Chapter 4
“Miss Winslow, you must kneel and serve the drink to your future mother–in–law,” the servant pressed the drink into my hands.
The moment my fingers touched the edge of the glass, I immediately recoiled, causing it to shatter into pieces.
“Gemma, haven’t you learned how to respect your elders?” Vincent scolded.
I lowered my head, rubbing my burnt fingertips, and shook my head. “I only know how to serve to my in–laws. You don’t want to marry me, and frankly, I don’t want to marry you either.“.
With that, I tried to push myself up from the ground, but the bodyguards grabbed my arms on either side.
I struggled with all my might. “What are you doing? I am Miss Winslow of the Winslow Family. How dare you treat me like this!”
His mother, face full of anger, strode forward and slapped me across the face.
The slap felt as though it was a repeat of the dozen or so slaps she had given me in a past life, and I froze.
“Tomorrow is the engagement banquet, and you’re still acting like this! Vincent, look at this–this is the woman you want to marry, a girl who disrespects her elders and doesn’t know manners!”
Vincent refused to look at me.
“She’s the one who clung to me and insisted on marrying me. If it weren’t for her, I’d be marrying Sylvia.”
Tears began to fall from Sylvia’s eyes again. “I’ve dreamed of marrying you, Vincent! But my family… we’re nothing compared to the Winslows…”
She sobbed uncontrollably, and Vincent looked even more distressed.
He stepped forward, looking down at me coldly. “Gemma, didn’t you do everything you could to marry me?”
“Fine,” he sneered, “I want you to promise that after we marry, you will never interfere with any of my decisions. After marriage, you’ll cut ties with your family and serve mine. Sylvia lives with us.”
A servant brought forward a prenuptial agreement, prominently displaying “50% of The Winslow Family’s assets as dowry.”
I clenched my fingers, unwilling to sign. My eyes were bloodshot as I lifted my gaze.
“Vincent! I never wanted to marry you in the first place!”
His mother seized the opportunity and slapped me again.
“How dare the Winslow Family, a so–called noble family, raise a daughter like you, who has no respect for her husband? Today, I’ll teach you a lesson, so you won’t embarrass The Sterling Family once you marry into it!”
That day, I lost count of how many slaps I received or how many fingerprints I was forced to press down on. Tonly knew that when they finally let me go, they demanded that I wear a green dress the next day.
Because Eleanor Sterling and Sylvia would be in red.
But I just found it laughable.
Chapter 4
Dreame
The next day, at the engagement banquet, I wore red anyway.
While my parents and the Blackwood family chatted inside, I stood by the door welcoming guests.
Around noon, The Sterling Family finally arrived, surrounded by a crowd.
They were dressed flamboyantly, and Sylvia was on Vincent’s arm, a red–and–black pairing that resembled a happy couple.
Usually, Alistair Sterling would bow and scrape before others at events like this, but today, he walked in with his chest puffed out, looking down on everyone as if he were the most important person at the banquet.
When Eleanor Sterling saw me in red, her face immediately darkened.
“Where are your parents? Today, I’ll ask how they raised such trash!”
But the guests present were prominent figures, and I didn’t want to make a scene.
I kept my tone even. “They’re inside-”
Her bony finger jabbed my shoulder. “Tell them to come out and see me!”
I frowned, stepping aside, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vincent walking towards me with a cold, indifferent expression.
He stood next to me, seemingly prepared to help me entertain the guests.
“Gemma, you got what you wanted, didn’t you? You must be thrilled. But don’t get too cocky. You’ve only got me, but you’ll never have my heart.”
His voice was full of resentment, as if I had ruined the rest of his life by using my family.
“Vincent, I think you’ve misunderstood. Actually, today I-”
“You ignore me, and now you’ve forgotten how you begged me on your knees yesterday?”
Eleanor Sterling’s voice was shrill as she held up her phone, displaying a video of me kneeling from the day before.
‘The guests froze in shock, and some even began recording on their own phones.
Reporters outside the door noticed the commotion and rushed in, breaking past the security.
“Miss Winslow, is this how your future mother–in–law is asserting her authority over you?”
“Does this suggest that the Winslow Family will bow down to The Sterling Family in the future?”
I gasped and quickly signaled the bodyguards, pulling Vincent’s sleeve.
“Make her stop!”
But he yanked his arm away, coldly adjusting his tie.
“If humiliation teaches you respect, it’s worth it.”
“Vincent, your family is simply impossible!”
“You, who begged me to marry you, how dare you criticize my family?”
Creper 4
I couldn’t take it anymore and grabbed the thermos cup on the table, about to smash it.
But before I could, a hand suddenly reached out, gently clasping my wrist.
I turned and saw Cyrus, dressed in white, his gaze sharp yet calm.
“Mr. Sterling, how many lives does your mother have that she dares to make my fiancée kneel before her?”
