I Married My Cousin's Rejected Fiancé

Morgan Myers was on edge, bracing herself for the dangerous meeting ahead tonight.

She had specifically asked Daleyza Watson to come with her for backup.

"Relax. I'm right here, okay? I won't let Jones Williamson lay a finger on you," Daleyza said, her tone soothing. As a senior colleague and mentor who'd guided Morgan for years, her presence eased some of Morgan's frayed nerves.

The Manhattan Club was a favorite haunt of the city's elite.

Jones had just finished with a client and had the private room to himself, drinking in the luxury. He ran his hand over the leather couch, relishing how cash could buy this kind of class—good booze, flawless service, even the A-list entertainers. If only he could afford to indulge like this more often, he thought wistfully.

That was when Morgan stepped inside.

Jones leered at her long, toned legs, baffled. A body like that, and she was hiding it under such boring clothes?

"Well, look who showed up," he sneered, lifting his glass toward her.

"Let's skip the games. You're not finding a new partner anytime soon, and anything rushed will crash and burn. For your own good, teaming up with my firm is the smartest move. I'll resign, and we end this personal war right here. Deal?" Morgan laid it out.

Jones snorted. "Walk away with just a resignation? Not a chance. Have a drink with me first, or there's nothing to talk about."

"You—"

Daleyza leaned closer, her whisper low but sharp. "Just go along with it. I've got your back. If you get a little tipsy, I'll drag you out of here myself. We'll keep him in check. If you blow this deal, it's not just you who suffers—your whole team of six goes down with you. This isn't school. The real world doesn't play fair."

Morgan's fists clenched as she absorbed Daleyza's words. "You promise you won't leave me?"

"I swear."

With that promise, Morgan agreed to the drink.

Her tolerance was pathetic. After a few strong ones, she was already unsteady on her feet.

"Are we done now?"

"Sure, sure," Jones replied with a greasy grin, his hand already sliding up her thigh.

Heart racing, Morgan shifted closer to Daleyza—but instead of shelter, she was pushed right back into Jones's reach.

"Daleyza…" Morgan's voice cracked, a raw mix of betrayal and desperation as clarity cut through the haze.

Daleyza's face flickered with guilt. "Don't blame me. Jones offered me four grand. If this deal closes, there's another four grand bonus. I need it for my son's tutoring. Blame yourself for not being savvy enough and dragging us all down!"

And with that, Daleyza turned and walked out.

Morgan felt like a monster was dragging her into an abyss.

Jones let out a twisted laugh as he pinned her beneath him.

In a sudden flash of clarity, Morgan's hand found a wine bottle on the coffee table.

She froze for a split second, Magnus Moore's words echoing in her mind: "Remember—no matter what, never hurt yourself."

Steeling herself, she smashed the bottle over Jones's head.

He howled in pain, rolling on the floor, and Morgan seized her chance to bolt.

"Help—"

She'd barely opened the door and cried out when Jones lunged after her, yanking her back inside.

The door slammed shut.

At that same moment, in a nearby elevator, Magnus felt an inexplicable jolt, almost as if he'd heard a familiar voice—one that reminded him of his new bride.

"Something bothering you?" Dariel Freeman asked, catching his distraction.

"Nothing. Must've imagined it."

Why would she be here?

The elevator stopped on that floor. The doors were almost closed.

Inside the room, Jones wiped the blood from his forehead, seething. He lashed out with a couple of brutal kicks.

"You stupid woman! I came after you with respect, and you humiliated me for that worthless security guard. Now you're going to submit to me!"

He started ripping at her clothes.

Gasping, fading, Morgan clawed at her clothing, desperate.

Enraged, Jones slapped her so hard her cheek felt like it had caught fire. Her mind started sinking into blackness.

Who could save her now?

As consciousness slipped, she had the sensation of being yanked into a bottomless pit.

She blacked out. Jones eagerly tore her clothes, exposing her shoulder.

Just as he leaned in for a kiss, the door exploded inward from a powerful kick.

"Who the hell—"

Furious, Jones spun around—and froze when he saw Magnus.

"You low-rent security guard, do you even know where you are? Know who I am? You're nothing but a broke-ass guard. You can't touch me!"

Jones scrambled up, jabbing a finger at Magnus.

"Your wife came to me because you're a loser. What can you give her—"

Before he could finish, Magnus kicked him so hard Jones flew backward, slamming into the wall and sliding down in agony.

It felt like his guts had rearranged themselves, ribs cracking.

He opened his mouth to scream but only spat blood.

"Need a hand, bro?" Dariel called, poking his head in after the commotion.

"Don't look!" Magnus barked, quickly draping his jacket over Morgan.

Dariel pulled back, smart enough not to push.

"You're done. You've made a huge mistake. You hit me. I'll sue everything you've got—" Jones boasted from the floor.

He had connections. He could destroy a nobody guard.

Magnus, fed up with the bluster, narrowed his eyes.

He strolled over. Jones tried to rise but was slammed down by a heavy foot on his back.

One relentless stomp.

As the elevator doors had nearly closed, Magnus felt a sudden, fierce urgency—acting on pure instinct, he jammed his hand between the doors and sprinted out.

The sound he'd heard had come from the room by the elevator.

Following his gut, he found Morgan's room. The sight ignited a cold rage.

His fury surged—a burning need to make Jones pay.

"You're begging for it…"

Jones tried to scream for help. "Help! Someone call the cops—"

"Which hand did you touch her with?" came an icy, deadly voice from above.

Jones was petrified, pleading.

But no one came.

The door was wide open, yet nobody dared step in to save him.

Magnus ran out of patience.

"Was it this one?" He stomped on Jones's left hand until it was mangled, flesh and blood mingling in a gruesome mess.

