"Alex," Katarina snapped. "You''ve already embarrassed me enough. I don''t want to see your face here again. Go kneel by the entrance until I decide you''ve suffered enough to deserve forgiveness!"
Alex lowered his head. His voice came out quiet, respectful. "Yes, my wife."
Her eyes red. Another p, sharper than the first. "Who said I''m your wife? If it weren''t for that Saint-ire name, even a dog wouldn''t marry you. Now get out!"
Heinrich Schiller stepped forward and caught Katarina''s arm, smirking. "Don''t waste your anger on that mutt, Katarina. You''ll only lower yourself."
Alex said nothing.
''Silence after an insult is the loudest cry.''
He turned and walked toward the exit, head bowed, every eye on him.
Whispered voices filled the room as soon as he was gone.
"I heard he''s thest of the Saint-ires," one man murmured.
"Last?" another scoffed. "That family''s been dead for decades. Only Logan Saint- ire escaped, and he disappeared like a rat."
A womanughed behind her ss. "And this one''s Logan''s bastard with some woman from Xia. A filthy half-breed."
"But he''s still the only heir," someone said. "That means the Saint-ire fortune is legally his."
The woman shook her head, smiling coldly. "Not anymore. When he came back, the Rosenheim family — the Saint-ires'' old servants — already controlled every estate. They own it all now."
Another voice chimed in. "He''s lucky the Rosenheims even let him marry Katarina Rosenheim."
"Lucky?" a man snorted. "That''s not luck. They married him so they could keep the Saint-ire name and swallow everything legally."
"He''s unbelievably stupid. Instead of fighting for his family''s inheritance in court, he let himself be manipted into marrying Katarina — just to be her obedient dog. Pathetic. He''s less of a man and more like a trained animal."
The crowd burst intoughter.
"I heard his IQ barely hits eighty," one man said. "Spent years studying aftering back from Xia, still can''t understand basic technologies. How can someone that stupid breathe the same air as us?"
"Katarina''s a genius," another added. "IQ of one-fifty. Honestly, the Saint-ire fortune''s better off in the Rosenheims'' hands."
Laughter spread, cruel and unrestrained, bouncing off the marble walls.
Outside, under the cold sweep of the night air, Alex Saint-ire knelt alone at the
entrance. The sting of her p, the echo of theirughter, the weight of his
humiliation — every moment seared itself into his memory like fire.
And behind that calm face, something powerful was awakening again.
"Yes," another guest said, raising his ss, "ever since Katarina married that idiot, she''s been using the Saint-ire name to her full advantage. Look at the numbers — in just three years, their assets have multiplied fivefold. She turned a dying legacy into one of the most powerful families in Winchester."
Laughter rippled around the table.
"No wonder Heinrich Schiller''s chasing her again," someone added with a smirk. "She''s got every Saint-ire asset under her control now."
A group of women burst outughing, leaning closer, gossip thick in their voices.
“I heard their third anniversary''sing up soon," one said. "Byw, all the Saint- ire assets will be permanently managed under Katarina Rosenheim. And once she files for divorce-"
Another woman jumped in, grinning, "—that fool will walk away with nothing! Not a coin, not a title. It''ll all be hers."
Theyughed harder.
"And you know what happens after that?"
"What?"
"She''ll marry Heinrich Schiller."
Gasps, giggles, and whispers filled the air.
"Heinrich Schiller-the genius behind half the new Al industry," someone said with awe. Every corporation in Winchester is trying to recruit him." s
"And the Rosenheim family knows it," another chimed in. "They''d trade the Saint- ire name in a heartbeat just to have Heinrich on their side."
Theughter grew louder, echoing off the crystal chandeliers.
Outside the hall, Alex Saint-ire knelt by the grand entrance, just as Katarina had ordered.
A few servants and drunk guests pointed at him from a distance, whispering, mocking — treating him like a spectacle.
To them, he wasn''t a man. He was a stupid tamed animal wearing a suit.
But beneath his calm posture, his eyes sharpened - cold and alive.
Three years... he thought. Just a few more days.
He took a slow, steady breath. He had been treated like property, humiliated, stripped of dignity.
But it was almost over. Everything was about to change.
The strongest of all warriors are these two-time and patience.
Then a sudden rush of sound split the night.
A sleek, ck flying car descended through the clouds, the engines humming like thunder. Itnded hard at the front steps of the banquet hall.
A woman jumped out — beautiful, fierce, and desperate - her dress simple but elegant, her hair wild from the wind.
Her beauty struck Alex like a dream - but this dream breathed, alive, radiant, almost divine.
And in that instant, his heart remembered what warmth felt like... after three long, frozen years.
She moved through the moonlight like a vision, every step effortless, every nce alive. For a moment, time itself seemed to stop.
Her beauty eclipses the moon; her gaze bends kingdoms.
And in that stillness, Alex swore he could hear his own heart whisper trembling, alive -
- soft,
''Where have you been all this time? I''ve been waiting for you... my other half, my heart''s missing piece.''
She ran past the guards and
shouted, "Heinrich! You can''t do this
to me! have the divorce papers
and don''t agree! I gave gave you mi
everything for three years! s<fnc914> This content belongs to f?i?n?d?n?o?v?e?l?</fnc914>
The entire banquet froze. Every head turned toward themotion.
Heinrich Schiller, smug andposed in his tailored suit, stepped forward with a cold smile.
When she reached for him, he mmed his foot into her face, sending her sprawling onto the marble floor.
"I don''t need you anymore," he said tly. "You have nothing I want."
The woman - Sofina Scheinwald — coughed, blood running down her lip. "Heinrich..." she whispered, "after everything I''ve done for you?"
He looked down at her without a hint of emotion. "The ce I''m going, he said, his tone joy and deliberate is far beyond your reach. Our connection ends here." s
Heinrich lifted his leg to kick Sofina again—cold, merciless.
Before he could strike, Alex moved. Instinct overrode reason. He lunged forward, shielding Sofina with his body.
He didn''t think, didn''t hesitate. All he knew was that if he stood by and did nothing, he''d regret it for the rest of his life.
''When the heart reignites, mountains move.''