CHAPTER 17: SWALLOWING HER PRIDE

Sophia set her phone aside. Harper’s stomach dropped.

It was over. Completely over.

She hadn’t been able to stop Sophia, and now someone else had swooped in first.

Her brother was going to tear her apart when he found out.

"Sophia, are you serious? You and Lucas... this isn’t real, right?" Harper stammered.

She knew exactly how extraordinary her best friend was, but still—Lucas was on another level. He never moved unless it was to make the earth shake.

"Relax, Harper. He’s like this."

Sophia bent her thumb downward in a subtle gesture.

Harper froze, eyes widening in disbelief. "Don’t lie to me. That’s impossible."

"He admitted it himself. Why would I lie to you? Besides, I already set three rules. He’s just using me to achieve his goals, and I’m using him for mine. Nothing more."

Lucas being into men was exactly why she wasn’t worried—why she could stay perfectly calm.

Harper still couldn’t believe it. The man blessed with everything—power, wealth, the world at his feet—not only disabled, but also... not even into women?

"I figure three months is all I need to settle everything. Right now, what matters is the Morgans. I can’t wait to see their faces once they find out."

She let out a cold laugh, eyes glittering with icy resolve.

...

At that very moment, inside the Morgan estate—

"No! Impossible! Dad, it has to be fake!"

"This was posted by Lucas himself. You think it’s fake?"

Andrew paced across the polished wood floors, baffled. Sophia had only been back in the country a few days—how had she already snagged Lucas?

"Dad, I don’t believe it. It’s a lie, all of it! That’s Lucas we’re talking about—Lucas!"

Olivia bit her lip until it turned white, fists clenched tight.

"How could she pull this off? Not only is she the designer Luna, now she’s Lucas’s fiancée too?"

"Dad, what do we do now?"

"Use your brain for once! Stop asking me everything. What do you think I am, Superman?"

"Why are you yelling at our daughter?" Susan snapped, immediately stepping in to shield Olivia.

"Enough! And you—Susan—I’ve had it with you! This is my house, my family. I make the decisions here, not you! If you keep interfering, you can get out!"

Susan flinched under Andrew’s fury.

"Dad, Mom was just worried about you. Why are you lashing out at her?" Olivia hugged her mother close. Susan leaned into her, letting out exaggerated sobs.

"I gave up everything to be with you. You promised to treat me well. Now, years later, you despise me? Heartless, Andrew. Where’s your conscience? You promised to take care of me, and you still ran off with other women!"

"My life is nothing but suffering. Back then, I almost died giving birth to Olivia..."

"Olivia, sweetheart, you’re all I have. I can’t count on anyone else. You need to live well, and once you marry Ethan, I’ll move in with you!"

Susan wailed, her voice hoarse, wiping at dry eyes with not a single tear falling.

Andrew’s head pounded, his thoughts tangling into a knot.

But then Olivia spoke, and Susan’s cries cut off instantly.

"Mom, Ethan and I... broke up."

"What did you just say?"

Andrew turned to stare at her too.

Since that night when she’d stormed off, Ethan hadn’t reached out once.

It wasn’t like before—when he’d always be the first to call, when he’d buy gifts to beg forgiveness.

But now... nothing.

"Foolish! Absolutely ridiculous!" Andrew snapped, one hand on his hip and the other pressed to his forehead. "You’ve been together for seven or eight years, and you’re breaking up over Sophia? If he truly liked Sophia, he never would’ve gotten with you in the first place! Olivia, you’ve become completely unreasonable—you’ve disappointed me!"

"Dad, I just lost my head for a moment. I thought... he would come and coax me."

"Coax you? He’s been coaxing you for eight years already! He’s looking for a partner, a woman to share his life with, a capable wife—not a spoiled child to worship like a goddess. What, you expect him to treat you like I did—pamper you as if you were a jewel in his hand?"

"The Trump family is only growing stronger. You couldn’t secure a connection to Lucas, but being with Ethan—marrying him—that’s the best option! It would even patch up the holes in Morgan Group’s business. And now you tell me you broke up? Utter nonsense!"

Olivia’s eyes reddened. She hadn’t expected things to spiral this way.

"Dad, what should I do? I didn’t mean it, it was just angry words. Oh, right—Dad! Sophia is Miss Gray from the gala!"

That night after her fight, once she’d calmed down, her mind replayed the words Sophia had said at the restaurant. She’d been too furious then to notice, but after thinking it over, it clicked—Sophia was Miss Gray!

"What? Her?!"

At that gala, Sophia had ruined several of his deals, pretending she was Luna’s cousin. But the truth was plain: they were the same person.

"She dares to toy with me?" Andrew growled.

"Dad, what if she turns on us and tries to crush us?"

Andrew drew in a long breath. Sophia was bold, but she was just one wave in the ocean—she couldn’t overturn the tide. The Trumps, however, were different. If this marriage fell through, Morgan Group would have no lifeline.

"First, fix your own mess. Go to the Trump family and apologize to Ethan."

"Apologize? No! I didn’t do anything wrong! Dad, why should I apologize? Shouldn’t he be the one begging me?"

"Do you realize how childish you sound? You’ve never lifted a finger in your life, and if you marry into the Trump family, they’ll think I raised you poorly. Over something so petty, you cling to your pride—if Thomas gets angry and shuts you out, and this marriage is called off, you’ll have no one to blame but yourself!"

Olivia trembled. Thomas Trump, Ethan’s grandfather, had never liked her. If...

"In big matters, you need to know what’s more important. Get ready—I’ll go with you."

She stood quickly, nodding obediently.

No. Ethan was hers.

He could only ever be hers.