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He Betrayed the Heiress He Was Raised to Marry, Now He Regrets It
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I am the sole heir of the Grant family, yet I am a woman. Everyone says that the three child grooms my father chose for me are the true heirs, but they have never even glanced at me. In my previous life, I chose Ethan Shaw, and as agreed, the power of the Grant Family was gradually transferred to him. However, business gradually declined, resulting in a large deficit. I worked tirelessly, seven months pregnant, to investigate the matter thoroughly. But I discovered that while he was coaxing me to take good care of the family, he was also emptying the Grant Group to buy properties and top luxury goods for my driver's daughter, Sienna Lane. I investigated where the funds went and the shareholders prepared to remove him, but he preemptively produced a forged contract and pinned all the losses on my father. I took the clues I had found to Caleb Foster, who was in charge of finances. He helped me check the accounts item by item, patting his chest and promising, "Uncle Grant raised me, I will definitely clear his name." On the day of the trial, he recanted his testimony in court, admitting that I forced him to forge the ledgers, and also handed over emails from my father instructing him to transfer funds. My father was ultimately wrongfully imprisoned. I gathered evidence from all over the place to appeal for him. At this time, Lucas Reed also took the initiative to contact me, saying that he had a recording of Ethan framing his father. He didn't want money, he only asked to spend his life with me. I verified some of the recordings he provided, and I was moved that after so many years of friendship, only Lucas was truly sincere towards me. With Lucas's reassuring assurance, and knowing that I was nearing my due date and my body couldn't take it anymore, I was finally able to catch my breath. But because Lucas kept stalling, my father died of illness in prison before he could see his conviction overturned. My eyes were bloodshot, and I brought evidence to demand a thorough investigation. But I got into a car accident on the way and was trapped in the leaking car, unable to move. I watched as my three childhood sweethearts appeared and took away my evidence. Caleb asked, "Her father is already dead, why do they still have to kill them all?" Ethan glanced down at the message Sienna had sent. "Over the years, she has been using her status as a young lady to make things difficult for Sienna. As long as she lives, Sienna will live in constant fear for the rest of her life." Lucas closed the car door. Flames erupted everywhere, and my unborn child and I perished in the inferno before he could even open his eyes to see the world. When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my father asked me to choose a husband.
Chapters (4)
第1章
I am the sole heir of the Grant family, yet I am a woman.
Everyone says that the three child grooms my father chose for me are the true heirs, but they have never even glanced at me.
In my previous life, I chose Ethan Shaw, and as agreed, the power of the Grant Family was gradually transferred to him.
However, business gradually declined, resulting in a large deficit.
I worked tirelessly, seven months pregnant, to investigate the matter thoroughly.
But I discovered that while he was coaxing me to take good care of the family, he was also emptying the Grant Group to buy properties and top luxury goods for my driver's daughter, Sienna Lane.
I investigated where the funds went and the shareholders prepared to remove him, but he preemptively produced a forged contract and pinned all the losses on my father.
I took the clues I had found to Caleb Foster, who was in charge of finances.
He helped me check the accounts item by item, patting his chest and promising, "Uncle Grant raised me, I will definitely clear his name."
On the day of the trial, he recanted his testimony in court, admitting that I forced him to forge the ledgers, and also handed over emails from my father instructing him to transfer funds.
My father was ultimately wrongfully imprisoned.
I gathered evidence from all over the place to appeal for him. At this time, Lucas Reed also took the initiative to contact me, saying that he had a recording of Ethan framing his father.
He didn't want money, he only asked to spend his life with me.
I verified some of the recordings he provided, and I was moved that after so many years of friendship, only Lucas was truly sincere towards me.
With Lucas's reassuring assurance, and knowing that I was nearing my due date and my body couldn't take it anymore, I was finally able to catch my breath.
But because Lucas kept stalling, my father died of illness in prison before he could see his conviction overturned.
My eyes were bloodshot, and I brought evidence to demand a thorough investigation.
But I got into a car accident on the way and was trapped in the leaking car, unable to move. I watched as my three childhood sweethearts appeared and took away my evidence.
Caleb asked, "Her father is already dead, why do they still have to kill them all?"
Ethan glanced down at the message Sienna had sent.
"Over the years, she has been using her status as a young lady to make things difficult for Sienna. As long as she lives, Sienna will live in constant fear for the rest of her life."
Lucas closed the car door.
Flames erupted everywhere, and my unborn child and I perished in the inferno before he could even open his eyes to see the world.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my father asked me to choose a husband.
