Bronson pressed a soft kiss to Estelle’s lips, the warmth of his touch lingering before he whispered against them, “Give me a child, and I’ll give you your mother’s ashes.”
Estelle’s heart twisted at the words. She knew it was a cruel kind of hostage exchange, a game where she held no cards.
If she could abandon a helpless newborn after giving birth, if she could simply walk away with her mother’s ashes, then Bronson would never have been able to use them as a weapon. From the start, he would have never had the power to threaten her with such a thing. But now, as she stood before him, she realized that it wasn’t just about the ashes. It was about control. And she had none.
She had no say over her own body. The moment Bronson uttered those words, she knew the child would be born, whether she consented or not.
Tears clouded her vision as she met his gaze, her body trembling, her voice barely a whisper. “Okay.”
Bronson’s smile was triumphant as he gently slid the diamond bracelet onto her wrist. It was an exquisite piece, but it felt like a shackle rather than a gift.
"Estelle, you'll stay by my side forever."
Estelle had just gone through an abortion, and the idea of becoming pregnant again was far from appealing. Her injured leg only made matters worse. But Bronson wasn’t rushing her. To make Estelle feel more at ease and to help prepare her for what was to come, he had even cleared all the spies from her company.
At last, Estelle found herself with the time she needed to catch up on the cases piling up in her office.
The day before the trial, Estelle met with the victim’s guardian.
“Lawyer Maddox, I’ve heard your services are expensive. Thank you for agreeing to help Tala without charge,” Aurora Smith, Tala Smith’s mother, said. Though she was just shy of forty, years of hard labor under the sun had aged her prematurely, giving her the appearance of someone much older, almost like Tala’s grandmother.
Aurora’s hesitant eyes glanced around before Estelle gently ushered Tala out of the room.
A relieved sigh escaped Aurora’s lips as she looked at Estelle, her sunken eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“Lawyer Maddox, my daughter’s father, wants to know if we can settle this quietly. What can that bastard offer us to make it go away?”
Estelle hesitated, confusion flashing across her face before Aurora quickly waved her hands in a frantic gesture.
“No, no, Lawyer. We don’t want to cause trouble. It’s just that he has power and influence, and Tala’s so young. I’m afraid it’ll ruin her. People will shame her when she returns to the village. After we’re gone, no one will stand up for her. We just want to make sure she’s taken care of. We want some compensation for her suffering.”
Estelle gently reassured her, "Don’t worry, we won’t take Tala’s case to court publicly. Given the situation, a compensation of ten thousand should be within reach. I’ll do everything I can to secure what she truly deserves."
At the mention of ten thousand, Aurora’s gaze flickered. She seemed on the verge of saying something more, but the moment Tala returned, her words faded away.
Estelle rose to see them out. Aurora led the way, while Tala stayed close to Estelle, keeping a few steps behind her mother.
"Sister Estelle, do you think the bad people will really be brought to justice?" Tala asked, her voice laced with doubt.
"They will," Estelle answered firmly, her conviction unwavering.
Tala breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Actually, they don’t want me to sue them. Lately, people have been causing trouble for my parents at the construction site. My dad says it’s all my fault."
Estelle’s chest tightened. She paused, her mind spinning with questions. Even if she helped Tala win the case, would it be enough? Would the other party simply move on once they were out of prison, or would they come after her again?
Estelle had worked hard over the years, building a small nest egg. But none of her money or security could protect her from someone like Bronson. By the time the defendant was free, Tala would still be in college. What then?
"Sister, do you know what my parents said when they came home?" Tala’s voice cut through Estelle’s thoughts with a raw edge to it.
Tala’s eyes met Estelle’s with a heavyweight.
"My dad said that if I had gone out to work sooner, found a man to marry, someone who could protect me, none of this would’ve happened. He told me I was worthless and that I’d dragged them down with me."
Estelle paused, then wrapped her arms around Tala in a tight hug. Before she could find the words to comfort her, Tala returned the embrace with equal intensity.
"Sister, I know it’s not my fault. I won’t let myself be blamed," Tala said, her voice steady but filled with quiet strength. "If I don’t stand up, he’ll hurt other girls. And my parents, well, they’ve never cared for me. They gave all their love to my brother. What they say now is just because that scum showed up with money."
Tala had thought she’d become numb to the pain, but talking to Estelle made her heart twist, and tears threatened to fall.
"Look, to them, I’m just a means to an end. Whether I marry early or drop the case, they don’t care about what I want. That man, when he touched me, he said he was born superior, that no one could punish him, not even the law."
Her voice shook slightly, but her resolve remained clear.
"I don’t want money. I just want him to pay for what he’s done."
Tala looked up at Estelle, her eyes bright with hope and admiration. "Sister, you’ll help me, won’t you?"
Estelle nodded firmly, her voice full of conviction. "I promise you, I will make him pay the price he deserves." She gently patted Tala’s head before sealing her promise with a pinky swear.
Tala’s eyes sparkled as she skipped away, a rare glimmer of youthful innocence lighting up her face, something Estelle hadn’t seen from her before.
In truth, the case was incredibly difficult. Estelle poured herself into it, working late into the night, desperate for a breakthrough. But with the victim’s family wavering on whether to proceed, Estelle knew it was fear keeping them in the fight, the fear of their own failures being exposed. Even if they lost, the other party would still pay ten thousand in compensation, so they wouldn't end up with nothing.
Estelle understood: this was her one shot.
She couldn’t protect herself, but at least she would protect Tala.
When work finally came to an end, a crowd had gathered outside the building. Estelle had already removed her plaster, but she was still walking with a noticeable slowness. She tried to slip past the crowd unnoticed, but as she rounded the corner, she spotted Bronson waiting for her by the curb.
He leaned casually against a car with a license plate full of sevens, the keys spinning effortlessly around his finger.
