It had been three months since Melissa and Brian got engaged, and though their wedding was still upcoming, things weren't as joyous as they appeared in the Daniel household. Ever since the engagement, Melinda hadn't been herself, throwing tantrums at her parents every day. She didn't care if Melissa was present or not; her only concern was getting what she wanted.
"Linda, everyone knows I'm engaged to Brian. We come from a respectable family, and there are plenty of guys from reputable families here in the country who would have caught your attention. It doesn't have to be Brian—he's already mine," Melissa said.
"He's not yours yet. You're just engaged; engagements can be broken. Even married couples get divorced. Why can't you break off the engagement?" Melinda shot back.
On several occasions, Melissa had tried reasoning with her sister, but her words always fell on deaf ears. Their parents tried too, even offering Melinda a larger share of the family inheritance if she would let it go, but she refused. When Melinda realized her parents weren't going to support her or push Melissa to give in, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
One day, as Mrs. Priscilla was about to go shopping with her friends, a maid informed her that Melinda was looking for her. Surprised, she wondered why Melinda would seek her out. If anyone should be looking for her, it should be her supposed daughter-in-law, Melissa. Curiosity piqued, she agreed to meet Melinda, hoping perhaps the girl had good news.
In the sitting room, Melinda waited confidently, a smile on her face. Though she hadn't had many encounters with Mrs. Priscilla, everyone knew her as someone who only supported what brought profit. Standing tall, Melinda knew she had a good chance of convincing her to change the bride.
"Good day, Mrs. Priscilla," Melinda greeted with a smile.
"Good day, dear. I wasn't expecting you. I had other things scheduled today, but since we're about to become in-laws, I'll spare some time for you," Mrs. Priscilla replied, giving her a polite smile.
"Thank you for your time. I came here with a proposal that could benefit us both," Melinda said, pulling out some documents from her bag.
"I control most of the shares in my family's company, and I know you're someone who likes profitable deals. So here's the offer: I want to marry Brian in place of my sister, and in exchange, you'll get half of this asset."
With such an offer, who wouldn't be tempted? Mrs. Priscilla was, but she knew it wouldn't be that easy.
"This is a very tempting offer, indeed. But I can't just call off the engagement. It would ruin the Rowland family's reputation if we canceled it," Mrs. Priscilla explained, though tempted.
"I've heard you're the apple of your parents' eye. Why don't you talk to them? Maybe they can persuade your sister to back out. If Melissa cancels it herself, that would be the best outcome," Mrs. Priscilla suggested.
"How can I persuade her when she's always had a crush on your son? And my parents don't want to lose this alliance," Melinda replied. But then, an idea struck her. Perhaps if Mrs. Priscilla talked to her mother with the assurance that the alliance would hold, but only with her, her mom might help persuade Melissa.
"I think I have an idea that could work for both of us, but it depends on you. Why don't you speak to my mom about changing the bride? If you assure her that the marriage will only hold with me, she might help convince Melissa to step down," Melinda proposed.
Mrs. Priscilla thought it over. It would be best if Melissa backed out on her own. She decided to give it a shot; she arranged to meet with Mrs. Kate first; the outcome of the meeting with Mrs Kate would determine if she should approach Mr. Daniel.
Mrs. Kate was already at the spa when she received a call from Mrs. Priscilla.
"Are you free today? Let's have some coffee," Mrs. Priscilla suggested.
"I'm not free at the moment. I'm at the spa getting a massage. Can it wait, or is it something urgent?" Mrs. Kate asked, knowing that Mrs Priscilla couldn't be looking for her for no reason.
"I'll come meet you there. Just send me the address," Mrs. Priscilla replied.
A few minutes later, someone informed Mrs. Kate that she had a visitor waiting in the lounge. Mrs. Kate greeted Mrs. Priscilla warmly.
"You sounded like you had something important to discuss," Mrs. Kate said.
"Yes, I do," Mrs. Priscilla replied. She waved her hand, signaling everyone in the lounge to leave giving them some privacy.
"The marriage alliance between our families might not work out unless some changes are made. You know the Daniels have 60 percent of the benefits from this alliance and will face 100 percent of the loss if it falls apart," Mrs. Priscilla said, her tone more serious now.
To others, these might have sounded like casual words, but to Mrs. Kate, they felt like a threat and they were. The Daniels were on the brink of bankruptcy, and the alliance with the Rowlands had saved them from a great deal of trouble. If the alliance were called off, the Daniels would lose everything they had worked hard for.
Not wanting to risk it, Mrs. Kate asked cautiously, "What change are you talking about?"
"Well, I'm talking about changing the bride," Mrs. Priscilla responded.
"What? Why? Who do you want to replace Melissa with? What about her reputation as a young lady of the Daniel family? Don't you realize you're risking our downfall?" Mrs. Kate questioned, alarmed.
"I think Linda would be a better match for my son. This is a win-win situation. You have two options: either the whole family suffers disgrace, or you make the choice to save yourselves by selecting someone else as the bride," Mrs. Priscilla said, laying out her ultimatum