……
Looking out the window, I saw Ethan, who had always been aloof towards me, kneeling on the ground, tenderly massaging the feet of the driver's daughter, Sienna.
He vowed passionately, "I promised to marry Evelyn Grant only to repay the Grant family for raising me. When I become the head of the Grant family, I will marry you in a grand ceremony. As long as Evelyn doesn't harm you, I can spare her life."
"You are the only wife in my heart."
Recalling my past life, I closed my eyes, raised my hand to close the window, and turned to my father, saying, "I've decided on the person for our marriage. It will be Adrian Hawthorne from New York. The engagement will be announced at my birthday party in seven days."
The father frowned and said, "Adrian was paralyzed in a car accident five years ago. Not only are his legs disabled, but he is also unable to have sex. Are you sure?"
I spoke softly but firmly: “In our class, there is no such thing as true love. Since we are all driven by self-interest, we will naturally choose the Hawthorne family, who will bring us the greatest benefit.”
The father's face was grave: "That's true, but you didn't like any of the three child grooms I chose for you?"
My father loved my mother deeply, but she died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage the year I was born.
He couldn't accept remarrying, yet he couldn't trust the Grant family to a woman like me.
Following his best friend's advice, the father brought back three orphaned boys from the orphanage.
I made a will early on, so that no matter which one of them I chose, the other person could join me in running the company and suppressing the other directors.
My father loves me very much, but that doesn't contradict his belief that a woman can't support such a large company as Grant Group.
I looked at my father and said, “Although Adrian is disabled and cannot have sex, I can have his child through in-vitro fertilization. He is also the sole heir of the Hawthorne family. Rather than choosing an orphan to help the Grant family, it would be better to choose a powerful ally.”
The father frowned and said, "Since the accident that year, Adrian has not appeared in public for a long time. The news that he is disabled in both legs was only released by the Hawthorne family. Nobody knows what his current situation is. There are even rumors that Adrian has long since..."
"Father, rest assured, I have my own ideas about this matter." In his previous life, he had not heard of Adrian's passing. Instead, a few years later, the stock price of Hawthorne Group soared, and the company became a leader in various industries, leaving many aristocratic families far behind.
The father nodded: "Since the three of them couldn't keep your heart, there's no need for them to stay at Grant Group."
If I only say it's because Ethan doesn't love me.
My father will definitely make Ethan kneel in front of me and question him about what right an adopted son has to refuse.
I don't want my father to use the kindness we've shown him over the years to blackmail Ethan, nor do I want to force Ethan to marry me, and I certainly don't want to become a miserable couple with him, causing all the pain to repeat itself.
Moreover, the experiences from my past life were truly horrifying to recount.
Nothing has happened yet, and it's already the greatest mercy I can show to part amicably. If they try to harm my Grant family again, then let them try my methods as the female heir.
As he walked out of the office, his father glanced at Ethan sideways.
After Ethan obediently saw his father off, he turned to me with a frown:
"What tattling did you do this time?"
His eyes were full of disgust and impatience, as if I had done something heinous.
Before I could even speak, Caleb next to me scoffed:
"Isn't it just those same old things?"
"It's nothing more than saying that the three of us didn't play with her and didn't spoil her."
Lucas, who remained, also looked disdainful: "Ms. Grant, feudal dynasties are long gone. Do you still think that having a few stinking coins makes you a princess with everyone revolving around you?"
The three of them were united in their hatred of the enemy, and their sharp words stung me.
I looked at them and asked knowingly, "None of you three want to marry me, so why has no one ever told my father?"
Although my father intended to groom a child husband, he never forced him to.
If they say no, their father will immediately prepare a sum of money to send them abroad to enjoy themselves.
第2章
Ultimately, it's still because I can't let go of the wealth behind my Grant family.
Lucas, who had the worst temper, clicked his tongue impatiently.
"You make it sound so nice, but you know perfectly well that the three of us are living under someone else's roof, just dogs kept by your Grant family. What right do you have to refuse us?"
Ethan looked at me with a grim expression: "If you want to choose, I will. I just hope you won't make things difficult for the two of them in the future."
Lucas and Caleb were deeply moved upon hearing this.
Looking at Ethan's expression of heroic sacrifice, I couldn't help but feel a bitter taste in my mouth.
Before I could say anything, Sienna suddenly appeared.
As soon as she saw me, she seemed startled and hid behind Ethan.
Ethan instinctively stepped in front of Sienna: "She didn't do anything wrong, just let her go today."
I looked at them quietly, and sure enough, the three people who were supposed to protect me were now standing in front of Sienna, as if afraid that I would bully her.
