Poppy slowly stepped into the grand living room of the Sinclair's mansion where every member of her family was already waiting.
Her eyes moved across the room.
Directly ahead, her father, Rowland Sinclair, sat with a stern face. Beside him sat Lauren, her stepmother with her arms folded tightly across her chest. Her scowl deepened the moment she laid her eyes on Poppy, as if she'd been waiting all day to tear her apart.
Near the couch, her grandmother, Evelyn Sinclair, sat in the wheelchair she almost never used outside her quarters. Her presence alone made Poppy's stomach twist. If Evelyn had rolled herself out of her room, then this wasn't just a mere gathering.
And on the couch, like a slap to the face, Dale and Layla sat too close. So close his fingers were entwined with hers without any shame. That sight almost made Poppy laugh. Not out of joy, but madness.
A bitter smile curved on Poppy's lips as she fully stepped into the room. Her chest ached, but not from heartbreak. That pain had long dried up. Now, it was anger that bloomed in her ribs.
Rowland's brows twitched the moment he saw that smile. "Are you really this thoughtless," he said icily, "or are you simply testing how far you can push me?"
Poppy swallowed hard. Her fingers clasped tightly in front of her, holding in everything she wanted to scream. "I'm sorry, Father—"
"I don't want your pathetic apology!" he barked, slamming his cane so hard against the marble that the whole room trembled.
Everyone jumped.
Even Evelyn.
Rowland Sinclair was not a man known for patience. His anger was not something you challenged. When he was angry, even the walls stayed quiet.
"You kept us all waiting like you're some kind of royalty," he spat. "And then you walk in here with that smug smile. What exactly are you proud of, huh? Go on, say it. Tell us what you're so damn proud of."
"She enjoys embarrassing us, Rowland. That's what she's proud of," Lauren chimed in with venom in her tone. "She's turned the Sinclair name into a joke. After all we've done for her, this is how she pays us back, with shame and scandal."
Poppy's fists trembled at her sides, not from fear, but from the overwhelming urge to break something. Lauren always made everything worse. She knew the woman never liked her, but she wondered if it would kill her to shut up rather than vomit lies that were nowhere near the truth.
"Where is he?" Rowland snapped suddenly, looking past her to the entrance. "Don't tell me you had the audacity to walk in here without that bastard of a husband after everything I told you!"
Poppy inhaled sharply. "I—"
"I told you she wouldn't bring him!" Lauren snapped, cutting her off. "Now that it's time to fulfill her part of the deal with the Roosevelts, she's showing her true colors and looking for a way out."
"I hope for your sake that your mother was wrong about you. Now bring him in. This instant."
Poppy's nails dug into her palms until they nearly bled. "There's no one outside, Father."
"What did you say?" he asked in a dangerously low voice.
"I don't know who he is. I told you, I didn't marry anyone. I never did—"
"Again with this nonsense?!" Rowland shot to his feet, pointing a trembling, furious finger at her. "After the disgrace and damage, you dare stand here and lie to my face?!"
Lauren scoffed. "Are we really surprised anymore? She's always been like this. Selfish and manipulative. Just like her useless mother."
Poppy's chest rose and fell as a storm gathered inside her.
"She'll say anything to keep the shares for herself," Lauren continued, her voice rising. "That's all she's ever cared about. That money and power. She's greedy. And I still pity Lady Roosevelt for risking her life to save her worthless mother all those years ago, without even thinking about her own son's future."
"There's no need to pity anyone," Rowland said, slamming his cane to the ground again. "Because Poppy is going to get a divorce. Whoever she married, it ends today!"
Silence spread through the room. For a second, no one breathe. Until a loud, broken hysterical laughter echoed in the room.
Everyone had expected a different reaction from Poppy, but certainly not this. Poppy laughed like she had finally lost her mind. Then suddenly, it stopped. Her laughter dissolved into a cold, empty stare.
