Chapter 3

3

I looked at the defiance in her eyes and found it hilarious.

Did she really think I would keep being her doormat after this?

Just as she turned to leave, her phone rang.

"Yes, I'm Finn's partner. What's his condition?"

Whatever the person on the other end said made her face go bone-white. She staggered back.

"Treat him! Use the best medicine! I'll pay for it!"

She hung up and looked at me, a flicker of guilt crossing her eyes.

"Finn's condition is critical. He needs an experimental immune-boosting injection. I know yours just arrived. Give it to him."

I let out a dry laugh.

"Does he deserve it?"

That injection cost millions and was nearly impossible to get. I had reserved it five years ago for my grandfather.

I had used every favor I had to secure it.

Now, she wanted me to just give it away? The audacity was staggering.

Serena's face turned pale, but then she sneered.

"Logan, you're just doing this to force me to marry you, aren't you?"

"Fine, I agree. Once Finn is better, we'll have the wedding. Just give me the medicine now."

Her eyes were full of annoyance, as if she were doing me a massive favor.

When I didn't respond, she added viciously.

"Otherwise, you can stand at the altar alone tomorrow. The Sterling family will be the laughingstock of the city!"

I looked at her desperate madness and shook my head.

Make the Sterlings a laughingstock?

She wasn't that important.

I turned to leave, but my assistant sent me an urgent message.

Serena had tried to use my name to redirect the medicine to Finn. The shipment was en route, but it needed my signature.

Serena ran over and grabbed my arm.

"Sign it! Finn can't wait! Please, I'm begging you!"

"The medicine is already on its way. Finn will be grateful to you. That old man of yours is going to die soon anyway, medicine or not..."

SLAP!

Before she could finish, I struck her across the face. She hit the floor, clutching her cheek in shock.

"You... you hit me!"

"Logan Sterling!"

I ignored her screams and walked to my car, heading for the hospital.

My phone kept ringing. I was about to turn it off when I saw the name on the screen.

I forced myself to calm down.

"Mr. Sterling, about the wedding tomorrow... have you really thought this through?"

Nora Hayes's voice was teasing.

I sighed. "I don't go back on my word when it comes to marriage."

"Is that so?"

She hummed. "You've gone back on your word plenty of times for that woman over the years."

I rubbed my temples while waiting for a red light.

"I've never messed up on the big things. Besides, I need the Hayes family's medical tech, and you need to break into the market. This merger makes sense."

There was a pause. Nora's voice turned serious.

"I don't want to marry a man who will run back to his ex the moment she cries. That would make the corporate split very messy."

I checked the GPS. Ten minutes to the hospital.

"Don't worry. As of now, I am single."

"See you at the wedding tomorrow."

I felt a bit of relief after hanging up.

But as I prepared to turn a corner, a familiar SUV slammed into the back of my car.

The impact flipped my vehicle. My legs exploded in pain, and blood blurred my vision.

Through the shattered window, I saw Serena walking toward me.

Her eyes were filled with poison.

"Logan, you forced me to do this. Finn cannot die!"

Ignoring my gasping for air, she reached into the wreck and took my phone.

I struggled to stop her, but I couldn't even crawl out.

"Stop..."

"Stop?"

Serena poked at the phone, looking at me with disgust.

"I can't believe you'd let someone die! I'm doing you a favor by helping you earn some good karma!"

I glared at her, my teeth gritted against the pain.

"That medicine... is for my grandfather. He's waited five years."

Serena rolled her eyes.

"It's just a shot. You can buy another one. I don't believe the Sterlings don't have a backup. Stop being so stingy!"

"Besides, your grandpa has lived long enough. If he dies, we'll inherit more money sooner, right?"

"You really can't see the big picture."

I looked at her and started laughing despite the agony.

My love, my grandfather's life―everything was worthless to her compared to Finn.

She forgot that the only reason she had the power to act like this was because of me.

"The wedding is still on?"

Serena saw the message I had sent my assistant earlier. She laughed and tossed the phone back into the wreck.

"I guess you really do want to marry me. Fine. Since I got the medicine, I'll marry you."

Before I could speak, she started listing conditions.

"First, Finn lives with us after he's discharged. I won't leave him alone."

"Second, you transfer all your personal assets to his name to give him security. You can keep the company."

"Third, I'm giving him a child first. The Wentworth bloodline can't end. Then I'll consider having yours."

"You can handle that, right?"

She looked at me with total confidence, as if she were certain I would agree.

"Finn is my soulmate. I can't give him a marriage, so I have to compensate him financially."

She ran toward the hospital, leaving me in the wreckage.

I managed to call for help before the sirens arrived and I blacked out.

I woke up in a hospital bed.

The crash had broken my right leg and given me a moderate concussion.

The doctor said I was lucky. If help had been a few minutes later, the car would have exploded.

My assistant stood by the bed with a stack of documents.

"Mr. Sterling... about the wedding with Miss Hayes..."

I took a deep breath.

"Proceed as planned."

Serena stayed by Finn's side, doing everything for him.

Her phone remained silent. No messages from me.

She ignored the growing knot in her stomach, telling herself I was just playing hard to get.

She turned on the TV to distract herself.

But she froze when she saw the live broadcast of the "Wedding of the Century."

The venue was everything she had dreamed of.

But the bride's name on the screen was Nora Hayes.