Chapter 4

I wheeled my suitcase to a hotel and stayed for the night.

For the time being, I planned to spend all my remaining time with my grandfather through his final days.

Early in the morning, I called Ethan.

He seemed to still be asleep, his voice hazy and muffled.

Only after I urged him several times and called Maya to have her keep an eye on him did this man finally get up.

When going to the hospital, Ethan and I prepared our story in advance to handle my grandfather.

Because I'd previously brought Marcus to meet my grandfather, my grandfather knew Marcus was my intended husband.

To keep my grandfather from worrying, I planned to have Ethan help me get through this without revealing his real identity.

But I didn't expect him and my grandfather to hit it off so well.

They talked about everything from the poverty of their generation to today's artificial intelligence.

Even when we were about to leave, my grandfather was still somewhat reluctant.

He held my hand and patted the back of it gently.

"Emma, this one's good. Much more reliable than that Marcus fellow."

I felt a bit embarrassed.

I didn't want my grandfather to know I'd randomly pulled someone to marry.

So I could only say stiffly.

"Grandpa, did you remember wrong? He is Marcus."

"I'm not senile yet. I still know if it's the same person or not. I just don't know if I can hold on until your wedding day..."

I quickly took out our marriage certificate from my bag and handed it to my grandfather.

"Don't worry, Grandpa. We're already married. The wedding is being prepared. You'll definitely make it."

Unexpectedly, my grandfather opened the marriage certificate and examined it carefully with his magnifying glass.

Only then did he nod with satisfaction.

"I knew it! Not that Marcus boy. This one's called Ethan Chase, right? Good name!"

I glared at my grandfather in exasperation before finally leaving the hospital room.

Ethan was waiting for me in the corridor.

It looked like he'd gotten into an argument with someone.

When I got closer, I discovered the people arguing with him were Marcus and Lily.

I didn't know what started it.

But one sentence from Marcus made my throat tighten, leaving me breathless for a long time.

"Whatever my girlfriend did wrong, I apologize on her behalf. But you're a grown man---bullying a woman like this, have you no shame?"

In his heart, Lily was his girlfriend.

So what was I?

A substitute?

"When you do something wrong, you should admit it. If everyone was like you, what would we need laws for? Being a woman means you can do whatever you want?"

Marcus and Lily were left speechless.

Just then, Marcus saw me appear.

A flash of panic and unease suddenly appeared in his eyes.

But he quickly suppressed it, pretending nothing was wrong as he rushed up to grab me, speaking first.

"Emma, perfect timing. Lily accidentally spilled coffee on him just now, and he's saying this outfit is worth tens of thousands. Isn't that extortion?"

"Don't you have a best friend who's a lawyer? Let's sue him for extortion!"

Lily nodded matter-of-factly, showing no sign of remorse.

"Exactly! Sue him for extortion, and make him pay us emotional damages!"

Ethan looked at me with a smiling expression.

I couldn't help but blush.

"Your friends?"

I immediately shook my head.

"Not anymore."

Before Marcus could react, I continued.

"This outfit really is worth tens of thousands. And the lawyer you mentioned is his sister."

With that, I quickly left the hospital.

I didn't want any more interaction with Marcus.

As for how they negotiated, it had nothing to do with me.

In the following days, Ethan kept arranging our wedding.

I originally wanted to just casually wear a wedding dress and let my grandfather see it, then be done with it.

But Ethan said that wouldn't match his status and insisted on making it bigger.

Besides being a famous race car driver, Ethan was also a wealthy heir.

These kinds of families had many requirements for weddings.

Since I couldn't persuade him, I could only compromise.

Meanwhile, Marcus asked me every day when I'd return from my business trip.

I don't know if he noticed that I'd been contacting him less and less these days.

For the first time, he said he'd set a date to register our marriage.

Too bad I didn't need it anymore.

Each time I made an excuse about being busy on the business trip and hung up.

The wedding day came quickly.

I appeared at the venue in my wedding dress.

A familiar voice came from behind me, very surprised, with a hint of panic.

"Emma, aren't you on a business trip? Why are you here in a wedding dress?"