Arec’s POV:
As soon as I stepped through the heavy wooden doors of the house, I knew what was coming.
The atmosphere in the air was suffocating, heavy with expectation and tension.
The house was too quiet, too perfect, like it had been staged for an argunt rather than a visit. I would’ve given anything to stay at my penthouse tonight, but I knew I had to face this. There was no avoiding it.
The servant who greeted bowed stiffly, informing that my grandmother had already been waiting for in her study. It was like she knew I wouldn’t be able to avoid this confrontation for long.
"She will see you now, Mr. Arec," the servant said with a sympathetic look that did nothing to ease the dread in my chest.
Of course, she will. I straightened my posture, ntally preparing myself for the battle I was about to walk into. I thought about Ella, about the live video we’d just made together, I was prepared to fight for her. I had to be.
As I reached the entrance to my grandmother’s study, she erged from the doorway.
Dressed in one of her immaculate tailored suits, her expression was as sharp as ever, her silver hair pulled back in a perfect knot at the base of her neck. She didn’t even acknowledge my greeting as she swept into the hallway, her eyes narrowing with purpose.
"Arec," she said, her voice clipped and authoritative. "We need to talk. Now."
No ’hello,’ no warmth, no trace of the grandmother who once doted on when I was a boy. This was the matriarch of the Weston family, the woman who believed she knew better than anyone else how to guide the family’s future. And in her eyes, I was making the worst mistake of my life.
I swallowed my frustration, following her into the formal sitting room where the air was always too thick with old money and tradition. She didn’t waste any ti.
"You need to call off this wedding." Her words ca out like a command, not a suggestion.
There it was. No soft landing, no preamble, straight to the heart of it. I clenched my fists at my sides, willing myself to stay calm, but the mont she spoke, my blood started to boil.
"With all due respect, Grandmother, I don’t think that’s your decision to make," I replied, my voice tight.
She turned to face , her eyes steely and cold. "It is exactly my decision to make. Your marriage reflects on this family, Arec. And you’ve chosen a girl who is now embroiled in a scandal, thanks to her ex-lover, no less. This will tarnish the Weston legacy. We can’t afford that."
I rolled my eyes internally, trying to contain my frustration. Of course, it wasn’t about Ella. It was never about the person I was actually marrying, it was always about the optics, the reputation, the carefully curated image of the Weston family that she had spent decades controlling.
"Ella is not a liability," I said, my voice firm. "She’s a good woman who has done nothing wrong. We’ve already cleared up the lies Klaus spread about her."
My grandmother scoffed, her lips curling into a thin, disapproving line. "Cleared up? The damage is already done, Arec. Don’t be naive.
This will follow her and you forever. The dia won’t let it go, and every ti soone ntions your na, they’ll ntion hers, and the scandal with it. Is that what you want?"
I stared at her, my frustration bubbling over. "What I want is to marry the woman I love. And for you to respect my choice."
Wait... This Love again? I’ve been using the "L" word too easily lately. Am I just getting used to it or was this truly how I felt? The thought lingered in the back of my mind, but I shoved it down, trying to stay focused.
She shook her head, her disapproval palpable. "Respect your choice? You should’ve chosen Joanne, soone who cos from a respectable family, soone who knows how to navigate these situations with grace. But instead, you’ve chosen a girl with a ssy past. A girl who will only bring trouble."
"Joanne?" I scoffed, unable to hide my disbelief. "This has nothing to do with Joanne, and you know it. You’ve never even given Ella a chance."
"Why should I? She’s already proven herself to be a liability. You’re too blinded by your emotions to see it, Arec."
I took a deep breath, trying to rein in my anger. My grandmother had always been blunt, but this was different. She wasn’t just criticizing my decisions, she was attacking Ella, soone she barely knew, soone who had already been through enough.
"You don’t know Ella like I do," I said, my voice low but firm. "She’s strong, she’s capable, and we’ll get through this together. I’m not going to abandon her just because things got tough."
My grandmother’s eyes flashed with anger, and she took a step closer to . "You will abandon her, Arec, because it’s the right thing to do. For you. For this family. For your future. I will not allow you to ruin everything we’ve built because of so... infatuation."
"Infatuation?" I repeated, incredulous. "This isn’t so fling, Grandmother. This is real. I’m going to marry Ella, and nothing you say is going to change that."
"You’re making a mistake," she snapped. "And you’ll regret it."
"I don’t think I will," I replied, standing my ground. "In fact, I’m more sure of this than I’ve ever been about anything."
Her face tightened, and for a mont, I thought she might actually back down. But then, she crossed her arms, her gaze hardening even further. "You’re letting your emotions cloud your judgnt. You’ve always been impulsive, Arec, and this is just another example of that."
I laughed bitterly, unable to help myself. "Impulsive? Really? I’ve thought this through more than you think. Ella is the woman I want to spend my life with, and I’m not going to let you, or anyone else, dictate how I live my life."
My grandmother’s mouth tightened into a thin line. "You’re a Weston. You don’t have the luxury of acting like a common man. Your choices affect more than just you. They affect the entire family, the business, everything we’ve built."
I could feel my temper flaring again, my patience wearing thin. "I’m not abandoning Ella. Not now. Not ever. And I don’t care if you disapprove."
She stared at , her eyes cold and unyielding. "This will destroy you."
"No," I said, my voice steady. "It won’t. What will destroy is walking away from the woman that needs because I’m too scared of what people will think. I’m not that man, Grandmother. And I’m not going to be."
For a mont, the room was deathly silent. The tension between us was palpable, a standoff between two forces that refused to back down. My grandmother’s gaze burned into , but I didn’t flinch. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.
Finally, she let out a sharp breath, shaking her head. "You’re a fool."
"Maybe," I replied. "But I’m my kind of fool."
Without another word, I turned and walked out of the room, my heart pounding in my chest. I could hear her voice calling after , sharp and angry, but I didn’t stop. I wouldn’t let her get the last word, not this ti.
As I stepped out of the house and into the cool night air, I took a deep breath, letting the tension drain from my body. I walked over to my car, my hands shaking slightly as I gripped the steering wheel.
The mont I sat down, the anger that had been simring inside turned into sothing else. Sothing darker. I closed my eyes and thought of Klaus, of the smug expression on his face when he had dragged Ella’s na through the mud, of the way he had tried to ruin everything for us.
My hands tightened around the wheel, my knuckles turning white. If it weren’t for him, none of this would be happening.
Ella wouldn’t be facing the dia storm, my grandmother wouldn’t be pressuring to call off the wedding, and I wouldn’t be sitting here, dreaming of different ways to make him pay.
Ella didn’t deserve this. No one did.
And I wasn’t going to let him get away with it.
I opened my eyes, staring at the road ahead. There was no turning back now. I’d made my choice, and I was going to stand by it.
No matter what.
Because this was more than just a contract marriage. This was about supporting the mother of my unborn child. This was about protecting the future I wanted for us. And I wouldn’t let anyone, not Klaus, and not my grandmother, tear that apart.
With a steadying breath, I started the car and pulled away from the house, driving into the night with a clear, unwavering determination.
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