She Rejected The Heir. I Married Him. Chapter 06
Powerful guests lowered their heads in greeting as he passed.
“Mr. Voss.”
“Mr. Voss.”
He acknowledged them with a slight nod, his gaze cutting through the crowd and settling on me.
As everyone watched in disbelief, he walked straight to me, stopped, and held out his hand.
“Have you been waiting long?”
His low voice carried the faintest warmth.
I looked at his hand, then placed mine in it.
“No.”
Holding my hand, he turned to face Adrian and Sienna. Both had gone pale.
“Mr. Ashford.”
Cassian sounded indifferent.
“Did I hear you say I intended to give my wife to another man?”
Cold sweat beaded on Adrian’s forehead.
His lips moved, but no sound came out.
“A misunderstanding… Mr. Voss, this is all a misunderstanding.”
Sienna staggered back two steps, nearly turning her ankle in her heels.
“That’s impossible. How could you be…”
“How could I be what?”
Cassian looked at her.
“I was supposed to be worthless. Not good enough for a society darling like you?”
“The Carlisles have excellent judgment. They sent me a remarkable wife.”
His grip tightened around my hand.
“Orion won’t merely suspend every Ashford Design Group project.”
“Starting tomorrow, Voss Capital will terminate every contract with either company that presents a conflict of interest or a compliance risk.”
“What other banks, investors, and boards make of your behavior tonight is their decision.”
In Greyhaven’s business world, that was a death sentence for both families.
Adrian looked as if he’d been struck.
“You can’t do this, Cassian Voss! You’re using company business to settle a personal score!”
“And?”
Cassian looked down at him.
“Someone has to make you answer for what you did to my wife.”
“Security.”
His voice remained quiet.
“Show these two out.”
Several broad-shouldered guards approached immediately.
Under the eyes of the city’s elite, Adrian and Sienna were escorted out without ceremony.
Her shrill sobs carried through the doors.
Silence returned to the room.
Cassian led me to the head table.
That night, I became the most envied woman in Greyhaven.
By the following day, the city’s private clubs were buzzing.
The news that Cassian had hidden his power was everywhere.
But another story spread with it.
“You really think Mira’s made it?”
“I heard she’s just a stand-in.”
“Cassian’s only using her to keep his grandfather off his back.”
“She had sticky fingers when she lived with the Ashfords, too. And she chased anything in pants.”
“Once he gets bored, he’ll throw her out.”
Sienna was flooding every group chat she could find with those rumors.
Desperation had made her reckless.
She couldn’t accept that the hell she’d shoved me into had turned out to be a gold mine.
I was pruning roses in the garden when the estate manager brought me screenshots.
“Would you like us to deal with this, ma’am?”
The question was cautious.
“No.”
I clipped a red rose in full bloom.
“Let her keep going. The higher she climbs, the harder she’ll fall.”
That afternoon, I went to a downtown café to meet a former client.
I’d barely sat down when someone took the seat across from me.
Adrian.
He looked exhausted. His eyes were bloodshot, and his suit was wrinkled.
His old, superior composure was gone.
“Satisfied now, Mira?” he asked hoarsely.
I took a sip of coffee.
“What are you talking about?”
“The Ashfords are out of cash.”
His jaw tightened.
“The banks are cutting our credit and calling in loans. Our partners are pulling their investments.”
“One word from Cassian, and eight years of my work is gone.”
“And?”
I set down my cup.
“You came here to ask me to beg for you?”
He searched my face for pity.
“Eight years together, Mira. Is that worth less than a few days of Cassian Voss’s charity?”
Coming from him, it was almost laughable.
“Eight years.”
I held his gaze.
“Have you forgotten what you did with those years, Adrian?”
“You used my career to clear a path for Sienna.”
“You trampled my dignity and tried to make me take responsibility for her negligence.”
“You took everything I gave you, then handed me over without hesitation to a man you thought was a useless disaster.”
He grew paler with every word.
“I didn’t…”
He tried to defend himself.
“I knew the Voss family was a nightmare, but you were always reasonable. I thought you could handle it…”
“You’re right. I’m reasonable.”
I cut him off.
“That’s why I’m sitting here as Mrs. Voss, watching you all go under.”
He sprang to his feet, knocking over the water glass.
Water spilled across the floor.
“You’ve changed, Mira! You never used to be like this!”
“You were never this heartless!”
He was almost shouting.
“I haven’t changed.”
I took a napkin and slowly wiped the water from the back of my hand.
“You never knew me.”
“Go home. Cassian knows about Sienna’s rumors.”
“Both your families should get ready for what’s coming next.”
I stood and picked up my bag without looking at him again.
At the door, he rushed after me and grabbed my wrist.
“Tell me the truth, Mira.”
His bloodshot eyes held an almost obsessive desperation.
“Did you already know who Cassian Voss really was?”
“Did you set me up just to make a fool of me?”
I pulled free and looked at the wreck of a man who couldn’t bear to lose.
“You give yourself far too much credit, Adrian.”
“You’re not even worth laughing at.”