Alexander didn''t give a damn what they thought.


    He took Esmeralda''s hand and, still on the stage, spoke clearly for all to hear. "Let''s be honest. This entire wedding was built on something I never wanted. Since some people don''t know how to value what they have... how about this: why don''t you marry me instead? Trade up for a better husband?"


    A proposal, right there in front of everyone.


    The sound of sharp, collective intakes of breath swept through the room.


    Every face in the hall was frozen in shock, watching the spectacle. The original wedding had copsed, but now the bride was being proposed to on the spot!


    The whole ce slipped into disarray, expressions shifting wildly from outrage to disbelief.


    Particrly among the parents.


    Grady sat there, frozen. Alexander? The man was a god in the business world-was he really in love with his flighty sister?


    Esmeralda''s ears rang; she could barely hear over the pounding in her chest. She looked up at Alexander, and for the first time, met eyes holding a depth she''d never seen before.


    He bent toward her, speaking in a voice meant only for her: "Do you really think some feckless outsider with no influence couldpare to me? Silly girl."


    His words snapped her out of her daze.


    He was right.


    With Alexander''s position, who would dare whisper anything behind her back now? He could settle her father''s doubts in an instant, and the Mercer family would be forced to swallow their humiliation.


    The decision came effortlessly. She reached out, meeting his gaze, and raised her voice so everyone would hear her answer. "Alright."


    She meant to just go through the motions, pretend to ept a ring if only for show.


    But Alexander flicked his wrist and, as though performing a trick, produced a ring and slid it perfectly onto her finger.


    "No regrets, then," he murmured.


    Esmeralda stared at the band on her ring finger-astonished. It fit her exactly.


    The dress today hadn''t fit, the whole wedding felt forced, everything had been handed to her against her wishes. But the ring from Alexander? Absolutely perfect.


    He closed his hand over hers, their fingers interlocking, firm and warm.


    "Enjoy the rest of the evening, everyone. From here on out, it''s just the two of us," Alexander said with a rxed, almost roguish grin Without the slightest regard for the guests outrage or shock, he led the way down from the stage, then swept Esmeralda up into his arms and strode out the door.


    Phones shed as a dozen people scrambled to capture the moment. The crowd erupted.


    "Unbelievable!” someone shouted. "This is straight out of a romance novel-who saw thating? Fleming must be dying! Swapping husbands right at the altar— insane!"


    "And she''s marrying Alexander Sterling! That''s the Sterling family! Even the Mercers have to make way for them!"


    "Serves Fleming right. If you don''t know how to value someone, why should she wait around for you?"


    Thanks to this jaw-dropping twist, the wedding banquet''s topic of conversation exploded.


    Fleming''s father looked ready to burst, his face turning a sickly, ashen gray. He didn''t even know what his son was up to-but it was clear today''s disaster was all the result of Fleming bailing at the fast minute The Mercers had been his most prized partnership, and now everything had fallen apart. Who wouldn''t be furious?


    Esmeralda''s father, meanwhile, said nothing. His shock had ebbed into a calm, almost resigned silence. He''d watched his daughter be


    abandoned shamed by Flem no


    and mocked by outsiders fit hadn''t been for Fleming, none of this would''ve happened. So when Alexander stepped up, the thought crossed his mind:


    Maybe, just maybe, this wasn''t such a bad oue after all.


    The Sterling family he couldn''t have wished for more.


    Across the room, Esmeralda''s mother wept openly, watching as Alexander carried her daughter out of the hall.


    As long as her little girl wound up happy, she would ept anything.


    Lucy''s mother, on the other hand, was a bundle of nerves, shifting uneasily in her seat.


    She''d never expected things to spiral like this. The Sterling family''s involvement was beyond anything she''d imagined, turning a simple mess into a full-scale disaster that left the Mercer family in utter disgrace.


    Especially—


    She sneaked a look at her husband, whose mouth was twitching with rage-barely holding it together. If he discovered that Lucy was the one who had asked Fleming to leave—setting off this world-ss catastrophe for the Mercers...