Chapter 7 - The Broken Engagement|
Victoria was trembling with fury, her cheeks flushed bright red under her heavy makeup.
"Alexander! This is insane!" she yelled, stepping between us. "You are an Ashford! She is a servant who just embarrassed me in front of every high-society family in New York! You can't seriously be honoring some ridiculous street myth over me!"
Alexander slowly turned his head toward her. The warmth and vulnerability that had just shown in his eyes vanished, replaced by an icy, terrifying calm.
"Victoria," he said softly. "Do you know why I agreed to marry you?"
"Because our families control the shipping lines!" she sneered.
"No," Alexander replied coldly. "Because I thought you were a respectable woman who could represent my name. But tonight, I watched you throw a tantrum at a young man who dropped a glass. I watched you insult a woman who works ten times harder than you ever have. And then I watched you try to assault her."
"She ruined my dress!" Victoria screamed.
"You ruined yourself," Alexander said flatly.
He reached down, grabbed the velvet ring box resting in his jacket pocket, pulled out the massive five-carat diamond ring, and dropped it into Victoria's glass of champagne.
"The engagement is over," Alexander announced, his voice carrying clearly to every corner of the silent hall. "Security, escort Ms. Lane off the premises. She is banned from every Ashford property nationwide."
"You can't do this to me!" Victoria shrieked as two bulky men in dark suits stepped forward, firmly grabbing her by the elbows. "My father will ruin you for this! Alexander! Let go of me!"
She was dragged down the marble staircase, her screaming fading into the distance.
The three hundred guests stood frozen, staring at me as if I were a queen who had just taken a throne.
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Alexander turned back to me, his stance dropping into a deep, respectful bow.
"Sophia Reyes," he said. "Your family's debt is paid today. From this moment on, you will never scrub another floor."
