Chapter 6

"Maddy?"

Carter was the first to react. He stared at me, then at Dominic, his brow furrowing deeply.

"What are you doing here? And who is this...?"

Chloe's face went completely pale the moment she recognized Dominic.

She clutched Carter's arm, her voice trembling. "Carter... that's Dominic Blackwood, the CEO of the Blackwood Group..."

Carter's pupils shrank.

Dominic Blackwood's name was feared throughout the entire business world.

He instinctively pulled Chloe behind him, looking at Dominic with guard.

Dominic, however, didn't even spare them a glance.

He just kept his head down, focusing on the ring on my finger, then raised my hand to his lips, kissing it gently.

"Do you like it, Mrs. Blackwood?"

The words "Mrs. Blackwood" echoed clearly through the quiet boutique.

Carter's face turned green.

"Mrs. Blackwood? Madelyn, what the hell does this mean?! Did you do this just to get back at me...?"

Feeling insulted, he took a step forward to grab my wrist.

"Are our years of history that cheap to you? You just threw yourself at some random man—"

He didn't finish.

Dominic effortlessly caught his wrist mid-air.

It looked like a casual block, but Carter's face twisted in agony.

"Mr. Vance," Dominic's voice dropped, carrying a suffocating pressure. "Watch your mouth and your place."

"She is my wife now. You don't get to touch her."

With a slight twist, Carter let out a painful groan and was forced to back off.

Looking at Carter's shocked and humiliated face, a wave of satisfaction washed over me.

I wrapped my arm around Dominic's, smiling brightly at them.

"Carter, Chloe, I forgot to introduce you."

"This is my husband, Dominic Blackwood."

I flashed my ring, the massive diamond catching the light, blinding Chloe.

"We just got married and came to pick out rings. What about you two? Are you shopping for rings, too?"

Chloe's lips trembled, but she couldn't say a word.

She never could have dreamed that after being discarded by Carter, I would immediately marry Dominic Blackwood—a man a hundred times more powerful than Carter.

The fiancé she had schemed so hard to steal was nothing compared to Dominic.

Carter's expression was incredibly ugly.

He stared at me, his eyes filled with disbelief and a trace of... regret he didn't even notice.

"Madelyn, you're crazy! Do you know who he is? Marrying him will ruin you!"

"My life is none of your business, Mr. Vance," Dominic said, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me close, looking down at him coldly. "You should worry about yourself."

"I heard the Vances are bidding on the Southside development project? What a coincidence. I want it too."

With that single sentence, all the color drained from Carter's face.