Chapter 26: Sleepwalking (1)
Blocking her path was one thing she chose to ignore without making a fuss, but criticizing her husband was another thing she wouldn’t take lightly from him or anyone, regardless of if his mother was the duchess or not.
If he had said something about her, she wouldn’t mind it since she’s known to be such a critic, but degrading someone who had saved her from a terrible future experience wasn’t something she would seal her mouth on.
"Listen sweetheart, no matter how hard you try to defend your so-called husband, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s useless. He does absolutely nothing but causes chaos and kills people." Jeremy chose to cast aside her rudeness and continued to speak calmly, "your marriage with Cassian, it’s all a sham isn’t it? You two are putting on an act to fool everyone, am I right?"
He brought his face uncomfortably close to hers that Madeline had to take a step back. His dark brown eyes were piercing into hers as though he could see the answers ebbing in those captivating dark orbs that gazed right back at him.
"If you really think Cassian is capable of putting on an act with a mere Baroness, then you don’t know your brother because things like that would irritate him." Madeline responded without a flinch, "if you’re so curious about our wedding, why don’t you ask him yourself? Or are you feeling offended that we didn’t send an invitation?"
Madeline smiled, not minding Jeremy’s glowering eyes. It was obvious that he came here in search of the truth about her wedding with Cassian. He must have assumed she was an easy target since she’s a woman, but one thing he failed to realize was that he wasn’t messing with just a typical woman who would readily bow down to him.
"What if I choose to pay you?" Jeremy proudly brought forth a preposition, "state your price, and I’ll make sure it’s fully provided with no excuses, in the essence that you must stay faraway from Cassian’s life. For good."
He smirked. She might not be from a completely lower background, but those living in the rest quarters wouldn’t throw away such a good chance of getting extra money. Knowing Cassian’s bad reputation in the society, it would only mean she got married to him for his money, and nothing else.
"Is it gold? Silver? Or do you need it in cash? Just name it." Jeremy was adamant on making her reveal her true colors. He wasn’t doing this because he cared about that bastard, Cassian was currently going through a rough patch, both emotionally and physically, and he was afraid that this woman might just be the one to drag the young lad out from his abyss.
Madeline’s eyes widened in stupefaction when he told her to make a request. That would definitely be lots of money if she ends up accepting his proposal, and just maybe, she might have enough of it to locate somewhere and figure out who is responsible for the death of her parents.
"I will have to refuse your offer." She bowed her head, shocking Jeremy who assumed he finally had her where he wanted. "You cannot bribe me into leaving my loving husband. We took an everlasting oath at the altar, and that is priceless. You can’t buy your way in."
At this point, Jeremy was starting to feel like a fool at her final rejection, not until she said. "And my husband is not useless. You two might be living in the same mansion, but you have zero knowledge on what kind of a man Cassian really is. Stop spreading fake rumors."