While He Waited in Aspen, I Married His Rival Chapter 03

While He Waited in Aspen, I Married His Rival Chapter 03

I met his furious gaze and felt a wave of absurdity wash over me.

Chloe stayed up all night?

Then who was it taking Liam’s late-night calls, listening to him complain that the ranch’s historical records were impossible to decipher?

Me.

I was the one who dug out my grandfather’s dusty journals and explained, page by page, the story behind every acre of Blackstone Valley, the source of every stream.

But once those details appeared in Chloe’s PowerPoint, they became her “in-depth field research and cultural excavation.”

Because of her, Liam’s project team had plenty to say about me. They saw me as a figurehead, an heir who knew nothing about her own home and relied on their brilliant project lead to “add value” to it.

Now he wanted me to apologize to a thief for stealing my family’s history and desecrating its brand.

The thought sent a chill through me. The heat drained from my face, leaving behind an icy calm.

Seeing that I remained unmoved, Liam’s anger intensified. He took another step, threatening me through clenched teeth. “You won’t apologize? Fine. Ava, consider the acquisition agreement void. You can stay here on your broken-down ranch and wait for the bank to liquidate it.”

Those words were a key, unlocking the last chain holding me down.

My clenched fist relaxed. I looked him straight in the eye and said one clear, calm word.

“Fine.”

With that, I turned my back on him and the trembling woman in his arms and walked back to the guest room.

I slammed the door shut.

I didn’t pack. I picked up my phone and called our family attorney.

“Mr. Davies, it’s Ava Monroe.” My voice was perfectly even. “I need you to draft a water rights merger trust agreement with Red Rock Ranch. Immediately. Yes, effective at once.”

In the living room, Liam was comforting the weeping Chloe, but an inexplicable irritation stirred in him. He glanced at the closed guest room door, then avoided Chloe’s gaze and texted his assistant.

A moment later, the assistant replied: “Boss, Miss Monroe’s attorney just got a call from her. I couldn’t get the specifics.”

Liam’s tense mouth relaxed into a smirk.

A little tantrum, a call to her lawyer… it was all just a ploy to squeeze a few more percentage points out of the acquisition.

So she was scared after all.

“Ignore it,” he texted back, putting it out of his mind.

A moment later, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Liam, the condescension practically dripping from the screen.

“Ava, you need to get that temper under control. Chloe had your best interests at heart. You embarrassed her today.”

“Enough. There’s a celebration dinner at the club tonight. The investors will all be there. I’m taking Chloe to get ready. A driver will pick you up at seven.”

“When you get there, apologize to Chloe, and we’ll put this behind us. Don’t ruin the mood for everyone. This is important.”

A dinner to celebrate *our* project, and he was escorting Chloe.

I looked at the message and couldn’t even summon the energy to laugh.

Outside, a car engine started. Liam had left with his star employee.

I swiped away the message and opened the draft document Mr. Davies had just emailed me.

When night fell, a black Lincoln pulled up to the main house. The driver knocked on the door.

I glanced one last time at the agreement on my phone, my fingertip tracing the legal terms.

Good.

Liam had proposed to me in front of his investors, a trophy to mark his conquest of the West.

It was only right that I end our engagement the same way—in front of all of them. A beginning and an end.