The Disgraced Husband Is the Septamillionaire Heir

Chapter 6

The grandfather stood frozen, his face darkening like storm clouds gathering over the ocean. He had not expected his beloved granddaughter to display such willfulness, such blatant disrespect in front of their honored guest.

"Vivian!" His voice rang out sharp and commanding. "You will mind your manners this instant! Do you have any idea what kind of opportunity you're throwing away? Being able to marry Mr. Pierce is a blessing—a tremendous blessing—for our entire family. You should be grateful, not spoiled and ungrateful!"

Vivian's jaw tightened, but she said nothing, her cold eyes fixed somewhere past her grandfather's shoulder.

"Now go," he continued, waving his hand dismissively. "Call your parents immediately. They need to meet Mr. Pierce and understand the magnitude of this alliance."

Without a word, Vivian turned and walked away, her footsteps echoing across the courtyard. She moved with rigid precision, her back straight as a blade, radiating barely contained fury.

The grandfather turned back to Caden, his expression apologetic. "Please, Mr. Pierce, you must forgive her. She's young, headstrong—"

Caden forced a smile that felt more like a grimace. This situation had spiraled so far beyond his control that he almost wanted to laugh. He'd come here to break off an engagement, and instead found himself staring at the very woman he'd inadvertently slept with the night before. The woman who hated his guts. The woman who was apparently his fiancée.

He did laugh then—a bitter, hollow sound that escaped before he could stop it.

The grandfather's face fell, panic flashing in his eyes. "Mr. Pierce? Is something wrong? I assure you, Vivian will come around. She just needs time to understand—"

"No, it's not that," Caden said quickly, shaking his head.

"If you don't like Vivian," the grandfather said carefully, his voice dropping lower, "I have other grandchildren. My younger granddaughter is also of marriageable age, quite lovely, very obedient—"

"The engagement still stands," Caden interrupted, surprising himself with the words even as he spoke them. What was he doing? He'd come here to cancel this arrangement, not confirm it. But looking at the old man's anxious face, thinking about Vivian's cold fury, remembering what had happened between them—he couldn't just walk away. Not now. "Vivian is... she's fine."

The tension drained from the grandfather's shoulders. "Oh, thank goodness. You had me worried there for a moment." He smiled warmly, gesturing toward the mansion. "Come, let's sit down properly. I'd love to hear more about your training. Master Aldrich is a legend—I've heard stories, of course, but to meet one of his actual disciples, especially his prized student... Tell me, how is the old master? Still as fierce as they say?"

"He's..." Caden searched for the right word. "Intense. Demanding. He doesn't accept anything less than perfection."

"That's what makes him great," the grandfather said admiringly. "Ten years under his tutelage—you must be extraordinarily skilled. Combat, tactics, strategy?"

"All of the above. He believes—"

"Absolutely not!"

A woman's voice cut through the air like a knife. Caden and the grandfather turned to see Vivian returning, flanked by a middle-aged couple who could only be her parents, and an elderly woman whose regal bearing made it clear she was used to being obeyed.

The elderly woman—Vivian's grandmother—swept forward, her silver hair immaculately styled, her silk dress flowing around her like armor. Her eyes fixed on Caden with open disdain.

"No one," she declared, her voice ringing with authority, "is going to marry my granddaughter off to some ordinary nobody! Vivian is destined for greatness. She will marry Derek Chen!"

"Mother—" the grandfather started, but she cut him off.

"Derek Chen's family is far superior to ours in status and connections! His father is personally close to Sebastian Mitchell—Sebastian Mitchell himself! Once Vivian marries into the Chen family, she'll bring back business partnerships, social connections, opportunities we could never dream of achieving on our own. A bright future is right in front of us, and you want to ruin it for this... this boy?"

Vivian's father—a tall man with graying temples—stepped forward. "Father, you must think this through. Our family's future depends on strategic alliances. Vivian's marriage could elevate us to heights we've never reached. How can we just throw that away on someone random?"

Vivian's mother nodded eagerly. "Our daughter's future is the family's future. We can't be rash about this."