Five years ago, when Sienna first came to Grant Family, she gave me a hair clip.
I reciprocated with a bracelet worth 100,000 yuan as a gift.
But to my surprise, Ethan snatched the box away as soon as I opened it.
He angrily shouted, "You want to steal the things Sienna's mother left her?"
I looked at Sienna with a puzzled expression, wanting her to explain that she had given it to me voluntarily.
Unexpectedly, Sienna suddenly knelt down with tears streaming down her face: "It wasn't taken by you, Miss; I gave it to you willingly."
"The young lady is very kind to me and even gave me a bracelet. I really don't feel wronged."
She kowtowed repeatedly to me, a scene that brought tears to the eyes of the three of us, reminding us of our own predicament of living under someone else's roof.
They all questioned him righteously:
"Even if you are the heiress of the Grant family, you don't have the right to force others to give you their mother's belongings, do you?"
"Although the hair clip isn't worth much, its significance far surpasses that of this bracelet worth tens of thousands of dollars. You should return the hair clip to Sienna immediately!"
"He's as domineering as ever, only caring about his own happiness and not caring about the lives of others."
My expression immediately changed, but I thought there might be a misunderstanding, and I could find an opportunity to explain it away.
Suppressing his anger, he handed the hair clip to Sienna, but she didn't catch it properly when she reached out.
The hair clip shattered instantly, and she bit her lip, roaring at me:
"Since Miss would rather destroy it than return it to me, why bother putting on an act?"
Ethan, who had always disapproved of the poor being bullied, immediately threatened them with a cold face:
"Apologize to Sienna right now, or don't blame me for breaking off the engagement!"
At that time, I had already confessed my feelings to Ethan and said that I would marry no one but him.
Ethan used this as leverage to force me to submit to Sienna.
I was too young then to risk losing my lover and defending myself.
All I could do was lower my head and apologize with red eyes.
But this apology took a full five years.
From then on, whenever Sienna saw me, she would act like a mouse seeing a cat, either suddenly kneeling down or bursting into tears.
But I clearly didn't do anything...
I turned a cold look at Ethan:
"If you're really afraid I'll bully Sienna, then keep her tied to your belt at all times."
Despite the sarcastic tone, Ethan frowned and said:
"Are you threatening me? What do you intend to do to Sienna?"
Lucas clapped his hands and pointed at me, saying, "Could it be that the three of us gave the Sea of Stars to Sienna, and you're planning to use that as an excuse to bully her?"
Caleb looked at me coldly: "You have everything, but Sienna has never had anyone celebrate her birthday. It's just a Sea of Stars. Why bother making a fuss about it?"
My eyes turned cold: "Sea of Stars?"
第3章
Sea of Stars is an underground aquarium that has been under construction since I was born.
To the southeast lies a patch of top-grade imperial green jade, which, when reflected through the shimmering seawater, creates a beauty reminiscent of the cosmos and starry sky.
Six months ago, when the project was nearing completion, my father entrusted Ethan with the final touches, asking him to present me with Sea of Stars at my birthday party seven days later.
But now, this gift that was meant for me has become Sienna's.
The gaze fell on Ethan, who was in charge of finishing up the project.
No one can enter the closed aquarium without his permission.
Ethan felt a little guilty under my gaze and turned his head away angrily:
"Sienna has always lived in the countryside and was busy making a living. She has never really looked at the starry sky. I'm just fulfilling one of her wishes. Besides, doesn't the ownership of the aquarium still belong to you?"
"Stop being unreasonable. At worst, I'll announce our engagement at your birthday party in seven days. Are you satisfied now?"
Looking at Ethan's condescending expression, I almost thought I was the one who had been adopted.
But no one present realized that something was wrong; instead, they all felt sorry for Ethan.
"Why make such a great sacrifice? Evelyn is willful, capricious, and vicious. Marrying her is worse than becoming a monk."
"Now Evelyn will be overjoyed, her long-cherished wish has finally come true."
"Waaaaah, Ethan, please don't ruin your happiness for me! I'll kneel down and kowtow to Evelyn, I'll be her slave, I'll do anything for her..."
Watching them so lovey-dovey, practically flirting right in front of me, the pain of being burned by fire in my past life was deeply etched in my mind, and hatred surged within me.
I curled my lips in a mocking smile and uttered, "Don't worry, I won't marry you."
Ethan raised an eyebrow in surprise and doubt.
Lucas and Caleb exchanged glances, as if afraid I would say I wanted to marry them.
