Chapter 129
When Madeline realized she was on the verge of being pushed out of the Biggs Group, she decided there was no point in holding back anymore. In one last bid to secure her position, she opted for a marriage alliance.
But fate never did favor Madeline. A few years into the marriage, Denise’s father died in a car accident.
What followed was a public and brutal battle over his inheritance. Madeline went head-to-head with her in-laws, a conflict that quickly became the talk of their social circle.
In the end, she lost.
Denise’s grandparents had never been fond of her-she was just a girl, after all. And after the spectacle Madeline made of things, they simply cut ties with her altogether.
Furious, Madeline stripped Denise of her father’s name and gave her her own surname instead.
Meanwhile, Carter had grown up. And he hadn’t disappointed her.
In just a year, he cemented his place in the company. Then came the turning point-one brilliant, decisive victory that made his name known across all of Zachemaine.
Young, handsome, and fiercely capable, Carter attracted a sea of women-debutantes and heiresses lining up like fish in a river. Even the most elite families had their eyes on him.
Madeline had already started grooming a daughter-in-law from a fitting family.
But then Carter went and got involved with Kelly—a girl from a modest background, with no power and no name to speak of.
Madeline was livid. She used every method she could think of, and eventually, she succeeded in tearing them apart.
After breaking up with Kelly, Carter stayed single. No matter how many women his mother introduced, he didn’t look at a single one. He poured all his focus into his work.
Madeline wasn’t particularly worried. He was still young. When his value rose even higher, he’d have his pick of the best.
What she hadn’t expected was Sharon-suddenly appearing, already pregnant.
As soon as Madeline found out, her first instinct was to have the pregnancy terminated. She sent people to pressure Sharon, offering bribes, making threats-anything to make it go away.
At that point, Sharon and Carter barely knew each other. Their relationship had been nothing but a mistake. And since Madeline was clearly against it, Sharon didn’t see any reason to insist. She agreed to the abortion.
But on the day of the surgery, Carter burst into the clinic. He stopped the procedure, right there in the operating room. And he made her a solemn promise-he would take responsibility.
To keep that promise, he fought against his mother for a long time. He protected Sharon fiercely.
And it was during that time that Sharon fell in love with him.
Now, as Sharon looked at him, a sudden thought slipped through her mind.
“Back then, when you protected me like your life depended on it-when you stood up to your family for me-it wasn’t just because of Theo, was it? It was… because you were trying to make up for something.”
Carter’s eyes were dark and unreadable, still as deep water.
But Sharon knew she was right.
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She gave a faint, mocking smile. “When you were with Kelly, you didn’t have the power to protect her. All you could do was stand by while your mother took her away, threatened her, until the two of you had no choice but to break up. And me–I was just like her. Another woman your mother disapproved of. Another repeat of the same story.
“So your rebellion, your fight to keep me and the baby-it wasn’t just for me. You saw her in me. You used me as a stand-in, trying to rewrite the ending you never got with her. Isn’t that right?”
She looked him straight in the eye. Her gaze was clear, almost crystalline-like a mirror reflecting everything inside him, exposing even the shadows he’d tried to hide.
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