She Faked Her Death Too Late

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It was the fifth year of my marriage to a beautiful, ruthlessly guarded heiress when the news crossed the Pacific: the rigid, untouchable woman who had raised me was dead.

When my executive assistants overseas call finally came through, it was five in the morning in Los Angeles.

Sir, Virginia is gone. The Carlisle family is in total chaos. Youre the only one who can come back and take control

Virginia Carlisle. It had been a long time since I allowed myself to hear that name. I froze, the phone pressed hard against my ear.

Back when I was just the foster son of a dynasty, navigating the turbulent waters of my youth, I only ever did two things that crossed the line.

The first was the night Virginia drank too much, and I used the blur of the alcohol to cross a boundary that should have remained sacred, spending one reckless, absurd night tangled in her sheets.

The second was boarding a plane to marry another woman before she ever woke up, keeping my departure a total secret.

From that day forward, I severed an eighteen-year bond with the woman who had been my entire world since the orphanage. A clean, brutal cut.

I never imagined that my return to my homeland five years later would be to collect the body of the woman who had haunted my every waking thought.

Yet, on the day of the funeral, a little girl in a black velvet dress broke free from the grip of the surrounding relatives and threw herself directly into my legs.

Instinct took over. I bent down and scooped her up into my arms.

She scrubbed at her tear-stained, slightly scraped face, her small chest heaving with violent sobs.

"Daddy, you finally came home!"

"Theyre all bad people. They just want Mommys money, and they wont stop picking on me!"

Looking down at this little girlwhose face was a near-perfect mirror of VirginiasI was instantly violently pulled back to the very first time I met her mother.

For as long as I could remember, I had no one. No mother, no father.

I kept myself alive by running petty grifts and picking the pockets of oblivious tourists down by the pier.

That was my life until I was seven. I slipped my fingers around the cold metal of a Rolex on a wealthy womans wrist, only to be caught dead to rights.

The woman, draped in a custom-tailored designer dress, didnt strike me. She didnt scream for the police.

Instead, she crouched down to my eye level and, like a magician, produced a piece of candy, pressing it into my dirty palm. Her smile was devastatingly gentle.

"Rowan, Im so sorry. Im late."

"My name is Virginia Carlisle. I was an old friend of your parents."

"From now on, Im going to be your legal guardian. You can call me Aunt Virginia. Im going to take care of you for the rest of your life."

And she kept her word.

She went to my parent-teacher conferences. She shielded me from drunken brawlers in the streets. She taught me which fork to use at a gala, and how to hold my posture at a grand piano.

She took a feral, street-corner stray covered in thorns and painstakingly molded him into a refined, respectable man.

But I was too greedy.

Being her ward, her "nephew" in name, wasnt enough. I wanted to monopolize her. I wanted every ounce of Virginia Carlisles goodness to belong solely to me.

My original plan had been to wait until her birthday to confess the truth about that absurd, boundary-shattering night we shared when she was drunk.

I had it all mapped out.

If she rejected me, I was prepared to act like that wild seven-year-old againthrowing a massive, destructive tantrum until she finally caved and nodded yes.

But before I could utter a single word, she stood up at the familys annual banquet and publicly announced her engagement to Donovan Croft, the golden boy of a rival tech empire.

The entire table went dead silent. Every member of the Carlisle family stared at me, terrified I was going to flip the dining table and tear the room apart.

But this time, I simply reached into my pocket and slid a velvet box across the linen.

The box snapped open to reveal a pair of flawless, natural blue diamonds, catching the chandelier light in a dazzling, icy display.

My foster mother, Helenathe woman who had officially signed my adoption papers on Virginia's behalffroze, hesitating.

"Rowan, these diamonds are worth millions. Weren't you planning to have these set into a wedding ring?"

I kept the smile on my face broad, immaculate, and entirely polite.

"I originally bought them for Aunt Virginia anyway. They make a perfect engagement gift for my new uncle."

The moment the words left my mouth, a flicker of uneasy dissonance crossed Virginias eyes. Her tone dropped into something that was half-warning, half-reprimand.

"Rowan. When you were younger, you threw your fits and I indulged you."

"But if you cause trouble now, I will not let it slide."

Beneath the table, my fingernails dug into my palms until they nearly broke the skin. I tipped my chin up, keeping the smile locked in place.

"Youre absolutely right. I promise I wont let your kindness go to waste."

Virginia frowned. She could sense something was off, but before she could press, her phone lit up.

It was Donovan. He was waiting outside to take her to see a fireworks display.

She grabbed her coat, but paused at the doorway, looking back at me with a strange hesitation.

"Rowan, do you want to come with us?"

I blinked, then shook my head, forcing a light, breezy tone.

"You go ahead. Have a great time with Donovan."

Virginia stared at me for two heavy seconds. Then, she walked out without another word.

The second the heavy oak door clicked shut, the smile fell off my face like dead weight.

Helena looked at me, her eyes softening with a sudden, sharp pity.

"Rowan, its okay to cry if it hurts."

Instead of crying, I suddenly dropped to my knees on the hardwood floor, bowing my head respectfully to the woman who had mothered me.

Helena gasped, rushing forward to pull me up.

"What on earth are you doing, child?"

My expression was dead serious.

"The Carlisles have housed me, fed me, and raised me for twenty years. I know what I owe this family, and I have no right to ask for more."

"I know the board has been desperate to secure a partnership with the Laurent family overseas, but you havent had an in. Im willing to marry their eldest daughter."

Helena went pale. She gripped my forearms tight.

"Rowan, you want to marry Daphne Laurent?!"

"Do you have any idea who she is?"

"The rumors say shes a ruthless, paranoid eccentric. Youd be throwing yourself directly into the fire!"

I didn't pull away. I just softened my voice to calm her.

"Mom, those are just rumors. And honestly, don't people think I'm a bit unhinged too?"

"Unhinged enough to ignore morality, act like a tyrant, and try to chase away any man who comes near Virginia."

"The Laurents keep a notoriously low profile. A marriage alliance is the only way we get a seat at their table."

"You and Dad have indulged me my whole life. Let me do something for the family for once."

I laid out the strategic benefits of the marriage, my voice growing steadier, my eyes harder with every word.

Helenas eyes rimmed with red. She looked at me for a long, agonizing moment before finally reaching out to smooth my hair.

"Alright. If your mind is truly made up. The Laurent family will send someone to collect you. The wedding will take place in Los Angeles in two weeks."

Hearing the timeline, a bitter, hollow laugh echoed in my chest. What a coincidence.

My wedding day was scheduled for the exact same day as Virginias engagement party.

Helena suddenly seemed to remember something, her tone turning frantic.

"But I havent even prepared a dowry for you I need to have your father transfer some of his company shares to your name immediately"

I cut her off.

"Mom, I don't need anything."

"And please, keep this marriage a secret from Virginia for now."

"I don't want her to think I'm doing this to force her hand, or to ruin her engagement to Donovan."

Helena couldn't change my mind. She just let out a shattered sigh and pulled me tightly into her arms.