?Chapter 178:


    An raised an eyebrow, a faint grin ying on his polished, handsome face.


    Manley rubbed his chin. “Guess Cole’s got more taste than us. He doesn’t care about looks. If the vibe’s right, he dives in headfirst. Me? I need a stunner. If she’s not drop-dead gorgeous, I’m not kissing her.”


    Myles, Aron, and Hugh threw Manley a look, then turned away, smirking to themselves. Without Cole’s go-ahead, they weren’t spilling Elliana’s secret. Still, deep down, they were itching to tell Manley that Cole still cared about looks. Manley might turn down a girl who wasn’t pretty enough, but Cole? He’d run the second something felt off. He was pickier than Manley could ever be.


    The truth? Cole was kissing Elliana like that because she was stunning—a real head-turner. If Elliana weren’t that beautiful, no matter how sweet she was, Cole wouldn’t have kissed her like that. At best, she’d get a polite nod.


    Clueless to Elliana’s disguise, Manley kept chatting with An. “So, An, word is your fiancée’s back from the countryside. What’s the deal with that?”


    An’s smile faded, his mood shifting rapidly. He wasn’t just annoyed—he was furious. His grandfather had forced him to marry a girl from a backwater vige, and he’d never even met her.


    “I want nothing to do with her. I won’t follow in Cole’s footsteps and marry her just because of some stupid promise,” An said, his voice ice-cold.


    Cole, the Evans heir, had bent over backward to carry the family’s weight and married Elliana, the so-called unattractive woman, as per the promise his grandfather had made. That was his business.


    But An wasn’t about to follow in Cole’s footsteps. As the Shaw heir, he was willing to handle family duties—but he would neverpromise when it came to marriage. That line wasn’t getting crossed. He had nothing inmon with Adah, the girl he was supposed to marry. Their minds, lives, and goals were worlds apart. There was no bridge to build between them. Marriage? Out of the question.


    An had been trained as an heir, attending elite schools filled with top-tier talent. Any woman by his side had to match that level. He’d heard that Adah had been in Apricot Blossom Vige since she was five. She was a known dropout, hadn’t even finished middle school, and was always ying instead of studying. There was no way he was letting his grandfather push this wreck of a match into his life.


    Manley caught An’s foul mood but couldn’t resist teasing. “An, I saw Adah when we were kids. She was cute back then. Bet she’s the prettiest girl in the whole vige.”


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    An shot Manley a cold re, one step away from telling him to shut it.


    Before An could snap, Manley grinned again. “Come on, An. I hear the cider in Apricot Blossom Vige is amazing. Just marry her already—I’ll swing by for drinks when I’m bored.”


    “Get lost!” An barked.


    Sensing An was about to explode, Manley backed off, scratching his nose before turning to Merlin. “Merlin, when are you giving up the single life?”


    Merlin’s answer came cold and sharp. “Never.”


    Manley’s eyes widened. “Never? But you’re the heir! No wife, no kids—what about your family line? Your folks okay with that?”


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