The grandfather's face turned purple with rage. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, and when he spoke, his voice was a barely controlled roar.

"SHUT UP! All of you, just SHUT UP!"

The courtyard fell silent. Even the birds seemed to stop singing.

The grandfather's chest heaved as he glared at his family. "I didn't want to spell this out so crudely in front of our guest. I didn't want Mr. Pierce to think we're nothing but a bunch of social climbers and schemers. But your stupidity has left me no choice!"

He jabbed a finger toward Caden. "This young man—this 'nobody' you're all so eager to dismiss—HE is the one who can take our family to the next level! The perfect son-in-law is standing right in front of you, and you want to chase after some middleman like Derek Chen? Derek Chen, whose only claim to fame is that his father once shook hands with Sebastian Mitchell?"

"But Father—" Vivian's mother began.

"I said SHUT UP!" The grandfather's voice cracked like thunder. "You're all fools! Utter fools!"

Vivian's parents fell silent, their faces pale. But Vivian herself stepped forward, and the grandmother raised her chin defiantly.

"Grandfather," Vivian said, her voice trembling—whether from anger or something else, Caden couldn't tell. "You're being deceived. This man—he's not who you think he is. He's nobody. Just an ordinary man with no background, no prospects, nothing. I don't know what lies he fed you—"

"Lies?" The grandfather's eyes blazed. "Master Aldrich himself vouched for him!"

"Then Master Aldrich is mistaken!" the grandmother snapped, her composure cracking. "You've gone blind in your old age, husband! How could this boy possibly elevate our family? He's not even worthy of carrying Derek Chen's shoes! Derek is sophisticated, educated, connected—"

The slap echoed across the courtyard like a gunshot.

The grandmother stumbled backward, her hand flying to her reddening cheek, her eyes wide with shock. In forty years of marriage, her husband had never raised a hand to her.

"That is ENOUGH!" The grandfather stood trembling with fury, his hand still raised. "I am still the head of this family. As long as I draw breath, my word is law. Anyone—ANYONE—who dares to oppose me again will be expelled from this family on the spot. Do you understand me?"

Silence. No one dared to even breathe.

The grandfather turned to his wife, his voice dropping to something cold and dangerous. "And you, wife—don't embarrass yourself by forcing a divorce at your age. I suggest you learn your place and keep your mouth shut from now on."

The grandmother's face had gone ashen. She opened her mouth, closed it, then simply bowed her head.

No one else moved. No one spoke. The weight of the grandfather's authority pressed down on them all like a physical force.

Finally, the grandfather turned back to Caden, his expression transforming into something apologetic and pained.

"Mr. Pierce," he said quietly, his voice hoarse from shouting. "Please forgive this shameful display. My family has no discipline. We've made a spectacle of ourselves in front of you, and I cannot apologize enough."

Caden didn't know what to say. The situation had escalated so far beyond anything he'd anticipated that his mind was still trying to catch up.

"But I want you to know," the grandfather continued, reaching out to grasp Caden's shoulder, "that I welcome you with the utmost sincerity. You are exactly the son-in-law this family needs, whether they're wise enough to see it or not."

He glanced back at Vivian, who stood frozen, her face pale and expressionless—that cold, indifferent mask firmly in place.

"Today," the grandfather announced, his voice gaining strength, "you and Vivian will go to the civil affairs bureau and register your marriage. Make it official. No more delays, no more arguments. This family needs stability, and this alliance will provide it."

"Today?" Caden finally found his voice. "That's... that seems rushed—"

"Rushed?" The grandfather laughed, though there was no humor in it. "Mr. Pierce, if I wait even one more day, my foolish wife will probably try to ship Vivian off to the Chen family in the middle of the night. No, it needs to be today. Now. Before anyone else gets any bright ideas."

He turned to Vivian. "You will accompany Mr. Pierce to register your marriage. That is not a request. That is an order."

Vivian's eyes met Caden's across the courtyard. In them, he saw no warmth, no acceptance, no resignation. Just cold, burning hatred, held in check only by the thinnest thread of familial obligation.

"Of course, Grandfather," she said, her voice perfectly flat. "Whatever you say."