The Widow’s Fate They Chose Was My Escape Plan Chapter 04
“Security, take Lena to her room and stand guard. She is not to leave without my permission!”
For a moment, my head swam.
I instinctively stepped forward to argue, but Adrian shoved me hard.
“Ah!” I crashed to the ground, scraping my hands raw on the rough flagstones. Adrian flinched, as if to help me, but then Ivy said, “Adrian, aren’t we going to the bridal shop today? I still haven’t chosen my dress.”
“That was my oversight. Don’t worry. If there isn’t time, she can just wear Lena’s.”
“Her wedding is only a formality to fulfill an agreement.”
The household security staff locked my arms behind me. All I could do was watch as Adrian took Ivy’s hand and walked away.
The next day, they took my wedding dress.
My mother had started collecting the finest fabrics for it the day I was born, stitching it by hand over the years. Two decades later, it was still pristine.
She had twisted the gold thread for the embellishments herself, embroidering intertwined flowering branches into the silk. She had even used her own bridal jewelry to create a matching set for me.
My father had laughed, telling her she was preparing far too early. My mother had only smiled. “My mother prepared my wedding dress from the day I was born. Marriage is one of life’s great events. I won’t let my daughter make do.”
But now, the three brothers who had once adored me had taken everything and given it all to Ivy.
By some cruel twist of fate, the wedding date the Quinns chose was the same day Hayden was marrying Ivy.
On the day of the weddings, three stylists fussed over Ivy, while I sat alone to one side.
I drew on my own brows in the mirror, applied my lipstick, and pinned my hair into a simple style.
The wedding had been arranged in a rush. After giving my handmade gown and jewelry to Ivy, Adrian had bought me a cheap replacement.
The dress was poorly made, its color dull.
“It’s just a formality. This will do.”
“Don’t worry. Ivy is careful. She’ll only borrow your dress this one time. When you get married again someday, you can still wear it.”
So even my wedding dress would come to me secondhand.
“I don’t want it anymore.”
And I don’t want any of you, either.
Astonishment crossed Adrian’s face before he snapped, “Fine! Do you think we’d beg you to take it?”
He turned and walked away. Even from a distance, I could hear him talking to Julian and Ethan.
“We’ve spoiled her. Still throwing a tantrum on her wedding day.”
“I hear things are unstable at the Quinn family, too. Maybe she needs to suffer a little. Then she’ll understand how good she had it with us.”
“I was going to transfer five assets from the family accounts to her, but clearly she hasn’t learned her lesson. Forget it—give them all to Ivy. Sebastian will die eventually, and she’ll end up back with Hayden anyway. Better not to transfer the assets twice…”
Their figures disappeared into the distance. Slowly, I put on the cheap wedding dress.
They say a bride should leave her home with a close relative by her side, so she doesn’t begin her new life alone. But my family had all gone with Ivy. Only Mia, my personal maid, was with me, her eyes red with worry.
Gritting her teeth, she suddenly bent down in front of me. “Lena, your hands are hurt. I’ll carry you.”
Looking at her slight frame, I gently shook my head.
“It’s okay, Mia. We’ll walk out on our own.”
People say life is short, but why had mine been nothing but suffering since I was five?
I didn’t believe in fate. I didn’t believe leaving the Sterling family meant walking into endless misery.
I placed the signed settlement agreement in a document box and left it on the table. Then I walked slowly out of the room.
The Sterling family convoy had already left with Ivy. The townhouse was quiet, with only a few patrons from nearby shops lingering on the street.
Holding my hand, Mia walked with me to the old rental sedan waiting at the curb.
There was no wedding coordinator, just a driver and an attendant who regarded me with cold silence.
Passersby looked on, confused.
“Didn’t the Sterling bride already leave? Who’s this?”
“I heard she’s marrying the sick Quinn heir. Must be the adopted one. They raised her all these years; it’s time she repaid them.”
The owner of the nearby café frowned. “That’s odd. I heard the one who just left was the adopted daughter.”
“No way. Who would push their own sister onto a dying man? And look at the difference. The first procession had ten SUVs and hundreds of gift boxes. This one? A beat-up rental. Even a normal wedding wouldn’t be this shabby.”
“Still, she’s only the adopted daughter. The Sterlings did more than enough just by raising her.”
They laughed and chatted among themselves.
A cold gust of wind stirred the curtain in the car’s half-open window, lifting my veil. I turned my head, and my eyes caught the brass plaque by the door: *Sterling Residence*.
Memories rushed over me. The car swayed. In that dazed moment, I thought I saw my parents standing by the door, waving goodbye.
Then the veil fell, and the car drove on.
From this moment on, I had nothing more to do with the Sterling family.
…
After seeing Ivy off, the three Sterling brothers finally returned to the townhouse.
The house felt empty. Adrian instinctively stopped one of the housekeepers.
“Where’s Lena?”
“Miss Lena already left with Mia for the Quinn wedding. The vows are probably over by now.”
All three men froze.
They had planned to return after seeing Ivy off and then take Lena to her own wedding, but they had spent too long giving Hayden last-minute advice and had lost track of time.
After a long moment, Julian finally said, “Lena’s been wronged.”
“When she comes back for dinner in three days, we’ll throw a banquet for her. We’ll make it up to her.”
On the agreed-upon day, Hayden returned early with Ivy. Seeing the three brothers waiting at the door, he exchanged a few pleasantries before asking, “Lena isn’t back yet?”
“Not yet. The Quinn family’s procedures are probably more complicated than we thought. I’ve already sent someone to check.”
Adrian answered with a smile, holding Lena’s favorite cake. He had lined up for it that morning outside a bakery in SoHo.
Hayden paused, then smiled. “I’ll wait with you.”
They waited from daylight until dark. Unease curdled into irritation. Ethan paced back and forth.
“Are the Quinns keeping her from coming back? Or is Lena throwing another tantrum, putting on airs?”
“That girl—when she gets back, I’m going to teach her a lesson…”
“Mr. Sterling! Mr. Sterling!”
The assistant they had sent for news came running back, alone.
The men straightened, their faces breaking into warm smiles. But the moment they saw he was by himself, their smiles vanished.
Adrian’s heart sank. He strode over and grabbed the assistant’s arm. “Where’s Lena? Why are you the only one back?”
The assistant was breathless. “Mr. Sterling! I just found out—the day after the wedding, the entire Quinn family left New York. They moved the executive office and core operations of Quinn Industries to Miami. They said they’re never coming back. And…”
“There’s an old family rule whispered about… if a husband dies without an heir, the wife is forced to die with him. Some say past deaths may have even been disguised as accidents…”