She Married A Nobody, And Nobody Dared Touch Her Again

Chapter 004

Silence fell over the room once again.

But not the same silence as before. Not the kind born from shock. This silence had a different texture. Hot, tense, like the air right before lightning strikes.

And the one who broke it was Megan.

Megan took a step forward, staring at Lein with a look that no longer bothered hiding anything. Her fingers were a little stiff around her wine glass.

"I don't know where you dug up this trash, Sera." Her voice was sharp and cold. "But are you seriously going to marry him? This man has a big mouth and doesn't know his place. Get him out of here before I throw up just looking at him."

Lein didn't answer right away.

His eyes dropped, stopping on the necklace around Megan's neck. A white gold chain with a diamond-encrusted cross pendant, sparkling under the room's lights.

He studied it for two seconds.

Then his lips moved.

"Trash, you said." His tone was flat, but there was something in it that felt like a knife just drawn from its sheath. "What an interesting choice of words from someone wearing an Eternal Cross from the House of Veyron around her neck tonight."

Megan blinked.

A few people in the room turned to look. Eternal Cross, House of Veyron. Everyone there tonight knew that name. A limited-edition necklace worth a serious fortune, twenty-one million dollars apiece, and Megan had worn it to several family events over the past two months. She'd even called it a "personal investment" in front of the lifestyle reporters covering last month's gala dinner.

"But there's a small problem," Lein continued, his voice neither rising nor falling. As calm as someone reading a weather report. "A genuine Eternal Cross uses hand engraving on the back of the pendant. The original artisan's signature is carved at a depth of zero point two millimeters. It can't be cast, and it can't be faked by machine." He nodded slightly at the necklace. "The one around your neck tonight doesn't have that signature. I'm sure of it. The chain's wrong too. House of Veyron uses a cable chain with a diameter of one point two millimeters. Yours is thinner, around zero point eight, and the color is too bright for eighteen-karat white gold." He paused for a moment. "It's a replica. If you had it appraised at an ordinary shop, it probably wouldn't even fetch a thousand dollars."

The room went silent as a grave.

Every eye shifted to Megan.

They wanted to know if what the man said was true, but Megan's face had already answered for her.

It turned red. Not red like anger. Red like someone who had just been humiliated in front of the entire family and had no idea where to run.

Because that was exactly what had happened.

Megan's necklace really was a fake. She'd bought it for less than 900 dollars, from an experienced replica craftsman who had made sure it looked almost identical to the real thing.

And everyone she'd met had fallen for it.

But how the hell did this beggar know?!

A few very long seconds passed.

Lara turned to her mother with an expression that was trying very hard not to look panicked. Angela was suddenly very interested in the contents of her glass. Meanwhile, Megan's husband, Gerard, quietly cleared his throat.

Megan drew a breath, and when she opened her mouth, her voice no longer carried its usual confidence.

"What the fuck would you know about Veyron, you bastard?!" she snapped, her face turning even redder. "There's no way a bum like you can tell the real thing from a fake! Everything you just said is complete bullshit!"

But no one laughed this time.

Because it was too specific to be bullshit.

One point two millimeters. Zero point eight millimeters. Details like that couldn't just be made up on the spot. And everyone in the room was secretly thinking the same thing:

This man was right.

Megan then turned to Sera, her eyes flashing.

"Sera! As your aunt, I'm telling you to throw this bastard out of this house right now, before he humiliates the Caldwell family even more!"

"That's a great idea!" Arthur stepped forward, his voice booming. "What are you waiting for?! Throw him out!"

But no order came out of Sera's mouth.

Arthur stared at her for a moment, then ground his teeth.

Fine. If Sera wasn't going to do anything, he'd do it himself.

Arthur didn't know who this bum was. Didn't know where he came from or what he wanted. But one thing was clear tonight: as long as this man stood beside Sera, she wouldn't be easy to control. Sera had always been stubborn enough as it was. With this loudmouth by her side, things would only get harder.

On top of that, they already had a husband lined up for Sera in case the assassination plan failed.

And since the assassination plan had failed, this man had to go. Now.

Arthur strode forward, closing in on Lein with impatient steps. His hand shot up, grabbed the collar of that wrinkled shirt, and gripped it tight.

Then he pulled.

Or tried to pull.

But the man's body didn't budge.

Arthur frowned. He pulled again, harder.

Same result. Nothing happened.

It was like pulling on a concrete pillar planted three meters into the ground, or trying to shove a wall.

The shirt collar was in his hand, his grip hadn't slipped, but the man in front of him stood in the exact same spot like he didn't feel a thing.

He didn't even turn his head.

Wh... what the hell is going on?

Arthur pulled one more time, this time with everything he had, until the veins in his neck bulged.