I WAS A USELESS SON-IN-LAW, NOW I DECIDE FATE

How dare you insult my fiancé

The lady was Adriana Hart, one of the new elites in town. She owned CAL Fashion, a new but large fashion company in Goldmere.

Rumor had it that she had lived abroad all her life. She had sent representatives to set up her company six months ago and had only now returned to stay, after her business had struck the market and made a name for itself in a short span.

Investors were eager to pour money into the growing fashion empire run by the beautiful and single Adriana. Bachelors could barely wait for tomorrow’s founder’s introduction, when they would finally see her in person. CAL Fashion knew their onions. Their designs blew past anything Goldmere residents had ever seen, shoving older fashion houses aside. For every friend Adriana made in the industry, she created two rivals who couldn’t wait to drag her down for stealing their place.

“Honey,” she pouted, “you are so romantic! I was looking everywhere for you, not knowing you’d come to the lobby to book a room for us already.” Her gaze turned seductive.

Ava felt the whole building spin for a second, then her vision blurred for another. Ever since she met Edward and they got married, he had never looked at another woman apart from her. She had never felt threatened. He respected her so much, giving no room to those women who used to throw themselves at him. But now, seeing this stranger wrap her hand around Edward, the way she gazed at him so lovingly, anger welled up in Ava’s stomach. Has Edward been cheating on me? She couldn’t hide it that she shamelessly yelled at Adriana “Hey, don’t you know he’s married? Take your hands off him.”

Edward scoffed in disgust.

How shameless.

He didn’t remember ever seeing the woman holding him and calling him sweet names. But he felt satisfied that she could make Ava jealous. So she thought no one could love him except her? How shallow. Determined to show his gratitude to this stranger, he played along. The questions he had for her could wait.

“Yes, honey,” he said, smiling and flashing his perfect dentition. “I came to rent a room so you don’t have to stress yourself standing when you come in.”

“Aww, that’s so thoughtful of you.”

“But the receptionist here tried to insult me. She said I stole someone’s card.”

“How dare you!” Adriana smacked her palm on the desk. “How dare you insult my fiancé? Do you know who I am? I am Adriana Hart, the owner of CAL Fashion. I’m sure that name rings a bell. Will you process the payment so I can go have some rest, or do you want me to give you a bad review?” She faced the receptionist, unlocking her phone. “I could go live right now, and you know what that means. With my popularity, one bad review from me could damage this hotel’s reputation.” She fumed.

“I’m so… sorry, ma’am,” the receptionist stammered, voice quivering as she tapped the screen. She hadn’t recognized her when she walked in. Looking closely now, she recalled seeing that face on the news. Adriana Hart, the owner of CAL Fashion, was returning to Goldmere to settle. The official announcement would come tomorrow morning

The system beeped after a few seconds. “Sir, here is your card and the key to your room.” She shakily handed over the master card and room key to Edward. “It’s the most expensive room, sir,” she added quickly.

“You better be careful,” Adriana warned while the receptionist nodded shakily.

“I’m sure my fiancée doesn’t mind that I was married,” Edward said, finally looking at Ava. Her face couldn’t hide her jealousy. “I’m processing my divorce already. After that, we’ll be fully married.”

“Yes, I know about the divorce,” Adriana said, staring at Ava as if trying to kill her with her eyes. “So you better sign those divorce papers soon.”

What sort of woman was this? Edward laughed inwardly. She blended in easily and knew how to make her rival fall to their knees. He almost doubted his own memory, maybe this woman truly was his fiancée. But he knew better than anyone that he was seeing her for the first time in his life. He hadn’t followed fashion news for the past year, so CAL Fashion was news to him.

Softening her voice, Adriana turned to Edward and stretched out her hand. “Let’s go have some rest, honey.”

“Yes, baby.” Edward smiled, taking her hand that was so soft, as though it had never known hardship, into his, and they started walking toward the elevator.

“Gosh, these people want to choke my fiancé. They should be glad I chose to forgive!” Adriana’s voice trailed as they walked away.

Ethan stared at the retreating figures of the woman and Edward. He had never felt so humiliated in his life. Even watching Ava shamelessly fail to contain her jealousy made his anger boil. Edward was unpredictable. How did he know that woman. She was someone Ethan had been crushing on ever since he saw the news about her return. That woman was not just beautiful, she had connections and money, unlike Ava, who had nothing to offer him but a drain on his wallet. He couldn’t wait to use and dump her anyway. He had already gotten what he wanted.

Fiancé? How did Edward always take everything he wanted? First the wealth, then their father’s love, then Ava, his college crush, and now Adriana too.

Edward could have Adriana for now, I’ll still take her away soon. His fists clenched in anger.

He looked around, the small crowd had slowly dispersed, with only a few eyes poking at him.

“What? Go back to your duties! Don’t you have something you came here for?” He stared back angrily.

He pulled his arm away from Ava and stormed toward the exit. Ava scurried after him. She had lost Edward, and she couldn’t lose Ethan, people would laugh at her. Her mother would skin her alive.