Chapter 3

Lydia Reese POV

When Harrison shoved me into the car, his face was still cold.

The driver raised the partition. Only the two of us remained in the car.

I rubbed my reddened wrist, not yet settled when I heard him ask, "Why did you go to that kind of place tonight?"

I looked up. "What kind of place?"

Harrison stared at the dress I wore.

"Drinking, hanging around private rooms, letting a bunch of people watch you make a fool of yourself. Lydia Reese, have you forgotten you're about to marry into the Carter family?"

I laughed.

"I haven't forgotten."

"Then remember it clearly. Don't make scenes before the wedding. After the wedding, I definitely won't let you act like this."

After the wedding, those words made a chill rise in my stomach.

In my previous life, he was the same. Little by little, he took away my clothes, my friends, my temper, and my voice.

He said it was for my own good.

He said I should understand the rules.

In the end, I almost forgot who I was.

I turned to look out the window, my voice soft. "I'm not marrying you."

The car went silent for a moment.

Harrison whipped his head around to look at me.

"What did you say?"

"I said, I'm not marrying you."

Harrison's expression grew darker and darker.

"Because you fought with Vincent during the day?"

I didn't answer.

Harrison seemed to have already decided I was guilty. "Using the engagement to threaten your family. Lydia Reese, when did you learn these kinds of tactics?"

I leaned back against the seat without explaining.

The engagement was already being replaced. Vincent would soon go to the Carter family to discuss it.

But I deliberately wouldn't tell him.

I wanted to watch Harrison control me with his fiancé status, right up until the wedding day when he'd see with his own eyes that the bride had become Christine.

Harrison saw I wouldn't speak and grew angrier.

"Take that back."

"No."

The car suddenly turned.

I glanced at the road. We weren't heading back to the Reese house.

"Where are we going?"

"The suburban vacation house." Harrison said coldly, "To let you cool down."

We quickly arrived at the Carter family's suburban villa.

An assistant delivered a pre-wedding behavior manual and placed it on the table.

The booklet was thick.

The cover was clean, but inside it was filled with the Carter family's rules for the future Mrs. Carter.

How to dress for public appearances.

How to speak when meeting Carter family members.

Which friends could no longer be associated with.

No entering places where photos could be taken before the wedding.

After marriage, coming home late required advance notice.

In my previous life, I followed every single rule.

I replaced my wardrobe, cut off friends' gatherings. Even attending a friend's birthday required asking Harrison's permission first.

But the more I followed the rules, the more he felt I still wasn't enough.

This time, with the manual placed before me, I didn't even flip through it.

Harrison stood by the table, watching my actions, his patience completely gone.

"Copy out the key points tomorrow."

I looked up.

He continued, "At tomorrow's afternoon tea gathering between the families, apologize to Christine."

"Why should I apologize to her?"

"She helped clean up the situation for you in front of Vincent today. You shouldn't have taken your anger out on her."

I looked at him and suddenly found it laughable.

Christine sat downstairs waiting for the engagement to fall into her lap, yet he thought Christine was wronged.

Harrison took my silence as agreement. His tone softened slightly but became more commanding.

"Don't say things about breaking off the engagement again. Before the wedding, whoever makes trouble will only look bad."

I didn't respond.

When Harrison sent me back to the Reese house, it was already very late.

Vincent hadn't slept yet. He sat in the living room waiting for me.

Seeing me enter, his first words weren't asking where I'd been or why I looked so terrible.

He said, "Tomorrow at the afternoon tea gathering between the families, you must be present."

Harrison's footsteps stopped.

Vincent glanced at him and quickly swallowed his words back. "The Carter family is willing to hear about replacing the bride, but before officially bringing it up, you need to be there. We can't let outsiders see that the Reese and Carter families have fallen out."

Harrison frowned. "Replace what?"

Vincent's face stiffened.

I was already walking upstairs.

Vincent immediately shouted, "Lydia Reese! I'm warning you, don't lose your mind tomorrow and don't ruin Christine's opportunity!"

Harrison stood in the living room, his gaze following my retreating figure.

I didn't look back.

Back in my room, my phone already had a message from my mother's lawyer.

The asset ledgers and account permissions could be transferred first. Physical items would be handled in batches, with the first batch processed tomorrow morning.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at that line of text.

Outside the door, servants walked back and forth in the hallway, speaking in low voices about the clothes to prepare for tomorrow's gathering.

Those clothes weren't meant to maintain my dignity.

They were to make Christine look more like the bride.

Before long, there was a knock on the door.

A servant brought in a plain outfit and said carefully, "Vincent said to have you wear this tomorrow."

I took the clothes. My other hand still clutched my phone.

On the screen, the asset transfer confirmation was still lit.