She Rejected the Heir, I Married Him Chapter 10

She Rejected the Heir, I Married Him Chapter 10

The office was quiet except for the faint hum of the air-conditioning.

I looked at Julian, standing inches away.

His gaze held me like a net.

I couldn’t hide. I didn’t want to anymore.

“Two years ago,” I finally said softly.

“At a business reception.”

“I went with Nathaniel to be part of the background.”

“Outside the fire stairs, I heard Crescent Properties’ CEO reporting to you about a merger.”

“He said all the directors were waiting for your approval. You told him to rewrite the terms that

would sacrifice the employees’ pensions.”

I held his gaze.

“That’s when I realized Alderhaven’s most notorious playboy was the one making the final

decisions.”

Surprise flickered in his eyes, then turned to amusement.

“So you’ve been plotting against me ever since?”

“I wasn’t plotting.”

I answered honestly.

“I just thought that if I ever needed someone powerful enough to help me leave the Whitmores, you’d be the perfect choice.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Just protection?”

I was silent for two seconds.

“No.”

I lifted my chin and met his eyes.

“I had feelings for you.”

“Ive been in love with you for two years.”

Saying it shattered the weight I’d carried in my chest.

There hadn’t been eight years of Nathaniel Whitmore.

There had only been two years of Julian Mercer.

The man who held the final decision but refused to make ordinary employees pay for the

shareholders had stayed in my heart from that moment on.

I expected surprise. Maybe he’d think I’d been calculating all along.

Instead, he watched me silently for a long time.

Then he laughed softly.

“Clara.”

He pulled me into his arms and rested his chin on my head.

“Did you really think you hid it that well?”

I leaned against his firm chest and listened to his steady heartbeat.

“What do you mean?”

“If I hadn’t had my attorneys approve the substitution clause in advance, the Pembrokes’ last-minute email wouldn’t have gotten past my assistant.”

“You certainly wouldn’t have reached the top floor of the Halcyon under your own name.”

I jerked my head up and stared at him.

He looked down at me, affection and teasing warmth in his eyes.

“I put your name on the list myself.”

“As for Vivian…”

He gave a cold little laugh.

“She was just the means of getting you to me.”

I went still.

“You… you already knew me?”

“Of course I did.”

He gently pinched my cheek.

“The girl who hid in a corner at every party and kept looking at me?”

“Did you think I was blind?”

Heat rushed into my face.

All this time, what I’d thought was a one-sided longing had been two people quietly pursuing each

other.

“Then why didn’t you…’

“Take you away from the Whitmores sooner?”

He finished for me, his expression turning serious.

“Because I knew how much you were willing to endure.”

“Until you gave up on them and chose to leave, even if I took you away, part of you would still be

tied to that house.”

His arms tightened around me.

“I wanted all of you, Clara. A Mrs. Mercer who chose me willingly.”

My eyes burned. I buried my face against his chest.

I said nothing.

There was nothing else to say.

One month later, we held our wedding at the restored glass chapel in Alderhaven’s old harbor

district.

There was no extravagant livestream and no guest list built around trading marriage for contracts.

With our attorneys and friends as witnesses, the man who controlled Mercer Capital chose his wife again.

There was no reluctant family alliance. Only unwavering devotion and respect.

At the altar, I watched him slide the wedding ring onto my finger.

Nathaniel wasn’t there. Neither was Vivian.

The people who had tried to grind me into the dirt had long since disappeared from Alderhaven

society.

“Mrs. Mercer.”

Julian held my hand, his voice low and gentle.

“Here’s to the rest of our lives.”

I tightened my fingers around his.

In his eyes, I saw myself.

Not the timid foster girl who had lived by everyone else’s moods.

But a woman finally in control of her own future.

“Mr. Mercer.”

I smiled.

“Here’s to our partnership.”

Our story had only just begun.