now I was supposed to thank him for leaving me with scraps? My blood boiled, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.
“There’s nothing to blame you for,” I said smoothly. “It was worth the money to finally see the Warren family’s true colors.”
Something flickered across his expression guilt, perhaps? Anger? It didn’t matter. The moment passed quickly, and his gaze hardened once more.
“Watch your mouth, Cassandra,” he warned. “Or else”
I stepped forward, lifting my chin as I met his eyes without flinching. “Or else what?” My voice was steady, unwavering. “You’ll take seventy percent of my dowry instead? Make it ninety. Leave me just enough so I don’t starve. Would that satisfy you, Adrian?”
His jaw tightened. For the first time, he didn’t have an immediate retort. He hadn’t expected me to hand him his victory so easily. But this wasn’t his victory. This was me, walking away before he had the chance to take anything more from me.
Let him keep the money. I’d rebuild.
And when I did, I would make sure the world knew exactly who Adrian Warren had lost.
I crossed my arins, staring at Adrian as he stood stiffly before me. His gaze flickered away, unable to meet mine. “Fifty percent,” he said again, his voice taut. “I do feel bad for wasting a year of your life, but ”
“Spare me the guilt, I cut him off, my voice cool and steady. “Your guilt over taking half my dowry is cheaper than dirt. Let’s just stop pretending this is anything other than greed.”
Across the room, Evelyn bristled. Her eyes burned with fury as she turned to Theodore. “Do you hear her? That tone? That disrespect? Is that how a wife should speak?”
12:38 PM
Chapter 27
O
+8 Pearls
Theodore scoffed, shaking his head. “She’s about to be discarded like yesterday’s trash. What do you expect, Evelyn? That she kneels and thanks you for this humiliation? It’s a miracle she’s not screaming at all of you.”
The room fell into tense silence. I felt Theodore’s anger simmering beneath the surface, though he tried to keep it restrained. The Sinclair family had already lost everything, our name barely holding any weight anymore. And yet, despite everything, he still stood by me. It was more than I could say for the man I had once loved.
Evelyn’s lips curled into a sneer. “How dare you? Just because you’re old doesn’t mean you get to say whatever you want. We never mistreated Cassandra. She brought this on herself!” She turned her sharp gaze on me, her voice rising. “If she had just accepted Vivian, why did she run to the palace and try to get the marriage order revoked?”
Evelyn continued, her words laced with venom. “And what’s wrong with us keeping half her dowry? It’s within our legal right! We’re not the villains here it’s your family that’s being petty and shortsighted.”
She stepped closer, her expression triumphant. “Mark my words, the Sinclair family will never rise again. Meanwhile, my son will become one of the most powerful and respected men in the country. And you? You’ll just be another forgotten woman, tossed aside, left with nothing.”
Her words should have broken me. A year ago, they might have. But not anymore.
I lifted my chin, letting a slow, knowing smile spread across my lips. “We’ll see about that.”
