Chapter 3

Summer's POV

"Fiancée?!"

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.

The reporters stared at each other, completely frozen, forgetting to even click their shutters.

Inside the Maybach, Ethan kicked his door open and marched over, his face twisted in rage. "Adrian! What kind of nonsense is this? Who does Summer think she is to be your fiancée?"

Adrian gave him a cold, dismissive glance. "Watch your mouth, Ethan. From now on, you will address her with respect."

Ethan looked like he had been struck by lightning. He glared at me, his teeth clenched so hard I could hear them grinding. "Summer! Just to get back at me, you slept your way to my uncle? You really are a shameless bitch!"

SLAP!

I swung my hand and slapped Ethan across the face with everything I had.

The sharp crack echoed loudly in the quiet morning air.

"Ethan, watch your dirty mouth," I said, my voice empty of any warmth. "Who I marry is none of your business. From now on, stay the hell away from me."

Without waiting, I opened the door of the Rolls-Royce and slid into the leather seat.

Adrian shot Ethan one last look, a look filled with deadly warning and absolute contempt.

Then, he got in beside me.

The Rolls-Royce glided away, leaving Ethan standing on the curb, clutching his burning cheek, his eyes dark with fury.

Inside the car, the air pressure was suffocatingly low.

I handed the suit jacket back to Adrian. "Thank you."

Adrian didn't take it. He kept his eyes on the road. "Since you are my fiancée now, start acting like my wife. Next time someone disrespects you like that, hit them harder. I'll handle the fallout."

I blinked, momentarily stunned.

In my past life, Ethan would always say: "Summer, can't you be more mature? Chloe is fragile. Why do you always have to make things hard for her?"

But Adrian told me to hit them harder.

"What? Touched?" Adrian turned his head, a faint, mocking smile playing on his lips.

"No," I replied, looking out the window. "I just think your customer service is quite impressive, Mr. Mercer."

At City Hall.

The clerk handed us our marriage certificate. Looking at our names printed together, a wave of disbelief washed over me.

I was officially married to Adrian Mercer.

"Mrs. Mercer, pleasure doing business with you," Adrian said, holding out his hand.

I shook it. "Likewise."

The moment we walked out of City Hall, my phone vibrated violently.

It was my vice president. His voice was frantic. "Summer, we're in deep trouble! Our core AI project data has been leaked! The investors are pulling out, and our bank accounts have just been frozen!"

My heart sank.

That project was Sterling Tech's entire future. If it failed, the company would go under.

"I got it. I'm on my way."

I hung up, my expression turning to ice.

I didn't even need to think about who did this. It was Ethan.

He wanted to break me until I crawled back to him.

"What's wrong?" Adrian noticed my shift.

"Just a minor setback. I can handle it." I didn't want to start our marriage by begging him for favors.

Adrian didn't press. He just looked at the driver. "Drive to Sterling Tech."

When we arrived, I got out of the car and walked into the lobby, only to find Chloe Vance standing there, surrounded by my senior executives.

She wore a delicate white dress, looking like an innocent angel, but the smug triumph in her eyes was unmistakable.

"Summer," Chloe called out, walking toward me with a pitying smile. "Ethan said that if you just apologize, admit your mistakes, and merge Sterling Tech into the Mercer Group, he might consider letting you off the hook."