The Price of a Stolen Marriage

My father had severe face blindness. Forty years ago, someone drugged him, and he spent the night with my mother. But because he could not recognize faces, he ended up marrying the mistress who had taken my mother's place. From then on, my father and that woman became the golden couple of Kingsport's elite circle. My mother, however, was branded shameless for becoming pregnant out of wedlock. She never married. Forty years later, I married into the wealthy Wellington family with my looks, talent, and hard-earned success. My husband and I had a loving marriage. The day my son brought his girlfriend home, I was seated at the head of the table. The young woman across from me was beautiful, bright, and carried herself like someone who had been adored her entire life. I knew exactly who she was. She was the granddaughter of my father and the mistress. Looking at her face, which bore a striking resemblance to my father's, I didn't take the gift she held out to me. "You want to marry into the Wellington family? Keep dreaming." Chapter 1 The Girlfriend My Son Brought Home "Mom, this is Natalie, my girlfriend. I wanted to bring her home so you could meet her." I turned my gaze to Natalie Ashcroft. She was undeniably beautiful, with the delicate air of someone who had been pampered her entire life. Holding a gift with both hands, she offered it to me with a sweet smile. "Hello, Mrs. Wellington. I brought this for you." I did not take it. The living room fell silent. My son, Christopher, looked at me, then at her. "Mom?" I did not look at him. "Chris, go upstairs. I'd like to have a private conversation with Ms. Ashcroft." He hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Okay." Once he left, only Natalie and I remained in the living room. The second Christopher was gone, the sugary smile disappeared from Natalie's face. She tossed the gift onto the coffee table and looked me up and down without the slightest courtesy. "Mrs. Wellington." Her voice had not changed, but every word dripped with superiority. "You sent your son away so you could lecture me in private?" I said nothing. "Fine. Let's stop beating around the bush. I've heard about you. You're not from Kingsport and you don't come from an influential family. The only reason you married into the Wellington family was because you got lucky. "I know women like you. Women with no family backing can't stand someone like me. You're afraid I'll marry into this family and steal your spotlight, aren't you? You know it yourself. The only thing you've ever really had going for you is your face. Too bad beauty doesn't last forever." She looked at me with open condescension. "But I'm different. My grandfather, Benjamin, is the head of the Ashcroft family, one of the most powerful families in Kingsport. I grew up in the elite enclave, and my family could get me anything I wanted in the blink of an eye. "I went to the best international schools and grew up in the most exclusive social circles in Kingsport." She paused, as if giving me time to absorb every word. "Mrs. Wellington, I looked into you. There's no one left in your family. Your parents passed away years ago. Someone with your background only got into the Wellington family because Mr. Wellington loved you. But how long does a man's love really last? "You're forty now, aren't you? In a few more years, when your looks start to fade, what will you have to compete with all the young women out there? But I'm nothing like you. I have the Ashcroft family behind me. "Even if Christopher and I don't work out someday, I'll still be an Ashcroft. No one would dare lay a finger on me. What about you? Without the Wellington family, what would you have left?" She looked at me as if I were someone worthy of pity. "Mrs. Wellington, if I truly decide I want to marry into the Wellington family, there's nothing you can do to stop me. So, instead of making things unpleasant, why not do me a favor now? Once I become part of this family, I'll make sure you're treated with the respect you deserve." Chapter 2 The Wrong Woman to Threaten My expression did not change. I set my cup down on the table with a sharp clink. "Are you done?" Natalie's smile faltered. I looked at her. "You keep saying you're the Ashcroft family's precious granddaughter. Then, do you know how your grandmother married into the Ashcroft family in the first place?" Natalie frowned. "What are you trying to say?" I smiled. "You want to marry into the Wellington family? Keep dreaming." Natalie shot to her feet. "Mrs. Wellington, you'd better think this through. If you treat me like this today, then once I marry into this family, there's no way we'll ever have a good relationship." Instead of getting angry, I laughed. "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, you'll never marry into the Wellington family." She snatched up her purse and stormed toward the door. "You're going to regret this!" Regret? The greatest regret of my life was that I had not exposed every one of those people while my mother was still alive. At least then, she could have seen their true faces with her own eyes. But she could no longer see it. That was all right. I would do it for her. … The next morning, the housekeeper came in and announced, "Mrs. Wellington, someone from the Ashcroft family is here." I set my book aside. The housekeeper led a woman inside. It was the mistress who had taken my mother's place all those years ago. Now, she was Benjamin's wife, Hailey Morgan. She wore an impeccably