Chapter 142- It wasn’t me
The moment the wedding banquet began, Janet could feel it—that sharp, invisible current of disdain and pity swirling toward Elvira from every corner of the room. Whispers fluttered like knives in the shadows. After the scandal Elvira had been caught up in, how had she ended up marrying into the powerful Fan family? Especially to a man with political influence?
There was something wrong here. Something hidden beneath the surface.
"Politics is a dangerous game, Janet," Charles murmured behind her, his warm breath brushing her ear. "Play it well, and you win fame and fortune. Play it poorly, and everything—even your life—can be taken from you."
Janet followed his gaze. In the center of the crowd stood the Vice President, laughing, toasting, utterly at ease. But Charles’s tone... it held something else. A threat. A secret.
She understood instantly.
The Vice President must’ve done something—or Charles had found out something—and this marriage was part of the cost. Vincent marrying Elvira wasn’t romance. It was punishment.
And Elvira... Poor, ruined Elvira. She had married into a golden cage, chained to a husband who couldn’t speak, who couldn’t even care for himself. She might wear silk and diamonds, but she had lost all agency. Worse, she would live every day haunted by her past—her drug addiction, her affairs—forever a walking disgrace, a name to be mocked in hushed gossip. Even if the Fan family stood tall for now, who knew when it might fall? When it did, she’d fall with it.
"You did this on purpose, didn’t you?" Janet whispered, her voice trembling with something between shock and awe.
Charles didn’t deny it. Instead, he pulled her closer, pressing a kiss against her cheek. "This outcome... does it satisfy you?"
His hand moved over her waist, slow and possessive. She could feel a strange warmth radiating from within, as if their unborn child could already sense his father’s touch.
"Charles... thank you." Her voice quivered. How could she explain this overwhelming feeling? If it weren’t for that fire ten years ago, if it hadn’t destroyed everything... maybe she wouldn’t have hated Elvira and Anila so much.