"You heard me." he coldly uttered the words.
Verena fiddled with the edges of her filthy clothes and said in a soft voice, "Sir, this joke is not funny at all."
Louis sneered and said sharply, "Wasn't it your plan to be married to me all along?"
Louis gaze cut through Verena's thin sunken face like a sharp razor and stared into her eyes.
Verena shuddered and turned her head away, but Louis squeezed her chin and forced her to look at him.
Verena then realized that this man was really Louis Heisenberg, her past scapegoat, whom she was eager to use for her revenge.
But things had changed and she didn't see there was any way she could use him anymore.
It's like she had any feelings for him back then and why he had to come here and tell her to get married without giving a complete proposal.
She would get married to someone like him without love—well, she didn't want to get married after walking out of the cell just now.
His suit was well-tailored and looked luxurious. Verena could tell this man was very distinguished, but he was out of her reach four years ago.
In contrast, she had worn-out clothes covered in mold, disheveled hair, a dirtied face, and a strong odor, and she had not showered for days.
The two of them were going to get a marriage certificate?
Verena lowered her gaze and said softly, "Sir, do you think because I have been in prison for four years and have not seen any man, I would simply jump on any random ugly man, even if I had not met him before?"
Louis could not help but take another look at her. His eyes narrowed at her words, he didn't understand if she just rejected him or just disputed him as an ugly—random man.
She was quite young but had a sharp tongue, and was extraordinarily calm. His disgust towards her inevitably increased. "Are you deliberately using this method to anger me and to arouse my interest in you?"
"I will not be forced into a marriage against my will," she declared, her voice ringing with defiance.
He's the most eligible bachelor around, but despite the attention from high-society women, he's drawn to one woman who keeps saying no.
"Why?" he demanded, his hand clenched in frustration.
She had been expecting this reaction, but the spark of irritation in his eyes still caught her off guard.
"You are my cousin." She pointed out, trying to sound calm.
She held her breath, secretly pleased with herself for bringing it up. But instead of the reaction she expected, he gave her a skeptical gaze.
"Not by blood." He said curtly.
She felt flush rise to her cheeks as she realized her mistake. His mother had been adopted by her grandfather, making their familial connection more complicated than she had initially claimed. His mother is technically elder sister of her late mother.
"Why... do you want to marry me? Do you know me at all? I am a criminal!"
"It's my mother's last wish." He informed without having any emotion on his face like he was reporting a weather news.
"But why would you ruin your life with someone like me?"
As soon as he finished, he did not wait for Verena to answer but immediately ordered the driver, "To the court!"
"Let me go! I don't even know you!" Verena was horrified and wanted to get out of the car.
With a backhand motion, Louis pinned her down, his arm was resting on her upper chest as her breath hitched in shock.
He glared at her with a sinister gaze, and said in a cold voice, "Woman, listen up! If you would like to die, I could send you off now." he paused and added, "The choice is all yours."
Verena was scared. She had tears tumbling in her eyes, and she said in a weak voice, "I— don't want to die."
"To the court!" The man ordered again looking at the front he had thankfully let go of her.
"Young Master Louis, do we go straight to the court?" asked the assistant in the front passenger seat.
A cold whisper ran through her blood as the man in the passenger seat looked between them like he was unsure.
Louis looked puzzled as he stared at the man sitting in the front seat.
The assistant looked at Verena with disdain and said bluntly, "Young Mistress's clothes are worn and old, and she looks dirty…"
"Return to the Heisenberg Residence!" The man gave another order.
"Yes, Master Louis." The driver started the engine. One and a half hours later, the car stopped.
Verena got out of the car and saw the grand mansion that was the Heisenberg Residence, located halfway up the mountain.
She was still lost in her thoughts when Louis grabbed her wrist and pulled her with him.
She was much shorter than him, and his strides were big. She looked like a stray puppy that he had picked up as she jogged behind him when he pulled her along.
"Welcome back, Young Master Louis." The maids in the mansion bowed politely upon seeing the man.
The man led Verena through the main house towards the low-level rooms in the yard. He handed Verena to a few maids and said, "Find some white clothes for her, and let her take a bath."
"Yes, Master Louis." The maids answered and brought Verena to the bathroom.
