Forced Marriage: My Wife, My Redemption by Lilyheart

Chapter 282: It is your fate...

After dinner, Lady Matilda motioned for everyone to remain seated. The clinking of cutlery ceased, and murmured conversations died down.

"Before we disperse," she began with commanding calmness, "I believe it is time Jessica is properly introduced to the family. She should understand the Santiago family tree."

What followed was a deliberate rundown of names and relations. Uncles, aunts, cousins—everyone took their turn, and Lady Matilda clarified the bloodlines as though each connection carried weight.

Jessica listened attentively. Her mind filtered through the names and titles, but it was one revelation that struck her most.

Lady Matilda had only two children—her mother, Nora, and a younger son, Donald. Jessica’s heart skipped. Her mother had been the eldest. The firstborn.

So that was it.

The secret tension in the air. The barely concealed hostility. It all made sense now.

Her presence had disrupted more than routines—it had threatened the silent ambitions that had festered in this house for years. Her arrival had shaken old plots from their slumber and forced hidden motives into motion.

She cast a quick glance around the table. Her eyes lingered on each face. Some wore false warmth, their smiles too tight, their eyes too shifty. Others barely concealed their disdain. A few—just a handful—looked sincere, though even their sincerity felt cautious.

Donald, her uncle, looked strangely alone despite being surrounded by his own blood. A sheep among wolves, she thought. No wonder Lady Matilda had retained control even at her age—there was no one else strong enough to hold the house together.

Subtly, Jessica reached for her phone under the table and typed out a message to Ethan.

"I need a clear report on the following people. Immediately."

She listed the names she sensed were more than they seemed. There was no room for naïveté. Not here.

As she hit ’send’, Lady Matilda’s voice rose again, steady and resolute.

"I’ve been growing tired lately," she said, her tone unflinching, "and Donald alone cannot handle the affairs of the Santiagos. So after much thought, I’ve come to a conclusion—Jessica, being a Santiago, will step up as Vice President to support her uncle."

that

She turned to Lady Matilda in disbelief, her heart thudding painfully

this. Feared the weight those exact words

look of pure venom. Their stare locked like swords clashing mid-air. Cassandra’s chest heaved

to Lady Matilda and forced her voice calm. "I don’t think I can handle this right now. Maybe we should

head. "You don’t

being unfair?" Cassandra broke

raised

Jessica, a stranger to their inner circle, was placed

Jessica is a Santiago—by blood. And the position she’s taking rightfully belonged to her mother. Nora was my firstborn. Had she been here, she would be the one standing by my side. Jessica is simply

wave of silence swept over the table. No one dared challenge her further, but discomfort hung

"Soon, there will be an official welcoming banquet. And with it,

of muffled gasps

A banquet? When had she agreed

at Lady Matilda and she saw the exhaustion

excuse me. I’ll take my leave for the

stares that burned into her back.

Jessica, laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. "She definitely wants to

back at him, her voice low. "Aren’t you upset about what she

thinking about?" he asked, flicking

gesture triggered a

mother had it as a hobby to flick her forehead and the night before she died was the last time she had

resisted accepting her mother’s necklace, and Nora had flicked her forehead with the same words—"What

mind: "When the time comes, it

strange warmth stirred

at business than me. You stepping up... it lets me

His smile was genuine—relieved.