tailored navy silk dress. A pair of emerald earrings dangled from her ears. Every inch of her radiated wealth and comfort. "Mrs. Wellington, I'm Natalie's grandmother. I'd like to discuss their relationship with you." She pulled a document from her purse and laid it on the table. "This is the development rights to the Ashcroft Group's land in Southgate. Your husband, Frederick, has had his eye on it for quite some time, hasn't he? As long as you give your blessing and let them be together, this land will belong to Wellington Group." I lowered my eyes to her hands. They were fair and delicate. The emerald ring on her left ring finger was bigger than my thumbnail. It was obvious those hands had never done a day's hard work. My mother's hands had never looked like that. They had been soaked in laundry water year-round, with dirt permanently lodged beneath her fingernails. Even when she died, they were still like that. "Mrs. Ashcroft," I said, looking up, "my son's future isn't any concern of an outsider." Her expression darkened. "Mrs. Wellington, the Ashcroft family may not be as wealthy as the Wellington family, but Natalie is our only granddaughter. We've cherished her since the day she was born. Your son would be lucky to marry her. A woman like you…" She placed deliberate weight on those words. "A woman who married into the Wellington family halfway through life shouldn't be so ungrateful." Halfway through life. She had chosen those words well. "Not enough?" She glanced at the document on the table. "Then, name your price." I looked her in the eye. "Mrs. Ashcroft," I said evenly, "when the Wellington family chooses a daughter-in-law, we look at two things: character and upbringing. From what I've seen, neither the Ashcroft family nor your granddaughter measures up." Hailey's face changed instantly. "What did you just say?" Chapter 3 The Truth He Never Knew Hailey fixed me with a hard stare. "Mrs. Wellington, do you really think marrying into the Wellington family makes you somebody important?" She rose to her feet and looked down at me. "You're a woman with no name, no family, no background. Do you really not know what got you where you are today?" Her gaze slowly moved from my face downward, sharp and insulting. "Benjamin and I have spent forty years building connections and influence in Kingsport. That's not something you can earn just by warming a rich man's bed for a few years. "Don't reject a generous offer and expect there to be no consequences." I looked at her calmly. People who stole someone else's life could never truly change what they were at their core. She could wear the finest designer clothes and the most expensive jewelry, but the moment she opened her mouth, the bitterness underneath came pouring out. "Are you done?" I stood, picked up the document from the table, and pressed it back into her hands. "Mrs. Ashcroft, you should leave. As for your granddaughter, there's nothing left to discuss." The moment the door closed, I heard her sneer behind me. "Ungrateful bitch." I smiled. All those years ago, when my mother went to the Ashcroft estate looking for my father, she had heard those exact same words before being thrown out. Word for word. …. That evening, Christopher knocked on my door. "Mom, can I come in?" He sat across from me in silence for a long while. "Mom… about Natalie. I want to know why." I met his eyes. They were earnest, but there was no anger, no accusation. He had always been like that. Thoughtful. Considerate. Never someone who made me worry. "Mom," he said again, "I know you have your reasons for not accepting Natalie. I just… I want to understand." My hands tightened in my lap before slowly relaxing. It still wasn't time. "Chris," I said, "I can't tell you yet. But do you trust me?" He looked at me without the slightest hesitation. "I do." He stood and walked to the door, then turned back. "Mom, I already told Natalie to go home. Until you give your approval, I won't bring her here again." The door clicked shut. I sat there, my eyes stinging. That boy had never given me a single day of worry. When he started preschool, the other children cried when their parents left. He simply held my hand and said, "Go to work, Mommy. I'll be good." It was not that I wanted to keep two people in love apart. But his grandfather and Natalie's grandfather were the same man. No matter how I looked at it, I could never approve of this marriage. … The next day, the housekeeper came in looking uneasy. "Mrs. Wellington, Mr. Ashcroft is here." My hand clenched inside my sleeve. "Show him in." The moment he walked through the door, I recognized the man my mother had loved for decades. My biological father. His hair had turned completely white, but it was neatly combed back. He wore a black tailored suit, gold cuff links catching the light. Two people followed behind him, one carrying a briefcase, the other a thermos. He certainly knew how to make an entrance. He stopped in the doorway. His eyes swept over me without the slightest flicker of recognition. He did not know who I was. He had never known he had a daughter in this world. Chapter 4 The Truth Revealed "Mrs. Wellington." He nodded, his voice calm and unhurried, the kind of composure that only came from decades of being treated with the utmost respect. "I apologize for dropping by unannounced. I'm Benjamin Ashcroft." "Please, Mr. Ashcroft. Have a seat." He sat down and looked at me. "Mrs. Wellington, I came today because of the children." He paused, then smiled. "Natalie is my