"Why don't you go ahead and ask your precious little whore of a daughter and spineless son-in-law who I'm married to?" She asked in a very low voice.
Lauren frowned. "How dare you call your sister and Dale names?!"
"Because they forged the marriage certificate in my name to hide their affairs!"
Dale's face turned a deep shade of red. While he looked like he might leap across the room and strangle Poppy, Layla immediately stood with tears in her eyes, shaking her head like a guilty child caught red-handed.
"W-what… what are you saying, Poppy? How could you accuse me of something like that?" Her voice trembled.
"How dare you try to frame us, Poppy?!" Dale barked, standing to his feet.
Poppy didn't answer. She would've been disappointed if they didn't deny it.
Instead, she slowly pulled her phone from her coat pocket and lifted it for everyone to see. She tapped the screen, and the recording began to play.
"I… I'm sorry, Dale. It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so greedy, if I hadn't begged you to marry me first and pushed you to forge that marriage certificate for my sister, we wouldn't be in this mess—"
Hearing the familiar voice, both Layla and Dale's face paled instantly. They couldn't believe that Poppy had recorded everything.
"It's not your fault, Layla. Don't you see? It's Poppy's fault for playing the victim. You're the only one I want, and I'd do it all over again if I had to."
The room fell silent again as Poppy shoved her phone down her pocket. "I'm pretty sure the recording is clear enough, but if you still want to doubt it, you are free to check the footages from the room down the hall."
While Rowland's eyes twitched, Lauren's frown deepened.
Poppy felt a little sense of relief as she stared at Layla's and Dale's dumbfounded faces, but that momentary relieve died the moment she heard Evelyn's voice.
"So what?"
Everyone turned to Evelyn who hadn't uttered a word since Poppy got here.
The old woman's bored expression, as if this conversation was no more than deciding what to eat for dinner as she adjusted her shawl, made Poppy frown.
"I don't see a problem," she said coldly. "Whatever they did, they did to protect the family. They were under pressure. It's done. Now, the only thing left is for you to divorce that unknown man—whoever he is—and marry Dale legally this time."
Both Layla and Dale's face lit up.
Poppy blinked. Once. Twice. Her ears were ringing. She looked at her grandmother like she was hearing a stranger speak. "What...?"
Lauren's lips curved into a thin smile. "Your grandmother is right, Poppy. Dale has been patient with you all these years. We'll find this mystery husband of yours, tear up whatever that joke of a marriage is, and then… you'll marry Dale as his second wife."
Poppy's mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her fingers trembled at her sides.
"A… second wife?" she breathed, barely able to form the words. After everything… they wanted her to bow her head and settle as Dale's second wife?
"Your mother owed the Roosevelts everything," Rowland said firmly, stepping beside Lauren. "She would've done anything for them. You cannot back out of this."
"Since Dale is already married to your sister," he continued, "You should become his second wife.This way, the shares your mother left you will stay in the family, and you will fulfill your duty to him, just like she would have done if you hadn't killed her."
Poppy's fists clenched tighter. "You want me to marry the man who betrayed me… as his second wife, just to give him my mother's shares?!"
"Why are you making a fuss like it's not the right thing to do?" Evelyn's cold voice rang in Poppy's ears. "Don't tell me you plan on cutting him off the shares for a little mistake after everything his mother did for your late mother?"
Poppy took a shaky step back, her eyes widening slightly as realization slammed into her.
They were all involved...
A dry laugh slipped from Poppy's lips.
She should've known from the start. They knew of Dale's unfaithfulness with Layla, but they'd humiliated her in front of everyone instead, treated her like a fool. And now, they want to make her Dale's second wife, so he could get her mother's shares...
Her eyes burned. "I won't do it."
Everyone froze.
"I won't get married to Dale. You can all burn in hell!" She turned away and started walking out.
Rowland's anger flared. "Stop right there you imbecile!" He yelled.
But Poppy simply continued walking until she was out of the room.