CHAPTER 9: THE FORCED MARRIAGE

Vanessa's confession successfully paralyzed Devon's common sense. The man stared at Vanessa with a mix of disbelief and utter disgust. Amidst the suffocating silence, Vanessa's parents stormed onto the stage. Their faces were beet red.

Vanessa's father violently grabbed Devon by the lapels of his suit. "You bastard, Devon! You've ruined my daughter! I don't care if you were drunk or what, you gotta take responsibility!"

"Marry her right this second!" Vanessa's mother shrieked hysterically, pointing her finger right in Devon's face. "Or we're gonna drag you to jail on rape charges! We'll make sure the Cross family name is completely ruined!"

That threat scared Devon's parents half to death. Devon's father quickly stepped forward, prying Vanessa's father's grip off his son's suit.

"Just calm down, let's settle this peacefully," Devon's father said tensely. He then turned to glare at his son with an undeniable look. "Devon! Stand at that altar and marry Vanessa. Now. It's the only way to clean up your mess!"

"No, Dad! I don't love Vanessa!" Devon stubbornly refused.

Vanessa immediately stood up and grabbed Devon's arm. "You can't refuse, Devon! Remember your promise last night when you thought I was Flora! You said we were gonna get married soon. You gotta keep it!"

The word 'promise' completely tied Devon's tongue. The blurry memories of last night slammed into him once again. He was trapped, cornered in a hole he had dug himself. Slowly, Devon turned to look at Flora, who was still slumped on the floor. His eyes were heavy with regret.

"Flo... I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice choking up.

Flora remained silent. Her feelings were completely numb. The best friend who was just crying and apologizing to her was now aggressively demanding a marriage from her fiancé. Flora realized there was no place left for her here.

With the last ounce of her strength, Flora stood up. She ignored Devon, Vanessa, and their parents who were still at each other's throats. The girl turned around, intending to leave this hellish hall forever.

However, Flora had barely taken two steps when a deafening crash exploded from the main entrance. The massive teak doors were forcefully kicked open from the outside. The hinges snapped, sending the heavy doors crashing onto the floor.

BAM!

Every head snapped around on reflex. From behind a thin cloud of dust emerged the towering figure of a man clad in a bespoke black suit. A dark, dominant aura instantly radiated from him, suffocating the air inside the lavish building.

Behind him, dozens of heavily armed men dressed entirely in black followed suit, blocking every possible exit.

Arthur Sterling.

The once-uproarious hall abruptly fell as silent as a graveyard. The guests from New York's elite certainly knew who had just stepped foot in there. The untouchable overlord of the Manhattan underworld.

"A-Arthur Sterling..." Harvey whispered, his face deathly pale. Devon's father backed away as well, completely stripped of his arrogance.

Arthur strolled casually down the red carpet. The terrified guests hurriedly parted to make way for him. His dark, piercing eyes locked onto a single target: Flora. The girl stood frozen in her wedding dress, holding her breath with her eyes wide open. The man who had destroyed her life was now standing right in front of her.

"W-what are you doing here, Mr. Sterling?" Devon's father confronted him with a trembling voice, trying to keep his cool. "This is a private family event."

Arthur didn't even bother to look back. He merely raised two fingers. A split second later, Doni—his right-hand man—had the muzzle of a Beretta pressed firmly against the forehead of Devon's father. The middle-aged man snapped his mouth shut, cold sweat pouring down his face. Several guests stifled their shrieks.

Arthur continued walking toward Flora. His cold gaze turned dangerously sharp the moment he saw the tear streaks and the reddish bruise on the girl's cheek. Arthur's jaw clenched tight.

"Who dared to slap her?" he hissed softly, yet it sounded like a death sentence to everyone's ears.

No one dared to answer. Harvey gulped hard, his knees practically buckling as he realized that bruise was his doing.

Completely ignoring the dozens of frozen onlookers, Arthur took off his suit jacket and draped it over Flora's trembling shoulders. His arm wrapped possessively around Flora's slender waist, pulling the girl's body flush against his broad chest.

"I told you, you're mine," Arthur whispered with absolute authority into Flora's ear, deliberately ignoring Devon and Vanessa who were staring pallidly from the stage.

Arthur's eyes shifted, glaring sharply at Vanessa. A faint smirk carved its way onto the corner of his lips. He knew damn well who the director behind this chaos was, and he was gonna make sure that manipulative woman paid dearly for daring to mess with what was his.

Finally, Arthur turned to the trembling priest in the corner of the altar, before sweeping his gaze across the entire hall with absolute authority.

"This party ain't over," Arthur declared, his baritone voice echoing throughout the room. "Change the groom's name. As of this second, Flora Vance is Mrs. Sterling. Anybody got a problem with that?"