chapter 9

Sean said coldly, "You must be truly stupid or utterly insane to propose to another man's bride at his wedding. Do you truly think our family is powerless?"

On cue, several large bodyguards stood up, their imposing presence making Victor and his mother break out in a cold sweat.

Victor's mother, trembling, grabbed the hem of my wedding dress and craved, "Ivy, please! It was all that slut Luna's fault! She seduced Victor! He just made a mistake, the kind any man could make! Why can't you forgive him?

"We have nothing now! We're hungry and cold, with no roof over our heads! How could you..."

I kicked her away. Sean's face was even thunderous.

He snapped, "Speak for your own son! Don't you dare imply all men are capable of such filth!"

I laughed scornfully and sneered, "Weren't you always complaining that I only gave you a daughter? Now that Luna is pregnant with your precious son, what more could you possibly want?"

They both stiffened, their eyes widening in shock.

Victor shook his head frantically. He cried, "That, that was when I was drunk! I made her get rid of it! I don't want a son! I only want you and our daughter, Belle!"

When I remained unmoved, they turned their pleas to Belle, who was serving as our flower girl.

"Belle! Sweetheart, beg your mother! You don't want to be without your daddy, do you?"

But my daughter turned her head away and ran straight into Sean's waiting arms.

She told them, "You are not my daddy! When I was in the hospital, I waited and waited for you to visit! But you were only ever with that other auntie! You even made Mommy give her blood! I hate you!

"I only like Daddy Sean now! He brought the angel doctors to save me and Mommy!"

A wave of shock and murmuring rippled through the guests.

My father, hearing about the blood transfusion, was so enraged that he picked up a chair, charged at Victor, and barked, "You bastard! I never should have let Ivy marry you in the first place!"

It took a while for the security to restrain my furious father and finally eject Victor and his mother from the premises, allowing the wedding to proceed.

After the wedding, I took personal control of the company.

I ordered a top-to-bottom audit.

The results were staggering.

During his tenure, Victor, along with the ousted shareholders, had been involved in numerous shady, borderline illegal deals.

If I hadn't discovered it in time, the entire company could have been brought down. No wonder they had backed him so fiercely.

I gathered all the evidence and handed it over to the authorities. They were arrested while attempting to flee the country.

But the most shocking revelation was yet to come.

The investigation uncovered that the kidnapping, which had defined my relationship with Victor all those years ago, had been orchestrated by Victor himself!

He had deliberately leaked my whereabouts to the thugs, staged the heroic rescue to win my gratitude and my family's trust, and played the part of the humble man who loved me, not my money, to perfection.

If he hadn't gotten drunk on power and revealed his true colors so blatantly after finally reaching the top, I might never have suspected a thing.

With this final piece of evidence, his sentence was guaranteed to be much, much longer.

With everything finally settled, Sean, Belle, and I left for a honeymoon on a private tropical island. Remembering my parents' strange reaction when I'd asked for the household registry, I finally asked Sean about it.

He squirmed for a moment before finally mumbling, "Well... I might have announced to everyone, including your parents, that I would only ever love you for the rest of my life."

I raised an eyebrow and whispered, "I know that. It's why I chose you. What else?"

He coughed lightly, his gaze drifting to where Belle was building a sandcastle by the water's edge.

He muttered, "I... had a vasectomy. So, Belle... she will be our only child."

I stared at him, utterly shocked.

I asked, "But... what if I had never come to you?"

He replied softly, "Then it wouldn't have mattered. I only ever wanted to be with you."

The ocean breeze gently tousled my hair and stirred something deep within my heart.

So this was what it felt like, to be loved by someone so completely.