Their disdain for me was so obvious. Was I blind in my past life to not notice? I even let the wolf into the house, causing the deaths of my family who were truly good to me, and even my own life and my child perished in the fire.
I clenched my fists tightly, enduring the urge to suppress my hatred.
He turned to leave, but Sienna grabbed his wrist.
Her eyes reddened, and she knelt down before me once more:
“Please don’t make things difficult for Ethan. All three of them were adopted by your Grant family and are already considered inferior. If you are angry because they gave me the Sea of Stars and want to complain to Uncle Grant, I am willing to apologize to you.”
She started kowtowing repeatedly, and soon her forehead turned red and bled.
Ethan helped her up from the ground with a pained expression, then turned and glared at me angrily:
"You say you won't marry me, but if you're so capable, don't choose me when the time comes! What kind of skill is it to use a feigned retreat to make things difficult for Sienna?!"
"Aren't you just trying to use this opportunity to complain and force Sienna to leave?"
I looked at Ethan coldly: "I don't understand what you're talking about, but rest assured, I will never choose you as my husband."
I thought Ethan would give up, but unexpectedly he grabbed my hand:
"If you don't choose me, who will you choose? Caleb or Lucas?"
"Lucas loves art and wants to study abroad, Caleb yearns for freedom. You've already ruined one of them, are you trying to do the same to them?"
Ethan took a deep breath: "If you promise not to make things difficult for Sienna from now on, I can marry you. Please stop making trouble, okay?"
His eyes were full of exhaustion, as if I had tormented him for a long time.
I looked intently at Ethan: "Everything will be as you wish."
He was afraid I would bully Sienna, and therefore even less willing to marry me.
Once I marry Adrian, according to the marriage agreement, I will personally take over the power of the Grant family and become the true ruler. None of these three ungrateful wretches will get away with it.
I didn't go to see Ethan during that time, until he showed up with a cold face on the day of his birthday party.
Caleb and Lucas followed behind him, looking displeased.
I frowned and looked at my assistant. I had clearly said that the people I was announcing the marriage with today were not them, so there was no need to invite them at all.
第4章
But the assistant shook his head frantically, looking like he didn't know and that they had come on their own.
I sighed and decided to avoid seeing it for the time being.
The guests below were even more enthusiastic than I was, greeting the three of them one after another.
“Mr. Shaw is truly a young talent. The project you landed last month must have generated at least a million in revenue, right? No wonder Ms. Grant is only interested in you.”
But I was the one who negotiated this project; Ethan just went to sign the papers.
"Mr. Reed may have a bad temper, but he hates evil. Ms. Grant will definitely not suffer any grievances if she follows you."
I sneered inwardly. It was Lucas who bullied me the most. He regarded me as a viper and wished he could kill me on the spot.
"Mr. Foster is also very handsome, and Ms. Grant made the right choice in choosing you. Anyway, please take good care of us in the future."
The three of them were perfectly at home at my birthday party, acting like hosts.
I frowned, trying to stop this farce, but all three of them lowered their heads and took out their phones.
Before I could react, Lucas's expression changed drastically, and he rushed in front of me and slapped me across the face.
I was stunned by the sudden slap and almost fell to the ground.
Everyone was frightened by this scene and quickly moved away, not daring to cause trouble.
Ethan clenched his fists, stopping Lucas from making another move, then turned to me, gritting his teeth:
"We've already come here for you to choose from, just like products. What more could you possibly want?"
"Do you really have to drive Sienna to her death?"
I was confused, and Caleb, seeing my expression, felt even more disdainful.
"You dared to have Sienna kidnapped while we were all away! Let me tell you, you won't get your way!"
As soon as she said that, I immediately realized that Sienna had used some tricks again.
The guests present were either my father's friends or business partners. I was slapped in the face in front of them, but no one stopped me.
My heart skipped a beat. They must have assumed the Grant family wouldn't fall into my hands, so they didn't dare offend the three of them easily.
I covered my face and looked at Lucas with cold eyes: "Apologize!"
Lucas glanced at my red-rimmed eyes and said sarcastically, "Sienna almost lost her innocence, what's there to be upset about when you just got slapped?"
"Waaaaah~"
Sienna ran in crying, her dress torn and tattered, making it clear that something had happened to her.
Ethan swiftly took off his suit jacket and draped it over Sienna's shoulders, then turned to look at me with disgust.
"You're as cunning as ever. I would never marry a woman like you!"
