SHARED BY THE RIVAL SPADE BROTHERS.

Chapter 3: Father-In-Law

CORALINE

The doorbell rang before I could say anything.

Shantel glanced toward the door, then looked at Vanessa. “Oh, Vanessa, dear, you are really onto something. Clean her face and put a jacket on her so she can look presentable. I will go and answer the door.”

She hurried away, leaving me sitting on the floor among the broken porcelain.

No. No, this could not be happening.

Me? In Vanessa’s place?

She grabbed the hem of her dress, and slapped it against my face, wiping away the tea. She scrubbed my skin so roughly that my cheek began to sting.

“Hold still, you i***t. Do you want him to think we keep animals in this house?”

She yanked my hair, and her face twisted in disgust.

“Oh, you reek! What happened to your hair?”

My platinum-blonde hair had become matted from not being washed properly. I lowered my eyes, embarrassed, as she dragged a beanie off her head and forced it over mine. Then she removed her jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders.

“Shh. Keep quiet. Don't say a word. You are finally going to be useful in this house.”

I heard the front door open, and my chest began to tighten.

“Vanessa, please.” I grabbed her wrist, my fingers trembling with fear. “Please, I don’t want to marry anyone. I swear I won't try to run away again. I was wrong to attempt it, stupid, in fact I was a complete fool and I'm sorry. Please, I will do anything you want.”

She looked down at me with cold amusement.

“Shh. It is more than that now, sweetheart. The old man wants a bride for his sons and we're going to give him a bride.”

My stomach twisted.

“And if you talk, act out of character, or even think about ruining this arrangement, I will gut you.” She extended her claw and pressed its sharp tip against my stomach. “I will gut you until your innards spill out. So be a good girl and shut the f**k up.”

My entire body went rigid. I knew Vanessa was capable of hurting me. I had seen the cruelty in her eyes countless times, but there was something particularly terrifying about the way she threatened me now. She was not bluffing. She would hurt me without hesitation if it meant protecting herself. She grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the living room.

Shantel had already seated Victor Spade on the sofa and was serving him tea. The family patriarch looked remarkably composed, sipping from his cup as though he had not come to discuss a marriage arrangement involving three notorious men. He held an expensive-looking cane that appeared to be made of pure gold. His stern expression made me wonder whether he had ever smiled in his life.

Behind him stood another man, younger-looking and extra-muscly. He was dressed in black and white like a bodyguard.

Shantel immediately rose, her expression transforming into a sweet smile.

“Mr. Spade, this is my stepdaughter, Coraline Preminger. She is the daughter of my late husband, Lucian Preminger, and she will be marrying your wonderful sons.”

I wanted to scream, run away, beg, plead, and cry. Anything to make these people understand that I didn't want this.

Victor Spade narrowed his piercing grey eyes.

“But this was not our arrangement, Miss Shantel.”

“I know, I know.” She clasped her hands together. “Please, allow me to explain. You see, my daughter intends to pursue a modelling career in Jaisworth. She is rather stubborn and hot-headed, and I do not believe she would make a suitable partner for your sons. But Coraline? Trust me, is going to be the perfect bride for them.”

I stared at them in disbelief.

Perfect? Was that what they called a twenty-year-old woman who could barely stand for an hour without feeling dizzy?

Victor studied me from head to toe. His gaze lingered on my stained clothes, my unwashed hair, and my painfully thin arms. I knew what he saw because I had seen the same reflection in the mirror. I was malnourished, exhausted, and fragile. My collarbones protruded beneath my skin, and my clothes hung loosely on my body. I looked nothing like a bride, let alone someone worthy of marrying into the Spade family.

Shantel, however, had another trick up her sleeve.

She approached me and pulled up the sleeve of Vanessa's jacket, exposing the fading burn scars on my hand.

“Look at this, Mr. Spade. Can you believe Coraline was the only survivor of the fire that claimed her parent's lives five years ago? The entire hall was engulfed in flames, yet somehow, this girl survived.”

Victor's expression changed completely like a pirate that had stumbled on treasure.

“I put it to you that she is a true-blooded Omega.”

A true blooded Omega who had never shifted before or heard from her wolf.

"I love Coraline like my own child, and I know this arrangement will be good for her. And what mother would not want her daughter to have access to such affluence?” Shantel continued, dabbing at the corners of her eyes. “It was my late husband's wish that Coraline marry into a family worthy of the Preminger name. If Lucian were still alive, I know he would support this arrangement. I only wish he were here to see his daughter secure such a wonderful future.”

Something inside me snapped when she mentioned my father.

“LIAR!”

The scream tore from my throat before I could stop it.

I shoved Vanessa away, sending her stumbling to the floor. Hot tears spilled down my cheeks. My entire body trembled with a rage I had spent years swallowing.

“My father loved me.” I screamed. “Yes, he wanted a son. Yes, that was why he married you. But he would never have willingly married me off to three psychopaths!”

Victor stared at me, his expression changing from curiosity to complete fascination.

“One bride and three husbands?” I continued, my voice breaking. “Does that make any sense to you? Do you think that is normal? You know very well that you are sending me on a suicide mission because Vanessa does not want to risk her own life.”

I pointed at my stepsister, who was scrambling to her feet.

“She gambled away my inheritance! She gambled away my trust fund, the last thing my parents left me, and now I am the one who has to pay for her mistakes? I have endured everything you have done to me, but I will not do this! I have had enough.”

Shantel's hand shot toward my face.

“YOU UNGRATEFUL—”

“Don’t touch the girl.”

Victor Spade rose from the sofa and her hand stopped halfway.

“Thank you, Miss Shantel. I will be taking the girl.”

Shantel's face brightened immediately. “Of course, Mr. Spade. We can pack her belongings, and prepare her—”

“I doubt you have allowed her to possess any belongings. She will come with me as she is.”

I shook my head, backing away and taking small steps towards the staircase, preparing to make a run for it.

“No, sir. Please, I don't want to come with you, don't come near me.”

Victor tapped his golden cane against the floor and continued approaching. I tried to move, but a sudden sting pierced the back of my neck. His bodyguard had moved at the speed of lightning and injected something into my neck, sending a strange numbness spreading through my body.

My knees buckled. The room blurred, and the last thing I saw before darkness swallowed me was Vanessa's grinning face.