Chapter 2 I'd Be Put Off Too

The next morning, Faye was dressed in a white shirt and a pair of jeans. Her long, sleek hair had been tied into a casual ponytail.

She glanced at the pair of black-rimmed glasses she'd had with her for the past few years. Then, she tossed them into the trash can.

They were a gift from Anthon before she went abroad to study three years ago. He'd said he liked the gentle and quiet persona she gave off whenever she wore them.

She hailed a cab and made a stop at her family home. As soon as she entered, she was met with the sight of Tracy and Anthon sitting in the living room. They were holding hands and discussing the matter of their engagement with her parents.

Anthon gave her an odd look when he noticed her with her luggage. Tracy, on the other hand, got up and welcomed Faye with a smile.

"Faye, you're back. Didn't you say you'd be back last night? Why have you only returned now?" Tracy asked.

Faye gave her a contemptuous look. "Don't you already know?"

"I have no idea what you mean," Tracy replied, blinking aggrievedly.

Faye scoffed, "Keep up the act."

She had purposely gone to the hotel yesterday to investigate. That was how she learned that Tracy had been in contact with Anthon's old classmate.

However, someone had tampered with the surveillance footage, so she couldn't retrieve it.

Even so, this was enough to prove Tracy's involvement.

"Since you're back, Faye, we need to talk to you about something." Faye's stepmother, Lizzie Fletcher, got up with a smile. She then turned to look at Clint Brown, who was seated beside her.

Clint cleared his throat and looked at Faye in displeasure. "Didn't you hear Lizzie speaking to you? Why aren't you coming over?"

Faye took two steps forward. She did not understand what her father meant by that.

She couldn't grasp why her loving father had changed so dramatically. He used to dote on her before her mother's illness. It seemed like everything had changed ever since her stepmother entered their lives.

Despite that, she still held a little hope that her father would uphold justice on her behalf.

Clint's expression was sullen. "You've already seen it for yourself. Anthon and your older sister had gotten together a year ago and are now preparing to get engaged," he informed her.

"You've been abroad for so long, and you're not a child anymore. Lizzie and I have arranged a marriage for you. Make yourself presentable and follow me to the Shaw household to meet their son," he continued.

"And which son might that be?"

"The son of the most affluent family in Jeorgia City, Hank Shaw, of course." Tracy laughed. "You're quite lucky, Faye, to have caught his eye. We wouldn't have been able to connect with a family as rich as the Shaws otherwise."

In Jeorgia, the Browns were regarded as an upper-class family. But they paled in comparison to the elite Shaws.

"You mean the amorous Hank Shaw, who caused someone's death three years ago? Hasn't he just been released from prison? He's evidently looking for someone to turn his image around!" Faye scoffed. A sardonic look flashed across her eyes. "What a good match indeed."

Lizzie's expression stiffened. She quickly smiled and said, "We just want what's best for you, Faye. Hank has turned over a new leaf. He's been having a streak of bad luck recently. The Shaws hope that finding a nice girl for him to marry will help him turn his luck around."

"It just so happens that the fortune teller said you're a good match," she continued. "If their luck turns around after you've married into their family, they surely won't mistreat you."

"So … all of you turned my boyfriend into my brother-in-law behind my back just to have me marry into the Shaw family?" Faye's gaze fell on Anthon as she said this. The sarcasm in her tone was apparent.

Anthon's face darkened. "If you hadn't been unfaithful while you were abroad, I would never—"

Upon noticing the sour expression on Tracy's face, Anthon quickly changed his tone. "Tracy is gentle and considerate. She is also generous and mature, unlike you. You shouldn't expect me to faithfully wait for you to come home. Why would I pick someone so unfaithful when I could have someone as pure as her?"

"Me? Unfaithful?" Faye wondered in disbelief.

Recalling last night's events, she looked at Tracy's pleased expression and connected the dots.

"What a clever ploy," she thought.

It was a pity that she came home intending to reunite with the man she loved, not realizing she had been played.

"You wouldn't have looked for some wild man immediately after landing if you really took me seriously …" Anthon's face was full of disgust as he finished his sentence.

Faye could feel a throbbing pain in her heart.

Casually chuckling, she responded, "Alright, I'd be put off too if the man in question does the same. As for my marriage, you don't have to fret about it. I'll deal with it myself."

She then went upstairs with her luggage. When she reached her room, she noticed that the layout had been completely changed.

None of her belongings were left. It had all been replaced with Tracy's. She let out a scoff when she remembered the scene from last night.

"I thought the room would become run down if no one lived in it for three years, Faye. I wanted to do you a favor by moving in. Your things are all in the guest room. Since you'll be married into the Shaw family very soon, why don't you stay in the guest room tonight?" Tracy looked at Faye smugly. She was holding Anthon's hand by the doorway as she spoke.

Faye glanced at her but didn't respond. She turned and headed to the guest room. Sure enough, she found her treasured box there.

She retrieved her mother's ID card from within and held it between her palms. A while later, she exited the room and looked coldly at Tracy.

"Move your things out of my room before I come home tonight … or else."

…

Faye arrived at City Hall at 10 am sharp. As soon as she exited the car, she spotted the tall, handsome figure among the crowd. He was dressed in a black shirt.

If it hadn't been for Anthon's words and the staff card she had coincidentally picked up at the hotel entrance, she wouldn't believe that this extremely handsome man was really a hotel waiter. In fact, his enchanting smile and cold temperament gave him the bearing of a president.

As though sensing her searing gaze, the man turned to look in her direction. He couldn't help but smile when he saw her simple but refined appearance.

"Cedric Shaw," he began. His voice was gruff and had a magnetic quality to it. There was a slight laziness to it too.

"Is he also a Shaw?" Faye wondered before introducing herself as well. She matched his lazy smile. "Faye Brown."

Cedric responded with a small nod.

Faye handed him an agreement. "Please have a look at this, Mr. Shaw, before we register our marriage. If you have no objections, we will sign it before going in."

Surprised, Cedric took the agreement from her and looked through it. He paused on the clause regarding property division upon divorce. He couldn't help smiling in amusement. "Are you sure about this?"

She nodded. "You can bring it up if you find anything unreasonable, and we can discuss it together."

"Remove this." He pointed at the clause he paused on.

Faye was stunned. "But this wouldn't be harmful to you at all." She was the daughter of the wealthy Brown family, and he was just a waiter. Was it so unusual to offer him guaranteed compensation after their divorce?

"There's no such thing as getting divorced in the Shaw family."

Faye was taken aback. So, he was serious about wanting to marry her, then?

"If you're marrying me with the mindset that you can divorce me whenever you please, then there's no point in going in." With that, he lazily raised a hand and crossed out the clauses in question. Then, he signed the agreement and handed it back to her.

His handwriting was elegant with a domineering edge to it. It was nothing like what one would expect from a hotel waiter.

She couldn't help sighing. This man had a great figure and was handsome and poised. How did he end up as a waiter?

"Let's go." Putting the agreement away, she held her hand out before Cedric.

She had been trying to gesture for him to go first, but due to her poor gesturing, he thought she was inviting him to hold her hand instead.

As his slightly calloused hand enveloped hers, instinct had her yearning to retract it.

He didn't give her any room to escape, however.

Cedric held onto her hand tightly and smiled. "You can still back out before we sign the documents."

Faye had no expectations from men now because of Anthon. She had never even thought about falling in love with anyone again. Since Cedric was her first and was willing to be responsible for her, why not just marry him?

It must be better than marrying the perverted Hank Shaw anyway.