She must escape from here that what she thought. She could not be with a man that wished to have her killed but still wanted to get the marriage certificate with her right after she came out from prison.
Verena was so deep in her thoughts that she did not realize the maids had already taken most of her clothes off.
The maids sighed together.
"Those bruises on your neck, are you beaten?"
Verena was still in daze of what was happening when she heard them. She frantically bit her lips and said, "I'm not used to others bathing me. Please leave, and I will bathe myself."
One of the maids asked, "You are... Young Master Louis's…"
"Maid." Verena quickly interjected.
"Bathe yourself then." The maids turned around nonchalantly and left.
When they went out, one of the maids let out a cold snort in a mysterious manner, "I thought she was Young Master Louis woman. But he wouldn't take her here in servants' quarter to get a bath. She turned out to be only a maid. She looked like a promiscuous thing. Who did she think she was to let us bathe her?"
When the maid looked up, she saw Louis and his Assistant standing right outside the bathroom, discussing something. The maid immediately shut her mouth in fear.
In the bathroom, Verena looked at herself in the mirror with her face flushed red.
Her most precious first time with her first man whom she had never even met. She would never know what he looked like.
She shut her eyes, and tears glided from her cheeks to her neck.
"You really are a stubborn woman!" said a harsh male voice behind her.
Verena opened her eyes in a panic and turned around and find the young master leaning at the open door.
Louis was looking at her with disgust as she didn't even start bathing herself and wasting his time.
He was very punctual about timing and needed everything done by the time but this girl was already testing his patient.
She didn't know what his problem was but it was sure that he was too arrogant to be with her.
Verena frantically covered herself with her clothes. The tears of anger and shame came sliding down her face.
"I was just released from prison, and you kidnapped me here. I don't know you. No matter how stubborn I am, it has nothing to do with you, right? Please get out!"
This woman truly is a skilled swindler that needs to be tamed by me, he thought. He could only smirk watching her look like a scary puppy right now.
"Follow me to get our marriage certificate once you're done washing up. Six months later, I would naturally divorce you, then divide a sum to you. When that time comes, if you wished to stay beside me for even one more second, it would not be possible!" Once he finished his sentence, he closed the door and left.
The maids in the yard dare not breathe too loudly because Louis was present.
Four days ago, at this house, all the maids had witnessed how vicious and domineering this newly appointed head of the Heisenberg family could be.
Louis was the second son of his father, and his father was the eldest son of the Heisenberg family.
His brother and he were not birthed by the same mother. He was the son of his father and another woman.
Although the Heisenberg family was a century-old noble family, alike Louis would not have the eligibility to inherit even a tiny portion of the Heisenberg family's fortune.
The collateral descendants even had priority over him for inheritance.
When he was a teenager, he had been driven into exile. However, he finally fought his way back one day and managed to return to his country, but his mother was framed and imprisoned.
Louis had been calculating every step meticulously since then and executed strategies that concealed his true purpose to throw his opponents off.
Finally, he found his grandfather, who had been sent to the village. As a result, he drove his opponents to an end and successfully gained control over the whole Heisenberg family.
But there were some terms and conditions he had to listen to. His grandfather was not an easy target, and since he gave him the right to work with Heisenberg corporation, he put some conditions in place.
In the current Heisenberg family, Louis had the final say. Louis could only feel coldness in his gut whenever he recalled his past.
His mother did not willingly become the third person in other people's marriages. His father's first wife used this trick to keep his father in their marriage.
When Louis's mother found out that he had a family, she was already nine months pregnant.
His mother was bullied, but she suffered in silence. She was even framed and kicked out of the family, when she was in her middle age.
Louis finally gained control of the Heisenberg family and got his mother with him, but she only had six months to live.
His mother only had one wish. She wanted him to find Verena Bradbury, as his bride.
Sebastian could only obey her wish, seeing that his mother did not have much time left.
The night before he decided to take Verena out of prison, he had done a thorough investigation on her.
His investigation showed that this woman had killed someone and was imprisoned for four years.
There's not much evidence about the case, just some teenagers victim gave their statement in the court and the case was closed.
"Something's wrong, Young Master Louis!" The maid's frightened exclamation interrupted his thoughts.
Louis gaze instantly turned serious. "What happened?"
"That woman… escaped by jumping out of the window," the maid said in fear.