Chapter 3
I continued sipping champagne from my glass.
I watched coldly without any intention of speaking first.
Bella knew full well she was the homewrecker who came between Dylan and me, turning me into the subject of gossip in our social circle.
Of course, she didn't dare confront me directly, keeping her head bowed as she sat silently in her wheelchair.
In the end, it was Dylan who broke the silence first.
"Caroline, what's the meaning of this? I came here to talk things out with you.
"Is this the grace the Gonzalez family raised you with?"
I almost laughed. Truly, when one was beyond words, amusement somehow crept in.
I'd been naive and too confident in our twenty years of history.
The night I caught Bella, I told Dylan everything.
I told Dylan to keep an eye on Bella and not to risk everything for her.
Yet the next day, Bella died.
She was really dead.
It was said that the orphanage suddenly caught fire when Dylan and Bella were visiting together.
At the very last moment, Bella pushed Dylan out of the flames, only to perish in the inferno herself.
By the time firefighters arrived, only charred remains were left.
The official report blamed dry weather and faulty wiring.
When Dylan returned, he acted like nothing happened.
I thought he'd finally come to his senses and taken my well-meaning advice to heart.
Only at death's door did I learn the truth.
He'd resented me all along.
"Caroline, are you deaf or mute?
"Bella did nothing wrong. I'm ending our engagement.
"She suffered so much for me. I owe her this.
"Both families are here. Nod, and we're done."
I set down my glass with a cold laugh.
"Fine."
I took Anna's hand and stood up.
"Anna, let's go. Miles is with Dad, right?"
Then I glanced at Bella, who was still silent. "I wouldn't want to interrupt Mr. Wood's performance."
"Caroline, you!" Dylan started, but Bella stopped him.
Anna and I found my father on the second floor of the banquet hall, conversing with Miles.
My family had just secured the billion-dollar East District project.
This was all thanks to my visionary father and my capable brother.
Everyone wanted a slice of this lucrative deal, and the Wood family was no exception.
Originally, the marriage alliance was meant to bring the Gonzalez and Wood families closer and facilitate deeper cooperation.
Dylan's stunt changed that.
He followed us, still preaching about love.
"Caroline, just because you're the heiress of the Gonzalez family doesn't mean you can do whatever you want."
"The ties between our families remain. Let's part civilly."
Exactly. As a Gonzalez, my path was set from birth.
Children of elite families never chose their destinies. Our lives were meticulously scripted.
There was no room for change.
Dylan had it way too easy these past twenty years.
He didn't understand how his wife truly represented the family's legacy.
Perhaps his raised voice caught their attention.
Miles approached, all smiles. "How time flies! Caroline, you're all grown up now."
My dad smiled in agreement and said, "How true. One minute they're kids, the next they're starting families and careers."
He pointed at Dylan and said, "You better treat my daughter right, or else..."
"Dad, Miles," I cut in, "it seems the couple of honor at today's engagement party is about to change.
"Dylan and Miss Moore have been through so much together. Their bond is something I could never compete with.
"If anything, I'm the third wheel here, the villain in their fairytale.
"So let's make it official. Consider my engagement to the Woods null and void.
"And to the happy couple? Congrats. Hope you live happily ever after."
The crowd erupted instantly, buzzing with shocked whispers and gossip.
By the next morning, the scandal had exploded across Astara City's headlines.
The long-standing friendship between the Wood and Gonzalez families was on the verge of collapse, and their arranged marriage was rumored to be off.
News that the Wood heir was proposing to an orphan from a welfare home blew up on the trending lists.
Word had it that Miles was absolutely livid and scolded Dylan on the spot, "This is outrageous!"
Miles even raised his walking cane and struck Dylan in anger.
Meanwhile, inside the Gonzalez residence.
My father was practically fuming, his eyes wide with rage as he pointed at me. "Calling off the engagement? How could you even say such a thing? This was decided by our families. Since when do you get to make that choice alone? Do you think this is some childish game?"
I sat stiffly, silent.
"This engagement was personally arranged by our elders. Do you think you can just cancel it on a whim?
"Tomorrow, you will go to the Woods in person and apologize. Tell them it was a moment of impulse..."
"No," I said flatly.
He asked, "No? Then what do you plan to do?"
"I'm calling off my engagement with Dylan."
"Calling off? Do you have any idea how deeply entrenched the Wood family's influence is, spanning three generations?
"Even though our families have been close for generations, do you really think our Gonzalez family can afford to provoke them?"
I muttered under my breath, "Maybe we can."
"You!" My father slammed his cup down and stormed out. "You've clearly lost your mind!"