Part 2Married to His Uncle

When our marriage was first proposed, Preston had fought it tooth and nail. But the moment he met me, it was supposedly love at first sight, and he declared he would marry no one else. He pursued me shamelessly for over half a year. Seeing that he was clean-cut and didn’t play around, I finally agreed.

Not long after, Mary, his new adoptive sister, entered the picture, and he treated her like a princess.

On our wedding day, Preston got a call from her.

“Preston,” she’d wailed, “remember your promise? To take me to Africa to see the elephants? I’m at the airport waiting. If you don’t come, I’ll jump off the terminal roof!”

Preston had given me one apologetic look, dropped my hand without a second thought, and sprinted away, leaving me and a ballroom full of guests behind.

I received two texts from him, and then his phone went dead.

[Her father saved my life. Mary is his only daughter. I can’t let anything happen to her!]

[Don’t worry. I’ll be back as soon as she sees the elephants. A week at most. We’ll finish the wedding and then go to the Maldives for our honeymoon.]

The Zhou patriarch was incandescent with rage.

To make it up to my family, he’d made me a promise. “Arabella, this is our family’s failure. Name your compensation, anything you want!”

I had pointed to his youngest son, the current head of the Zhou family enterprise, Damian Zhou.

“Then give me him,” I’d said. “This wedding is still short one groom.”

And just like that, I married Preston’s uncle.

Lost in thought, I glanced at the time. Damian’s flight should have landed by now. Just as I was about to check, a message popped up on my phone.

[Sweetheart, flight’s delayed. Just boarded. Going to be very late. Don’t wait for me, just have Leo pick me up.]

[Love you.]

A huge heart emoji followed.

A small smile touched my lips, and the tension in my brow eased. Even looking at my infuriating ex-fiancé-turned-nephew became a little more tolerable.

Preston crossed his arms, a mocking smile playing on his lips as he eyed my phone. “Oh, who’s the actor you hired? ‘Hubby’? Flight delayed? Really creative.”

He leaned in closer. “Arabella, don’t joke like that. You know I get jealous.”

As he reached out to tuck a stray strand of my hair behind my ear, I took a sharp step back. His hand froze in mid-air.

“I told you, I’m married. If you continue to harass me, you might find yourself with a broken leg when you get home tonight.”

Preston laughed as if I’d told the funniest joke. He pointed to my neck. “That emerald pendant you’re wearing… Grandfather said that was to be passed down to the Zhou family brides. You’re wearing it right now and still trying to tell me you married someone else?”

The pendant was indeed a gift from the patriarch. Except it wasn’t for his granddaughter-in-law. It was for his daughter-in-law.

“I married—”

Before I could finish, Mary interrupted. “Is that the Phoenix Emerald?”

She hopped off the luggage cart and wedged herself between us. The moment she saw the pendant around my neck, her eyes reddened.

She grabbed Preston’s arm, her voice trembling. “Preston, I’ve wanted that pendant for so long. Grandfather would never even let me touch it, and now he’s given it to an outsider. Does… does he not even think of me as part of the family?”

Her voice cracked. “But what can I do? I’m just a driver’s daughter. I can’t compare to a blue-blooded heiress like Arabella. Even Grandfather plays favorites.”

Preston’s face softened with guilt. He looked at me, a pleading expression in his eyes. “Mary’s young, and she’s had a hard life. She’s always insecure. Just… let her have this one.”

“She likes the pendant, so give it to her. I’ll buy you a new one, imperial green jade, I promise. It’ll be even more beautiful, much better quality.”