Jones could only shriek.

"Must be this one, then." Magnus crushed the right hand until Jones finally passed out from the agony.

Magnus's gaze was Arctic cold. This filth had dared to touch his wife?

Before, when Morgan was in danger, he'd held back. He wouldn't have intervened after their divorce. But now? She was his lawful wife.

Magnus was the type to fiercely protect his own.

Willa Perez approached him, tears streaming.

"Uncle Magnus, did Morgan tell you something? If it was really me, why couldn't you find any proof? Morgan would do anything to lock down her position—even lie about me. Uncle, you raised me. You'd trust her over your own?"

Her eyes brimmed with despair.

To an outsider, it looked like Magnus only listened to his wife. Willa seemed the picture of innocence.

Magnus just stared at her, cold and level.

How had the child he'd raised turned into this?

A master manipulator, lying through her teeth without a flinch. Devious and dark.

He'd only ever taught her good values. He'd loved her with everything he had, even though she was just his adopted niece.

Now Willa made him feel gutted, questioning his own parenting.

Would he be a terrible father to Morgan and their future child?

Magnus, a man who'd never known failure, had royally screwed up with Willa.

His mood darkened. Slowly, he wrapped his hand around Willa's throat and squeezed.

She gasped, terror flooding her at the fury in Magnus's eyes.

"U-uncle…"

Dakota Miller jumped. "Sir!"

"I know what I'm doing. It makes me sick. The child I raised turned into a lying schemer. Willa, how did you manipulate Clementine Silva? How'd you use Celeste Williamson to ruin Morgan's face? Even when I was overseas, lying half-dead from injuries, you tormented her for over a week."

"The day your biological parents found you, the next day you started plotting their downfall."

"Willa, you remember nothing of the Perez family's kindness. You only remember who pissed you off, who blocked your path. You'd throw everything away for your own gain. A person like that has no place in the Perez family. Go back to the family you were born to. From today on, you have no ties to us."

Magnus released her, letting her crumple to the floor, pale as a corpse.

He was cutting ties.

She was being thrown out of the Perez family?

No. She'd put up with the Tanners just to secure her spot. She'd endured so much without a single complaint, and now Uncle was casting her aside?

"Uncle… without the Perez family, how am I supposed to survive? The Tanners will destroy me."

"Isn't that exactly what you do to others, hiding behind the Perez name?"

"Uncle… Willa knows she messed up. Uncle, please, give me one more shot. I swear I'll be good. Please, Uncle, don't abandon me…"

Willa sobbed, ugly and desperate.

Magnus sneered. Was she sorry because she truly understood what she'd done wrong?

No. She was just terrified of losing her cushioned life, blind to how serious her sins were.

"Dakota, put out a statement from the Perez Group's PR account. Announce that Willa's biological parents have come for her, and I, moved by their sincerity, have agreed. From now on, Willa is no longer the adopted daughter of the Perez family. We've done our duty by raising her over twenty years. Her path is her own now."

"Also, Willa's actions are her own and have nothing to do with the Perez family. She'll settle her own debts."

It hit Willa—Uncle knew all her recent dirty deeds.

She was drowning in debt, owing a hundred thousand dollars.

Without the Perez family backing her, there was no way she could ever pay it back.

"You're signing my death warrant, Uncle!"

"Did you show any mercy when you went after Morgan's life?"

"Uncle…"

"Don't call me uncle. You make me sick. Dakota, get her out."

Magnus walked away, deaf to Willa's pleading.

Dakota was tasked with escorting her out.

Willa fought like a wildcat. "Don't touch me! Uncle is just mad. He'll forgive me…"

"Don't touch me! Touch me again and you'll regret it. I'm a lady of the Perez family."

Dakota chuckled dryly. "Escort her out."

He dropped the act and ordered security to toss her out.

In full view of everyone, Willa was physically removed, the whispers buzzing all around.

Dakota moved fast, firing off the statement from the Perez Group's account.

Comments flooded in immediately.

The cut was clean—a total ejection, not some touching reunion with her parents.

Willa found herself dumped at the gate, humiliated beyond belief.

Her face burned with shame; she felt like all her blood had rushed to her head.

Frantically, she brushed herself off, smoothing her precious Chanel dress.

As she straightened up, she spotted Morgan getting out of a car, carrying a coffee thermos into the Perez building.

Morgan glanced at her with utter indifference and kept walking.

"Morgan, stop right there."

Willa, who'd been planning to slink away, was suddenly seething. That woman had ruined everything.

Willa lunged, aiming to grab Morgan by the hair and land a stinging slap—but she couldn't even graze Morgan's clothes before security blocked her.

Morgan paused, looking back without a flicker of emotion.

"Did you need something?"

"You poisoned my uncle's ears with your lies. Now you've gotten your way, but you'll regret it. Even with me gone, your problems aren't over. You came from nothing. Even as Mrs. Moore, you'll always feel insecure, always looking over your shoulder. There are plenty of women chasing your husband. The distrust will eat you alive until it destroys your marriage."

Morgan laughed, completely unruffled.

Willa's last-ditch effort to rattle her with empty threats was laughable.

Morgan wouldn't question Magnus. If anything ever felt off, she'd walk away with her head high.

She wouldn't be the one to break.

"Anything else? If not, I'm heading in."

Morgan turned to leave, but Willa called after her.

"Please… just let me keep a way out. I really do regret what I did. Uncle listens to you more than anyone. Can't you persuade him not to kick me out of the Perez family?"

Desperate to hold onto her luxe life, Willa bowed to the person she hated most.

But she believed that given a chance to rise again, she'd crush Morgan without a second thought.