The Disgraced Husband Is the Septamillionaire Heir

Chapter 5

The black sedan pulled to a smooth stop outside the Montgomery estate's gates. Caden stared through the window at the imposing iron entrance, beyond which sprawled manicured gardens and a colonial-style mansion that screamed old money.

"Last chance to reconsider," Sebastian said from the driver's seat. "I could go in with you. Provide moral support. Run interference."

"No." Caden reached for the door handle. "I'm here to break off an engagement, not propose marriage. The fewer witnesses to this disaster, the better."

"Are you sure? Breaking an engagement isn't exactly—"

"Sebastian."

"Fine, fine." Sebastian held up his hands in surrender. "But you're making a mistake. The Montgomery family's daughters are what half the men in this city dream about. Beautiful, educated, well-connected—"

"And ice-cold with a talent for making threats," Caden muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Sebastian sighed. "Look, I'm just saying—settle down before you build your career. At least have someone to take care of your daily life, manage your household. You can't hunt down your family's enemies and also remember to buy groceries."

"I've survived ten years on a mountain. I think I can handle grocery shopping."

"Suit yourself." Sebastian shook his head. "But don't come crying to me when you're forty, alone, and eating instant noodles for dinner every night."

Caden stepped out of the car, closing the door firmly. "Go back to the office. I'll call you when I'm done."

"Good luck," Sebastian called through the window. "You're going to need it."

The sedan pulled away, leaving Caden standing alone on the sidewalk. He took a deep breath, straightening his jacket—one of the new ones Sebastian had insisted he buy that morning. At least he looked somewhat presentable now.

All he had to do was go in there, meet the family, politely explain that the engagement was a misunderstanding, and leave. Simple. Clean. Professional.

He just prayed that his mysterious fiancée wasn't related to Vivian. A sister, maybe. A cousin. Anyone but—

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Caden's blood turned to ice. He turned slowly.

Vivian Montgomery stood twenty feet away, shopping bags in her hands, frozen mid-step on the sidewalk. Her eyes were wide with shock that quickly morphed into suspicion and then outright hostility.

"You," she hissed, dropping the bags and striding toward him. "You followed me? To my house?"

Caden's smile felt like it might crack his face in half. It probably looked more like a grimace. Speak of the devil, and she shall appear.

"I—no, I didn't follow you," he started, his mind racing. "I'm here because—"

"Because what? You thought you'd come harass me at home? Blackmail me? Is that it?" Vivian's voice was sharp enough to cut glass. Her face remained perfectly composed, but her eyes blazed with cold fury. "I warned you this morning. I told you what would happen if you didn't keep your mouth shut."

"I'm not here to—"

"I don't care what pathetic excuse you've come up with." Vivian crossed her arms, her posture radiating disdain. "Leave. Now. Before I call security and have you arrested for stalking."

"Would you just listen for a second—"

"There's nothing you could possibly say that I want to hear." Her tone was flat, indifferent, as if he were nothing more than an annoying insect. "Whatever con you're running, whatever angle you're playing—it won't work. So do yourself a favor and disappear before this gets ugly."

Caden opened his mouth, then closed it. What could he possibly say? That he came to break off their engagement? She didn't even know they were engaged. That he was here at her grandfather's invitation? She'd never believe him. That he needed to see his fiancée? That would make him sound like an even bigger scumbag after what happened this morning.

He was trapped, and they both knew it.

"I'm not leaving until—" Caden began.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm—"

The iron gates behind them swung open with a loud creak.

"Vivian!" a stern voice called out. "What on earth are you doing arguing with someone at the entrance? We have an important guest arriving any moment, and you're out here making a scene?"

An elderly man emerged from the gates—tall despite his age, with a full head of white hair and sharp, intelligent eyes. He wore an expensive cardigan over a crisp shirt, and everything about him radiated authority and old-world dignity.

Vivian turned, her expression immediately shifting to respectful. "Grandfather, I was just—"

The old man's gaze shifted to Caden, and his eyes widened. His stern expression melted into something like awe. He straightened, then bowed deeply at the waist.

"Mr. Pierce," he said, his voice filled with warmth and respect. "What an honor. Please, forgive my granddaughter's rudeness. Won't you come inside?"

Caden's brain short-circuited. This was Vivian's grandfather. And he was bowing to him. Which meant—

Oh no.

Oh no, no, no.

Vivian stared at her grandfather like he'd grown a second head. "Grandfather, what are you doing? This man is—"

"Our honored guest," her grandfather finished firmly. "And you will treat him with the respect he deserves." He turned back to Caden, his smile apologetic. "Please excuse her behavior, Mr. Pierce. My granddaughter doesn't yet know who you are."

"Who he—" Vivian looked between them, confusion warring with suspicion on her face. "Grandfather, this is nobody. He's a con artist who—"

"Vivian!" Her grandfather's voice cracked like a whip. "That is enough. You will not speak about Mr. Pierce in such a manner." He gestured toward the gates. "Now go inside immediately and inform your parents that our guest has arrived. Tell them I am personally hosting our future grandson-in-law."

The world seemed to stop spinning.

Vivian's face went completely blank. "Grandson-in-law?"

"Yes, yes." Her grandfather nodded eagerly, then seemed to realize something. "Oh! Forgive me, I haven't properly introduced you two yet." He reached out, gently taking Vivian's arm and pulling her closer to Caden. "Mr. Pierce, this is my eldest granddaughter, Vivian Montgomery. She's the pride of our family—graduated top of her class from Princeton, currently managing several of our family's business ventures. She can be a bit cold at times, rather indifferent to social niceties, but she's intelligent, capable, and fiercely loyal to those she cares about."

He beamed at them both. "Vivian, this is Caden Pierce. The distinguished young man Master Aldrich himself trained for ten years. Your fiancé."

Silence.

The old man continued smiling, oblivious to the tension. "Now then, why don't you two exchange contact information? You'll need to coordinate for the engagement party, after all. We're thinking next month, but if you prefer something sooner—"

"No."

The word came out flat, cold, and absolute.

The old man blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"No," Vivian repeated. Her face had gone pale, but her expression remained eerily calm—too calm, like ice over deep water. "There will be no engagement party. There will be no coordination. There will be nothing."

She turned to face her grandfather fully, and Caden saw something flicker in her eyes. Not sadness. Not fear. Just pure, ice-cold fury held under rigid control.

"I will never marry him," Vivian said, her voice steady and unyielding. "I want nothing to do with him. Nothing. I don't care what arrangement you made, what promises were given—I refuse."

Her grandfather's face fell. "Vivian, you don't understand. Master Aldrich himself arranged this. The honor, the prestige—"

"I. Don't. Care." Each word was enunciated with crystalline precision. "Find someone else. One of my cousins. A stranger off the street. I don't care. But it will not be me."

"But Vivian—"

"No, Grandfather." Vivian's eyes finally shifted to Caden, and the look she gave him could have frozen hell itself. "I would rather die alone than marry him."