granddaughter. She's been spoiled since she was little, but she's a good girl at heart. The two of them get along well. As their elders, we should support them if we can." He set his thermos on the table, laced his fingers together, and rested his hands on his knee. "I know you built everything you have on your own, Mrs. Wellington. It couldn't have been easy. No family connections. No one backing you. Making it this far by yourself is certainly impressive. "But because it wasn't easy, you should understand better than anyone that some opportunities only come around once in a lifetime." He pulled a document from his briefcase and slid it across the table. "This is the three-year strategic partnership framework between Ashcroft Group and Wellington Group. As soon as the children's relationship is settled, this agreement can be signed tomorrow." He looked at me with absolute confidence. It was the confidence of a man who had spent his entire life being obeyed, someone who believed that the moment he spoke, people would say yes. I did not move. "Mrs. Wellington." His tone remained as measured as ever. "You're still young. The Wellington family may be the wealthiest in Kingsport, but its foundation is not deep enough yet. With the Ashcroft family's support, your position in the Wellington family would be much more secure." He was trying to enlighten me. He was telling me that I was just a woman who had married into the Wellington family halfway through life. Without family connections or anyone to rely on, I needed the Ashcroft family's backing if I wanted to keep my place. What he did not know was that the woman sitting across from him was the daughter he had never met. Forty years ago, he had personally driven my mother out of Kingsport. Forty years later, he was sitting here, looking down on me as he asked me to give his granddaughter the chance to marry into the Wellington family. "Mr. Ashcroft," I said, meeting his eyes. "My son's future is none of an outsider's concern." His brow furrowed. "An outsider?" His expression darkened. "Mrs. Wellington, you're starting to overestimate your importance. I came here myself as a courtesy. There are not many people in Kingsport I would visit in person." His gaze turned cold. "But since you don't appreciate the honor… then remember this. You're the one who turned me down today. Whatever happens from here on out, don't say I didn't warn you." After Benjamin left, the gossip spread through Kingsport's high society like wildfire. "Mrs. Wellington refused to let her son marry the Ashcroft family's granddaughter. Who does she think she is?" "I heard she's an outsider with no family to speak of. Back in the day, she married her way to the top with nothing but her looks." "Benjamin went to see her in person, and she still turned him down. She really doesn't know her place." I sat at home, reading the messages on my phone one after another. Someone sent me an anonymous text. "Who do you think you are? Without the Wellington family, you'd be nothing." The comments on Wellington Group's official page quickly filled up. "Mr. Wellington, get your wife under control before she ruins the partnership between Wellington Group and Ashcroft Group." Others dug up old photos of me, claiming I had undergone surgery and climbed the social ladder by relying on wealthy men. Every comment had hundreds of people agreeing. I did not delete them. And I did not respond. … A week later, Kingsport's biggest charity auction gala was underway. The Ashcroft family was one of the event's hosts. Inside the ballroom, Natalie walked in arm in arm with Benjamin, smiling so brightly she seemed to glow. The moment she spotted Christopher, her smile froze. She hurried over and grabbed his hand. "Chris, why haven't you replied to any of my messages these past few days?" Christopher glanced at me before gently pulling his hand away. "Natalie, until my mom approves of us being together, I think it's best if we keep our distance." The color drained from Natalie's face. She turned to me, the hatred in her eyes almost tangible. "Mrs. Wellington, are you happy now?" I ignored her. The gala began, and Benjamin took the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for your support over the years." He smiled warmly at the audience. "Besides tonight's charity auction, I also have some wonderful news to share." The ballroom fell silent. "My granddaughter Natalie and Christopher, the son of the Wellington family, are deeply in love. I believe wedding bells won't be far off. Before long, the Ashcroft and Wellington families will become one family through marriage." Applause erupted. Benjamin looked at me, his eyes gleaming with the confidence of certain victory. It was as if the Wellington family was already in the palm of his hand. I rose to my feet. "Mr. Ashcroft." The applause stopped. Every eye in the ballroom turned toward me. I walked onto the stage and stopped in front of him. "Mr. Ashcroft, who told you our families were joining through marriage?" His smile stiffened for an instant. "The kids are in love. As their elders, we should—" "I don't approve." The room exploded into an uproar. Benjamin's expression darkened. "Mrs. Wellington, if you have something to say, we can discuss it in private. With so many people here today—" I turned to face the hundreds of guests. "Benjamin, do you have any idea what you're doing? You're trying to marry your own granddaughter to your own grandson. Are you trying to make yourself the laughingstock of the entire world?"