My General Mother Ruined Me For My Cousin—Then Regretted It Too Late Chapter 01
My mother, General Victoria Sinclair, is the most prestigious female general. She despises injustice above all else.
That is why she has always treated Sienna better than me.
Whether it is a diamond necklace or the latest couture gown—everything goes to Sienna. I get one sentence: “She has grace. She deserves nice things. You are coarse. You would only embarrass yourself.”
Until tonight.
The Caldwell family proposed that Adrian Caldwell and I become engaged.
Adrian is the sole heir to the most powerful political dynasty on the Eastern Seaboard. I am my mother’s only biological daughter. Everyone in that ballroom expected her to accept.
Instead, she humiliated me in front of three hundred guests.
“Absolutely not. Mia is jealous, ill-mannered, and entirely without talent. She is not worthy of Adrian Caldwell.”
I fled to the lounge to hide, only to hear my mother say to her adjutant outside the door:
“So Mia has feelings for Adrian. If she marries into the Caldwell family, everyone will say I showed favoritism toward my biological daughter. What happens to Sienna then?”
“I am protecting Mia from a marriage that does not suit her—and I am protecting Sienna. That is the most just outcome.”
My mother has protected her country. Protected her soldiers. Protected countless strangers.
She is a hero to everyone.
But she has never been mine.
So be it. I will leave with the person who actually chooses me.
And our relationship as mother and daughter—that ends tonight.
Forever.
……
When I returned to the ballroom, Margaret Caldwell had not yet given her final answer.
My mother continued, “Mia is too competitive. Too petty. She would only bring shame to Adrian’s name.”
” Victoria. Enough.”
The interruption came from Helena Blackwood. The Blackwood family is one of the most influential houses in Washington’s military and political circles.
“Mia is nothing like you are describing. You know perfectly well that she—”
“Helena.” My mother cut her off. “She is my daughter. I know exactly who she is.”
She drew Sienna to her side, her eyes brimming with a tenderness I had never seen before.
“My niece Sienna is well-mannered and composed. She knows to put family before herself. She and Adrian are a wonderful match.”
“I have already instructed my attorneys to prepare the papers to adopt Sienna. In every way that matters, she will be my daughter.”
“She is far better suited than Mia.”
Her voice was not loud, but it was enough to tear away the last shred of dignity I had left.
My head snapped up and I stared at her back.
She was not humiliating me to protect me. She was doing it to make room for Sienna.
She wanted Sienna to become her daughter—to stand in my place, take my resources, my engagement, everything that should have been mine.
And me, her biological daughter? I would get nothing but the reputation she had just destroyed, turned into a laughingstock in every drawing room from Georgetown to McLean.
The murmuring around the room swelled.
“So the rumors are true. General Sinclair favors her niece.”
“If her own mother speaks of her that way, how terrible must the girl be?”
Margaret Caldwell frowned. She was silent for a long moment. Then she nodded.
” Given that General Sinclair intends to take Sienna in as her own, she may also be considered a daughter of the Hart family. The Caldwell family will consider her engagement to Adrian.”
Sienna pressed down the triumph flickering in her eyes. She lowered her head demurely. “Thank you for this opportunity, Mrs. Caldwell.”
“As for Mia—” Margaret’s gaze shifted to me. “Nathan has been working closely with Adrian. He is also unattached. If Mia marries Nathan, the Hart-Caldwell alliance remains intact.”
Every eye in the room turned toward me, full of pity and barely concealed amusement.
Nathan Caldwell.
Everyone knew exactly who he was. Adrian’s cousin.
A name synonymous with late-night club scandals, women, car accidents, and a trail of messes the Caldwell PR machine had buried under mountains of settlement money.
Sienna got the heir to a political dynasty.
Because of my mother’s public evisceration of my character, I was being offered the man who had nothing left but the Caldwell surname.
Helena Blackwood stood up abruptly. “Margaret. Who Mia marries should be her own decision.”
I rose to my feet. I looked directly at Margaret Caldwell and said, “Thank you for your consideration, Mrs. Caldwell, but I will not marry Nathan Caldwell.”