To prepare for the pregnancy, Bronson had quit smoking and drinking, a far cry from the careless man Estelle had once known. He looked almost... diligent.
Her coworkers knew only that Estelle was married, but none of them knew her husband was Bronson. Estelle instinctively tried to avoid him, but he had already caught sight of her. She had no choice but to approach, her every step weighed down by the curious gazes of her colleagues. Without a word, she opened the passenger door and slid inside.
Bronson smirked, a glint of amusement in his eyes before slowly sliding into the driver’s seat.
"Can we switch cars next time?" Estelle rubbed her forehead, the buzzing of her phone in her hand almost unbearable.
"You can pick any car from the garage. I’ll drive it next time," Bronson replied, starting the engine.
Estelle didn’t respond. The garage only housed cars that were far more expensive than this one, so she had little choice in the matter.
Lately, she and Bronson had managed to find a delicate balance between them. Estelle didn’t want to argue, so she chose silence, the weight of her thoughts pressing down on her. Tonight was the Bradwell family's annual banquet, and Estelle had no choice but to attend.
As she stepped into the grand old house with Bronson, her gaze immediately landed on Soleil standing nearby.
Without missing a beat, Estelle averted her eyes, masking her indifference, pretending not to notice.
Soleil, however, didn’t let her go so easily. Gripping her palm tightly, she swiftly approached.
"Bronson, Auntie was just asking for you. Let me take care of Estelle. You can go see if Auntie needs anything."
Bronson was always alert when it came to rivals, no matter their gender. Instinctively, he pulled Estelle closer, wrapping an arm around her waist. He turned to Soleil with a sharp look and said, "Estelle is my wife, the daughter-in-law of the Bradwell family. If my mother needs something, she’ll have no trouble finding me."
Soleil’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second, but she quickly regained her composure, keeping her voice steady. "It’s about Grandpa Brandon."
Soleil’s words were veiled, yet Bronson understood them immediately.
Someone had tipped off Brandon about Estelle’s surgery, and the old man had nearly given the final word on their divorce.
In the Bradwell family, Bronson could disregard anyone’s opinion without much consequence, but Brandon’s voice was law. When everyone else had turned their back on Bronson, it was Brandon who had refused to give up, pushing for him to return to the family.
The Bradwell family had never been against Bronson marrying Estelle, except for Brandon, who believed Estelle was a woman of remarkable talent and beauty, their children destined for greatness.
But Estelle had made an unforgivable decision; she had aborted the child Bronson had desperately wanted.
In response, Bronson had knelt in front of the ancestral hall for three days, claiming he hadn’t been ready for a child, that he had smoked and drank during the period they had been trying, fearing the child would be unhealthy. He had taken the fall to protect her, burying the truth.
Estelle had never known any of this. Bronson didn’t want her to face Brandon; it would only make her uncomfortable. He didn’t mind taking the blame, but Estelle, fragile and delicate, could never bear Brandon’s punishment.
Reluctantly, Bronson let go of Estelle’s hand, instructing Soleil to take care of her, then walked away, glancing back several times before disappearing into the night.
Estelle didn’t want to argue with Soleil, but Soleil wasn’t about to let her go. As Estelle walked toward the terrace, Soleil relentlessly followed, her presence an unwelcome shadow. Estelle didn’t know where Soleil had found the plastic bottle, but it hit her sharply on the back.
“I heard you used to pick up trash to get to school. How does it feel seeing this? Does it bring back memories?” Soleil’s voice dripped with malice.
Estelle was never one to back down. With swift precision, she grabbed a wine bottle and smashed it against the railing. The jagged shards of glass glinted in her hand as she stepped forward, pinning Soleil down and pressing the sharp edges to her neck.
Soleil opened her mouth to scream, but Estelle’s hand inched closer, silencing her.
“Scream again, and when the others come in, they’ll find nothing but your body,” Estelle warned, her voice cold as steel.
“Estelle, how dare you…” Soleil’s voice quivered, but Estelle didn’t give her the chance to finish.
“Do you know the principle of staying clear of the happy? You, the young lady of a powerful family, with everything handed to you, and I—as you said—had to scrounge for bottles just to get to school. Now, I have no family, no ties, nothing left to lose. Do you think there’s anything I won’t do?”
Fear flooded Soleil’s eyes. Her body went cold with sweat as she realized the truth in Estelle’s words. One more breath, and she knew Estelle would end her without hesitation.
After what seemed like an eternity, Estelle finally released Soleil, the glass slipping from her fingers and shattering on the floor. "If there’s a next time, I won’t hesitate to drag you down with me when I die," she warned coldly.
Soleil trembled, her eyes locked on Estelle, now filled with a mix of awe and fear. She had always believed that only someone from a prestigious family, like herself, could capture Bronson’s heart. But now, she realized it wasn’t someone like her, but rather someone like Estelle who could truly stir his soul.
That realization sank like a stone in her chest. She stumbled back, putting distance between them, only standing tall against the wall when she was sure Estelle could no longer harm her.
“I’ve met many women like you. If you truly had the courage, you’d have left him long ago. Let’s be honest, you’re after the Bradwell fortune.”
Estelle couldn’t help but chuckle, finding it almost laughable. Soleil had always seemed to be driven by obsessive love, but now Estelle saw her for what she truly was: unhinged.
“If you want him so badly, take him. If he wants to divorce me, I’ll be gone in an instant.”
Before she could finish her sentence, a fluttering sound caught her attention. The curtain behind her stirred, and Estelle spun around instinctively, her body tensing. She froze when she saw Bronson standing there, his presence like a storm.
A thin line of blood traced down his face, a reminder of something sharp that had grazed him. It only served to make his already intense, chiseled features appear even more wild, more dangerous.
