"Marry?!" Beverley could hardly believe her ears. Her gaze was filled with confusion as well as shock.

"If I get married, how can I work and raise money to treat James?" asked Beverley.

Her mother, Emma, started to get annoyed. "That's why I want you to marry the son of the Oliver family!"

"So you want to use me to pay off your debts?"

Beverley's eyes were red. Not because she wanted to cry but because she felt very angry. How could Emma think of such a thing? Is it because Emma is just a stepmother?

"That is not what I mean. I just want you to live comfortably with rich people. You can live in peace without having to think about money. Am I wrong?" Emma asked innocently.

Beverley snorted. "Who do you think you are tricking? Emma, I'm not a kid to be fooled. I will never agree," she hissed sharply. She was well aware of her situation.

Emma, the money-loving stepmother, wants to use her daughter to pay off her debts to the Oliver family. In what way? By marrying Beverley to Michael Oliver's son, who was exposed to gay rumors!

Beverley knew well. The marriage must have only been used to cover up the gay rumors. Of course, she didn't want to. Marriage is a sacred thing. She doesn't want to marry carelessly. Especially, with people who she doesn't know at all.

After all, the one who owed a lot was Emma. Why was she the victim? Why didn't her rotten stepmother marry Michael Oliver's son? She would be very happy if her father divorced that crazy woman.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You don't like me, huh?" Emma asked. She sat with her legs crossed and looked up at Beverley with her head up.

"If you argue, then I will leave your house and leave your crippled father stranded alone," said Emma quietly. Although it sounds subtle, there is a real threatening tone to it.

"Emma!" Beverley immediately shouted angrily. She clenched her fists so tightly that her body trembled as well. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth was tightly shut.

"You dare shout at me?" Emma furrowed her brows deeply. "Don't think that just because I'm your stepmother that you're disrespectful to me!" she continued in an elevated tone.

"Then just because I am a stepdaughter, you can freely determine my life?!" Beverley shouted back.

She had had enough of Emma. The woman was by no means a good stepmother. If she knew her true character was like that, then in the past she wouldn't have allowed James to marry her.

Yeah, Beverley's father, James, did remarry after his first wife died. However, this past year, James suffered a stroke that made him unable to work anymore.

The extravagant Emma's credit card bills run into millions of dollars. It made her dizzy because she didn't know how to pay it off. In the end, with her husband's sick alibi, she borrowed millions of dollars to pay off the bank bill.

Then who is the person lending the money? That person was Michael Oliver, James' boss. Maybe it was because James was one of his confidants that Michael Oliver could lend that much money.

Sometimes Beverley really wanted to kick Emma out of James' house. However, that was impossible because her father loved the woman very much.

James seems to have been driven mad by Emma, who has a pretty appearance. Could it be that the woman used a magic spell to seduce him?

"Bev, you're all grown up. If you marry a rich man, won't you also benefit?" Emma said sarcastically. She blew on her long red nails and stared at them proudly.

How sickening!

"You should know, Emma. I don't know the man at all. I don't know things like his appearance, his nature, and his—"

"Why do you have to think about such things? What is most important is a guaranteed life. Getting married isn't always about love or any bullshit," Emma replied nonchalantly.

Beverley grew even angrier. "What do you mean? Haven't you ever loved James?"

"I didn't say that."

Beverley snorted coldly. She took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. "I'm not getting married. And your debts have nothing to do with me," she said coldly.

"Well, you can refuse now. However, you will inevitably end up at the wedding altar."

Emma abruptly stood up and carried her pricey bag. Then the woman sauntered away, unconcerned with Beverley's pale face.

Before completely closing the door, Emma turned her sharp gaze at Beverley. "Don't think about running away. I can leave James anytime." After she made that threat, only then did the door actually close.

The room became silent. Beverley's breathing rose and fell erratically. Her hands clenched into fists. Her teeth began to grit.

"You damn woman!" Her voice echoed throughout the room. Luckily, no one heard.

The closed-door suddenly opened. A woman who looked to be Beverley's age stepped in. The woman was wearing a blazer that looked quite classy. Her hair, which was tied up high, swayed with her footsteps.

"What's the matter, Bev? I just saw your mother come out of here. Did you two fight again?"

"Don't call her my mother, Katy," Beverley said quietly. She sat on a chair and massaged her dizzy forehead.

Beverley's friend, Katy, sat down as well. "You look so annoyed. You are okay?"

Beverley took a deep breath. "Emma tried to take advantage of me. Katy, she wants to use me to pay off her debt!"

"How could it be? In what way?"

"She's going to marry me to a man I don't even know. Gosh, what should I do now?"

"What the hell! She is crazy!"

Katy was furious. It had been a long time since she had heard stories from Beverley about her stepmother's bad nature and behavior. Of course, as her best friend, she didn't like Emma. That woman was like a snake.

"I don't know what to do if she actually did that." Beverley bit her lip.

"What if you run away?" Katy suggested. Unfortunately, Beverley immediately rejected her proposal.

"I can't leave my father. James is sick. I was afraid that Emma would also leave that man alone." She shook her head a few times.

"How much is that debt? Maybe I can lend you a hundred thousand dollars."

Beverley sighed in frustration. "More than that. Even if you sell this cafe, the money won't be enough. There is no other way. If Emma did that deal, they'd never let me go, Katy. My life is over…."

"How Outrageous!" Katy pounded the table in front of her. "If I ever meet your mother—I mean Emma, I want to punch her thick lips!"

Katy suddenly looked at Beverley seriously. "Are you sure she's serious? Did she have the heart to do this to you? I mean… you're still her daughter after all."

Beverley just shook her head weakly. She didn't know if Emma would do that or not.

At that moment, suddenly the door of the room was knocked from outside. A cafe waitress came holding out an ivory-yellow invitation that looked very elegant and classy. There is another folded piece of paper tied with a gold ribbon on the invitation.

"Miss Holmes, this is for you," said the waitress.

Beverley's brow furrowed. Hesitantly, she took the invitation letter. The recipient's name there was indeed her, Beverley Holmes. Who's getting married? There doesn't seem to be any news of her friends or colleagues getting married soon.

Out of curiosity, she opened the gold ribbon that was there. Then the invitation letter was immediately opened. For a moment, she was silent as she read about the person getting married.

Her heart seemed to stop beating when she saw the name written on it. Her face turned pale. The name of the bride written on the invitation letter is none other than her own name, Beverley Holmes!

"No way," Beverley muttered, lowering her gaze. She immediately read the name of the groom.

Brent Oliver.

Her hands immediately trembled. The invitation slid down to the floor.

"What's the matter, Bev? Who's getting married?" Katy picked up the invitation. And after reading what the bride's name was, her reaction wasn't much different from Beverley's.

"The date... when is the date?" Beverley immediately snatched the invitation from Katy's hands.

"The seventeenth…."

Her body went limp for a moment. It's the sixteenth. That means the wedding will take place tomorrow!