Chapter 3

The background check Corinne provided left Marvin no room for doubt: every single one of these men was a deadbeat. Most were pushing fifty and couldn't even hold down a decent job.

Marvin glared at Lilliana. "Some of these guys are my age. How could you set Corinne up with men this old?"

Lilliana stiffened. She had carefully doctored their photos and profiles in advance. The fact that Corinne—usually so quiet and unassuming—had managed to uncover the truth caught her completely off guard.

In a split second, she shifted into victim mode. "I don't understand how this is possible, Marvin! The men I picked out for Corinne were completely respectable! The matchmaker must have lied to me!"

Corinne, on the other hand, found the performance almost comical. "Look at you, still insisting they're respectable without even bothering to check. Marriage is a massive milestone, yet you clearly don't take mine seriously. Is it because I'm not your biological daughter? I highly doubt you'd let your own flesh and blood marry a man this old."

Lilliana scrambled for an excuse. "No... that's not it at all..."

Marvin wasn't having it. Furious, he slapped Lilliana across the face, throwing the stack of profiles at her.

"That's enough! You are no longer handling anything to do with Corinne's marriage. I'm suspending your credit card for the month, too. You can stay home and think about what you've done instead of spending my money!"

Lilliana paled. "Marvin, please, it's a misunderstanding..."

Marvin ignored her and turned to his younger daughter, his eyes filled with remorse. "I'm sorry you had to meet with those men, Corinne. You don't have to go on any more of these blind dates."

Corinne offered a faint smile. "Thank you, Dad."

The moment Marvin disappeared upstairs, Lilliana's expression hardened, and she shot Corinne a venomous glare.

Meeting that burning gaze, Corinne said calmly, "By the way, Lilliana, I forgot to mention one thing. Since those 'top-tier' gentlemen you dug up were clearly your ideal sons-in-law, I gave them Sherlyn's number when they asked for my contact info. I hope she ends up with one of them."

Lilliana gritted her teeth, practically vibrating with fury. "What? H-how dare you do such a thing?!"

Her precious Sherlyn was a star—far too good for those losers. Men like that had no right to even dial her number!

Having no desire to waste another breath on her stepmother, Corinne simply yawned and headed upstairs to bed.

After cursing Corinne under her breath, Lilliana was just about to follow Marvin up to his room to beg for her credit card back when the doorbell rang.

She frowned, wondering who could possibly be showing up at their house at this hour.

Swinging the door open, she found a man in a sharp suit and polished leather shoes. Behind him stood a row of men dressed in black, all carrying visibly heavy boxes. The sheer size of the group was intimidating.

Suspicious of these midnight arrivals, Lilliana kept her guard up. "Who are you looking for?"

The man at the front gave a polite nod. His name was Tommy. "Good evening, ma'am. Our employer sent us to deliver the engagement gifts intended for your daughter."

"Engagement gifts? What gifts? Who is your employer?"

"His name is Jeremy Holden."

Lilliana's eyes went wide. The name hit her like a physical blow.

"J... Jeremy Holden?! The Jeremy Holden? From the Holden family? The powerful one?"

"That's correct."

"You mean Mr. Holden has his eye on my daughter?"

Tommy looked slightly awkward. He hesitated a moment before answering, "You could put it that way, yes."

Lilliana's mind immediately went to Sherlyn. As a trending celebrity and a gorgeous woman, it was only natural for a wealthy, powerful man to fall for her.

But for a suitor this powerful to send his men with engagement gifts completely out of the blue? It was unbelievable.

Taking her stunned silence the wrong way, Tommy asked, "Are you opposed to this marriage?"

Lilliana snapped out of her daze and shook her head vigorously. "No, no, not at all! It's just... my daughter isn't home right now. This is huge news. It might be better to wait for her to get back before..."

Tommy cut her off. "Ma'am, your daughter has already accepted Mr. Holden's engagement ring. All you need to do is accept the gifts."

What? If Sherlyn had already accepted Jeremy Holden's ring, they must have been together for a while! Lilliana couldn't believe her daughter never told her about such an extraordinary boyfriend!

Not wanting to be impolite to guests of this caliber, Lilliana hurriedly invited Tommy inside to sit down.

Instead of entering, Tommy simply signaled his subordinates to bring the gifts inside. "Mr. Holden will visit your family in three days to officially ask for your daughter's hand in marriage."

Lilliana was taken aback all over again. "What? In three days? Isn't that... a little rushed?"

Tommy reassured her. "Don't worry, ma'am. Mr. Holden has already organized everything for the ceremony. Your daughter deserves the most beautiful and lavish wedding."

"The most beautiful and lavish wedding?" The implication was unmistakable: Jeremy was madly in love with Sherlyn. Once her daughter bore the Holden name, Lilliana would be the mother-in-law to the heir of the Holden empire.

She would never have to worry about a thing again. Endless wealth and status would be hers, and people would bow to her wherever she went!

Lilliana practically overflowed with joy as she pictured her glamorous new future.

"Very well! We will use these three days to prepare for our daughter's wedding!"

Tommy nodded and prepared to leave. "Please excuse me. I'll leave you to your evening."

Alerted by the noise, Marvin came out of his room. "Was someone here? What is all this?"

Lilliana was already caressing the expensive gifts, her heart pounding wildly.

"Marvin, I have incredible news! Jeremy, the heir to the Holden family, has his eye on Sherlyn. All these engagement gifts are for her, straight from the Holdens, and they are absolutely exquisite!"

Marvin stared at her, utterly speechless. "What? Jeremy? You mean Jeremy Holden, the president of the Holden Group? The one who just returned to the country?"

Lilliana nodded frantically. "Yes, him!"

Marvin clutched his chest, looking as though the sheer excitement might trigger a heart attack.

"My God! I never would have thought he'd fall for our Sherlyn!" Marvin gasped. Beside him, Lilliana did not hide her pride. "And you have her mother to thank for that, too!"

"Thank you for giving me such a wonderful daughter, Lilliana!"

"Oh, so you're complimenting me now? I thought you were going to suspend my credit card for the rest of the month!"

"Come on, Lilliana. I only said that in a fit of anger over what you did. Corinne might not be your biological daughter, but you still can't send her on blind dates with men that old!"

"But I didn't do it on purpose! Corinne grew up in the countryside; she's wild and hot-tempered. I was just trying to find a more mature man, someone who could put up with her tantrums! I had no idea the matchmaker would lie on those profiles!"

"It's fine, Lilliana. I'm sorry I accused you."

Lilliana was thoroughly pleased with herself. It had only taken a few sweet words to win Marvin right back over to her side.

A naive woman like Corinne would never stand a chance against her.

With Sherlyn's impending marriage into the Holden family, Lilliana's future was secured. Corinne, on the other hand, would soon be nothing more than an insignificant speck in her rearview mirror!

The next day, at the crack of dawn, Lilliana called her precious Sherlyn and demanded she come home immediately.

Barely through the front door, Sherlyn grumbled in annoyance, "What's going on, Mom? Why did I have to rush all the way back here? I still have a scene to shoot this afternoon!"

"It's about your marriage to Jeremy Holden!"

"A marriage? What marriage? I don't even know the guy!"

Lilliana's heart sank at her daughter's genuine bewilderment, but she quickly launched into the story of the lavish engagement gifts that had been delivered the night before. "What do you mean, you don't know him? Haven't you already accepted his engagement ring?"