Jayden drove out of the restaurant with anger burning through her chest.
Her hands tightened around the steering wheel as countless thoughts crashed violently in her head. She wanted to scream. To rant. To throw every frustration she had bottled up for years at someone.
But she couldn't.
Because the people hurting her were her parents.
And no matter how strongly she resisted, they always seemed to have a hundred different ways of bending her back to their will.
The helplessness of it all finally became too much.
The moment she stopped at a quiet roadside, Jayden broke down completely.
Tears blurred her vision as she cried uncontrollably inside the car, years of pressure and frustration pouring out at once. By the time she resumed driving, her eyes were still hazy with tears, and she could barely focus properly on the road ahead.
If not for pure luck, she probably would have ended up in a hospital that night.
Still…
There was only one place she could go.
Her parents' house.
As exhausting as it felt to keep pleading her case, Jayden knew she had no other option. If she stayed silent now, they would finalize everything behind her back before she even had the chance to breathe.
And more than anything
She needed answers.
Especially from her mother.
Why had she suddenly changed sides?
Why abandon the agreement they once had?
The thought alone brought fresh tears to Jayden's eyes.
She loved her parents deeply. She knew their worries came from concern, especially her father's obsession with seeing her married before thirty.
But didn't they understand that she wanted love too?
She wanted a happy marriage.
A peaceful home.
Someone who would genuinely love her for who she was and not because two families decided it was convenient.
Someone she could build dreams with.
Raise children with.
Grow old beside.
She wanted all of it.
So why was everyone acting as though she was the enemy?
Jayden's breathing gradually became uneven as old memories clawed their way back into her chest.
Could she truly erase the past so easily?
Could she really open herself up again after everything?
The thought alone made her heart pound painfully fast.
Her chest tightened.
Her fingers trembled slightly against the steering wheel as panic slowly crept through her body.
She pressed the back of her hand against her neck before placing the other over her racing heart.
It felt difficult to breathe.
Thankfully, her parents' mansion came into view before the panic could worsen.
Jayden parked the car hurriedly and sat still for a moment, trying to regain herself. After cleaning the traces of tears from her face and retouching her makeup slightly, she stepped out and handed the keys to the butler.
"I'll park it properly, miss," he said respectfully.
Jayden only nodded weakly before walking toward the house.
The moment she entered the living room, her steps slowed.
Her parents were seated there.
Alongside Hayden.
The atmosphere felt unusually heavy.
Jayden immediately understood.
They already knew about the dinner.
Suppressing the bitterness rising inside her, she tightened her grip on her handbag and attempted to walk past them without saying a word.
"Stay right there!"
Mr. Cole's voice thundered across the room.
Jayden stopped.
Slowly, she turned back.
Her father's face was already dark with anger.
"Do you even understand the embarrassment you caused tonight?" he demanded sharply. "You're a daughter of the Cole family, my daughter! and yet you behaved so disgracefully during a simple meeting!"
Jayden remained silent.
Even Hayden was subtly signaling her to keep quiet.
"If you weren't interested," Mr. Cole continued furiously, "couldn't you at least pretend? Must you oppose everything?"
Still, Jayden said nothing.
She only stared back at him with a dark, exhausted expression.
Beside him, Mrs. Cole looked deeply worried, but as usual, she remained silent.
Neutral.
Detached.
And somehow, that silence hurt Jayden more than her father's anger.
The room fell into a tense quiet when Mr. Cole suddenly spoke again.
This time, his tone was calmer.
Which made the words even worse.
"Anyway," he said coldly, "there's no point dragging this further."
Jayden's stomach tightened instinctively.
"You have exactly two weeks to prepare for your wedding."
Her eyes widened instantly.
"And don't even think about trying any tricks," he added firmly. "From now on, my eyes will be on you at all times."
The words hit Jayden like ice water.
Two weeks?
Before she could even recover from the shock, Mr. Cole had already turned and walked away, leaving behind a suffocating silence
And a completely shattered Jayden.