The reason behind the proposal.
1139 Words
Liam Brooks froze as the men in suits closed in. For a second, he still tried to smile—still clung to that well-practiced charm that had gotten him out of trouble so many times before.
“This must be a mistake,” he said, laughing nervously. “Gentlemen, I’m in the middle of my wedding.”
The tallest man in the group, wearing wire-rimmed glasses and a grim expression, held up a file folder.
“Liam Brooks,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion, “we have reason to believe you've falsified financial records and committed fraud in a recent series of corporate transactions. We suggest you come quietly.”
A ripple of gasps echoed through the room. Emma’s breath caught in her throat.
“What?” Gerald Carter snapped, standing up again. “That can’t be right. Liam, tell them it’s a misunderstanding!”
But Liam’s mask was already cracking. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead as he stared at the folder like it contained his obituary. The confidence in his eyes evaporated, replaced by panic.
“I—I can explain—”
The man cut him off. “Your company, BrooksTech Industries, has been under investigation for six months. You’ve been leveraging false valuations, siphoning funds, and using your fiancée’s family company as collateral in forged partnership documents to offset your losses. Your financial statements were doctored to hide the hemorrhaging.”
Emma’s legs nearly gave out.
She turned to her father. “Did you know about this?”
Gerald looked stunned. Victoria, on the other hand, kept her poker face.
“No,” Gerald muttered, eyes narrowing at Liam. “But now it makes sense…”
Aiden stepped forward, his tone cool and cutting. “This wasn’t about love, Emma. It wasn’t even about a marriage of convenience. Liam needed your family’s company to stay afloat. He knew Carter Holdings had liquid assets and government contracts lined up. He proposed not because he loved you—but because he saw you as a golden lifeline.”
Liam’s voice cracked. “Emma, please, listen—”
“No,” she said, backing away. “Don’t.”
Her voice was sharper than she meant it to be, but she didn’t care anymore. She had spent weeks questioning herself, wondering if she’d been too judgmental or paranoid. But now it was all laid bare.
“You slept with another woman. You put your hands on me. And through it all, you were plotting to ruin my family?”
The agents surrounded Liam.
“This isn’t over!” he yelled as they cuffed him. “You think this bastard can protect you? You think he’s your savior? Just wait—”
Aiden stepped in front of Emma, shielding her from Liam’s gaze. “You’ve done enough.”
With a final, furious glare, Liam was escorted out through the very doors he had hoped to walk through victorious.
Silence fell again, thick and heavy.
Then, Victoria Carter stood. “Emma. Outside. Now.”
Emma looked at her mother. The woman’s expression was pure ice, but beneath it, Emma saw something rare—fear.
“No,” Emma said simply.
Victoria’s eyes narrowed. “You’re still our daughter. You’ll do what you’re told.”
Aiden turned slightly, his presence a steady wall beside her. “Not anymore. She doesn’t belong to you.”
Emma stepped forward, her voice trembling but strong. “I’m done living by your rules. I’m done being your pawn. You treated me like a commodity… just like Liam did.”
“You ungrateful—”
“Save it,” Emma said coldly. “You sold me out. And I’m taking back my life.”
With that, she turned and reached for Aiden’s hand.
He took it without hesitation.
They walked back down the aisle together—not to the sound of wedding bells, but to the stunned silence of a hundred people who had just witnessed a kingdom fall and a queen rise.
Outside, as the hotel doors shut behind them, Emma exhaled like she hadn’t breathed in months.
She turned to Aiden. “You knew. All along. About Liam. About everything.”
He looked at her, eyes soft. “Not everything. But enough. I’ve been keeping tabs on him ever since he got close to you. He was careless. Greedy. And predictable.”
“And the baby?”
“I saw the appointment on your calendar,” he said quietly. “At the women’s clinic. I took a gamble… and I was right.”
Tears welled in her eyes. She looked away, ashamed.
“I wanted to tell you. I just didn’t know how.”
“You just did,” he said, brushing a thumb gently against her cheek.
And for the first time in a long time, Emma allowed herself to believe—maybe, just maybe—this wasn’t the end of her story.
It was only the beginning.
The city blurred past the tinted windows of the black sedan. Emma sat in silence, her fingers tangled in her lap, the white wedding dress a ghost of a life she never wanted.
Aiden didn’t speak, not at first. He drove with one hand on the wheel, the other resting casually against the leather console. But every few seconds, he glanced over—like he was checking to make sure she was still there.
She was. Barely.
They didn’t stop until they reached the private driveway of a gated estate on the edge of the city. It wasn’t flashy like her parents’ mansion, but it radiated something far more dangerous: power that didn’t need to prove itself.
Emma stepped out, the gravel crunching under her heels. The dress was too tight, too symbolic. She tore off the veil and left it on the passenger seat.
Inside, the house was warm. Clean. Safe.
She didn’t realize how cold she’d been until the door shut behind her.
“You can stay here as long as you want,” Aiden said, shrugging off his jacket and tossing it over the back of a chair. “No one knows about this place. Not even your mother.”
Emma gave him a tired look. “How many places like this do you have?”
He smirked faintly. “Enough.”
She wandered to the living room, arms wrapped around herself, staring at the fireplace even though it wasn’t lit. “I thought I was being smart,” she whispered. “I thought… maybe Liam wasn’t like the others. That he saw me. Not just my last name.”
“You were smart,” Aiden said, stepping closer. “You saw through him. Just not fast enough.”
Her jaw clenched. “And you? What’s your angle, Aiden? Why come back now?”
There it was—the real question.
- Writer
