From His Matriarch to An Empire's Queen

Immediately, a group of security guards in black suits closed in, crudely manhandling me into the hotel's private lounge.

Declan was sitting on the sofa smoking a cigar. When he saw me, a flash of disdain crossed his face. "I knew you wouldn't give up on being my fiancée. Are you ready to sign the agreement?"

I stood opposite him, my expression icy as I replied, "That's where you're wrong. I haven't changed my mind. I will never sign that agreement."

My voice was not loud, but it was firm and resolute.

Declan extinguished his cigar and stood up impatiently. "So stubborn. Since you refuse to obey, I'll force you. I'm in charge here. Sign it."

A bitter taste filled my mouth as I stared at this insufferably arrogant man. I asked, word by word, "Declan, do you really not remember me? When we were children in Aspen—"

He cut me off before I could finish, clearly annoyed. "Enough! Stop making things up. You're not from my world, so how could I possibly have met you? I'm warning you, the Davenports hate being deceived more than anything. Tell one more lie, and I guarantee you'll pay the price!"

He took a step toward me, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's, as if I were prey in his sights.

The last flicker of hope inside me was snuffed out.

Declan was tall and handsome, the very picture of a business titan. I had thought I would be happy to have him as my husband.

However, he had forgotten our past. When we were children, he'd told me he liked me, that he'd marry me when he grew up and took over his family's business.

My mother was right after all. Men learn to lie from a young age.

I had planned to tell him my identity, but now it seemed pointless. The Declan before me only saw me as an opportunistic social climber.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm the storm inside me, and then said serenely, "Declan, even if you've forgotten the past, I am still your fiancée. Is treating me with such disrespect at our own engagement party how the Davenports show their good breeding?"

Hearing this, Declan reined in some of his aggression, but his eyes were still full of contempt.

"And you still dare to call yourself my fiancée. If it weren't for you and your social-climbing father groveling to mine—convincing him to make this marriage a condition of my becoming CEO—a commoner like you wouldn't have even made it through the door."

He continued with a cold smile, "And don't think you can start meddling in my company after we're engaged. You will stay in the penthouse and be a pretty decoration. As for which woman I prefer to bear my child, that will be my decision. You will simply raise my heir obediently. Understand?"

I clenched my fists and stared back at him coldly. "Since you're so dissatisfied with me, why force yourself into this marriage? Let's call off the engagement. Don't worry, I will speak to your father personally. It won't affect the Davenport Group in any way…"

Declan interrupted me, furious. "Enough, you cunning woman! Don't play me for a fool! You're just trying to use my father to threaten me, hoping I'll compromise out of fear of losing my position, aren't you? Having a devious fiancée like you is a disgrace to the family."

I almost laughed. His persecution complex was truly something else.

I sighed in resignation. "Since talking is getting us nowhere, let's take this to your father. Right now. We'll announce publicly that this ceremony is cancelled, and we'll make it clear that I am the one refusing to marry you."

My words stunned the room into silence. They finally realized I wasn't joking, nor was I playing hard to get.

Whispers drifted from outside the door.

"Oh my god, she really refused Mr. Davenport. How dare she?"

"I've never seen such a stupid person. If I could marry Mr. Davenport, I would never give up so easily."

I sneered inwardly. Declan was merely one of the more promising candidates my father had considered, and hardly the only one. Rather than becoming an accessory to this egomaniac, I would much rather go back and inherit the family business, becoming a business queen who would make men like him kneel and beg for a partnership.

What a pity, though. It was Declan's father who had gone to great lengths just to meet my father and persuade him to agree to this marriage, all to use my father's influence to further expand the Davenport Group. All his efforts had been in vain.

Declan turned to me, his eyes red with a mixture of shock and humiliated rage. "You really want to cancel the engagement? Do you have any idea how much wealth and status you'd be giving up?"

I smiled, took the small tiara I was wearing to match my understated gown, and threw it on the floor with a crisp clatter.

"I'm not interested."