Caleb, who was usually quiet, stood in front of Sienna with a cold face:
"Your parents couldn't have a son to inherit the family business, so they tried every means to bring the three of us back as tools. We've already accepted our fate, but we didn't expect you to still be so dissatisfied."
"In that case, there's no need to maintain this superficial peace."
He didn't care about the Grant family's reputation at all.
Immediately afterwards, Ethan arrogantly retorted, "I will marry you, but you will only be a figurehead in the future. If you want me to protect the Grant family's assets, you'd better behave yourself."
I laughed. Have they forgotten?
Without me, the Grant family would not have been able to adopt them.
I watched them carefully protect Sienna, and slowly clenched my fingers.
In my past life, they protected her in the same way, leaving me and my child to be left in the fire.
"You're saying I had you kidnapped?"
I kept my eyes on Sienna.
"Where were you kidnapped? Who kidnapped you? And who told you that I ordered them to do it?"
Sienna paused in her sobs and snuggled closer to Ethan.
“I…I don’t know their names. They only said that Ms. Grant taught me a lesson.”
"In that case, call the police."
I took out my phone.
"Give the message and photos to the police, and explain what happened clearly."
Ethan grabbed my hand.
"She just escaped, and you want her to relive those things in public?"
"So what do you want?"
He looked at me and said, word by word:
"In front of everyone, admit that you sent people to kidnap Sienna and promise not to make things difficult for her again."
The banquet hall gradually quieted down.
I looked at his hand on his phone and suddenly smiled.
"They won't even investigate, and they expect me to admit it?"
Caleb walked up to me and lowered his voice.
“Evelyn, Grant Family’s partners are all here. If this gets out of hand, it won’t do the company any good.”
"If you don't want Grant Group's stock to hit the daily limit down tomorrow, you'd better clean up this mess first."
I looked up at him.
"The kind of treatment you're talking about is forcing me to confess to things I didn't do?"
Caleb's face darkened.
Sienna quickly grabbed Ethan's sleeve, shaking her head while crying.
“Never mind, Ethan, I don’t want to put Uncle Grant in a difficult position. As long as Evelyn lets me off the hook later, I can pretend nothing happened.”
Ethan's expression grew increasingly grim.
"Did you hear that? She's still thinking about you!"
He reached out and grabbed me.
I abruptly shook off his hand, took a step back, and turned to look at my assistant.
"Go and fetch my father, and let security in. Save all the surveillance footage from tonight."
The assistant immediately walked out.
Lucas then stepped in front of me in a few strides.
"Complaining again? Besides using Uncle Grant to pressure us, what other skills do you have?"
I did not withdraw.
"This is my banquet. You hit someone and now you want to stop me from finding someone?"
"Evelyn!"
He reached for the phone, but I dodged to the side and pressed the dial button directly.
Ethan's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly grabbed my wrist.
I raised my other hand and slapped him hard across the face.
The crisp sound echoed throughout the banquet hall.
Everyone was stunned.
Ethan's face turned to one side, and after a few seconds, he slowly turned back.
His gaze towards me turned completely cold.
"You dare hit me?"
"let go."
I met his gaze and pulled my hand back from his grasp.
“Ethan, you have no right to condemn me.”
"Why are you still protecting her?"
Lucas stepped forward, his face contorted with rage.
"Evelyn has become like this because of your spoiling! If we don't make her bow her head today, who knows what she'll do in the future!"
Caleb took out his phone and pointed the camera at me.
“Evelyn, explain yourself clearly. An apology will be enough to end this.”
I stared at his camera.
“Record it clearly. You were the ones who stopped me from calling the police and forced me to admit to kidnapping.”
Caleb paused, his hand holding the phone still.
Sienna bit her lip, and her tears fell even faster.
"Evelyn, do you hate me that much? You won't even say sorry?"
Ethan suddenly tightened her grip on me, pulling me towards her.
"Apologize!"
I was pulled and stumbled, my side hitting the edge of the table.
A sudden surge of pain shot through me. I gritted my teeth, braced myself against the table, and stomped hard on the back of his foot.
Ethan grunted, finally loosening his grip a little.
I immediately pulled my hand away, but Lucas grabbed my shoulder from the side.
"You still dare to make a move?"
He pushed me toward the table and raised his other hand high.
I grabbed his arm, my lower back pressed against the edge of the table, with nowhere left to retreat.
"Lucas, how dare you—"
The banquet hall doors were suddenly pushed open.
Before Lucas could even lower his hand, a man in black grabbed his wrist and abruptly pulled him away from me.
Immediately afterwards, a deep male voice came from the doorway.
"Let her go."
