Perhaps Adrian had forgotten.To marry her,he had once signed a contract:if he ever betrayed her,he would walk away with nothing.He had signed it himself to reassure her.
…
On the other end,Lawyer Bennett was stunned.
An old friend of the Winter family,he had witnessed how Adrian had fought against all odds—nearly breaking himself apart—to marry Clara.He had even drafted that extraordinary“promise agreement”himself.
“Miss Winter,”his voice was grave,heavy with hesitation.
“Have you truly thought this through?Once it’s initiated,there will be no way back.”
He tried to reason gently,“Perhaps Mr.Cole was…confused for a moment.Men,sometimes—”
“Confused?”Clara repeated softly,her laugh bitter and broken.
“No,Uncle Bennett.He wasn’t confused.He made his choice clearly,soberly,and without hesitation.He chose someone else—and he believes it’s only right.”
In her mind,Adrian’s face surfaced again—so calm it was cruel.
She wants stability,so I’ll give her stability.
There was silence on the line.Then Lawyer Bennett sighed.
“I understand your sorrow and anger.But Miss Winter,once this agreement is filed,there truly is no return.It wasn’t easy for you and Mr.Cole to come this far.Do you remember?Back then,to win your grandfather’s approval,he stood outside the Winter estate for three days and two nights in the pouring rain.Burning with fever,yet he refused to leave.”
The words struck her like a key,suddenly unlocking a floodgate of memories.
How could she not remember?
Memories surged back like a tide.
At that time,Adrian Cole was not yet the commanding Mr.Cole he would later become,but merely an ambitious young man without any foundation.
Her father opposed him fiercely,believing his temperament was unstable and that he could never provide her with a steady life.
Adrian chose the clumsiest,yet the most sincere way to prove himself.
When her father tried to arrange a marriage between she and Jonathan Hale,Adrian stood outside in a torrential downpour,stubbornly demanding a chance.
Clara watched through the window as his drenched figure wavered yet remained upright.Her heart ached unbearably at the sight.
In the end,her father relented,and the two of them started from nothing.