Part 3The Most Wretched and the Most Arrogant

The engagement party I had dreamed of for months was ruined.

A love forged over a decade of shared survival was shattered.

I lay on the cold floor until the wounds on my face went numb, then propped myself up with my left hand. I dialed a number I hadn't touched in years.

"I've changed my mind," I rasped. "I know you can help me. I want them to pay."

I spent seven days in the hospital. Sebastian arranged for the top cosmetic team, but he never showed his face. My bedside table was piled high with financial magazines, each one heralding the new, powerful alliance between the Thorne and Vance empires. The latest issue's headline blared: "A New Bride for the Thorne Prince?"

My phone buzzed. An anonymous video.

On the screen, Morgan was losing her composure. "Fine! I give up! I admit it! At first, I was just using you to torture my sister, but then… then I fell for you! I love you, Sebastian, how could I not?"

"You designed my villa yourself, you stocked the cabinets with my medication, arranged by date. Every time I worked late, you were downstairs, chain-smoking in your car, just waiting for me… Even that fire at the old manor… you took the blame for me, let my sister stab you over and over… You have feelings for me too, don't you?"

"Answer me!" she screamed, her voice raw.

Her assistant tried to intervene, and Morgan slapped her across the face. "Get out!"

In the dead silence that followed, I heard Sebastian let out a weary sigh.

Then, one clear word: "Yes."