Back in her room, she shut the door behind her without a word. Downstairs, a few nosy relatives were still loitering, waiting for the show. They expected her to come storming down in tears, but the next person summoned was Cole.
Jeff, always sniffing around for gossip, leaned in with a smug grin. “See? Elliana probably got torn to shreds up there and ran off crying. Now it’s Cole’s turn-bet Grandpa’s laying into him for not keeping her under control.”
A round of murmurs with nods followed.
But behind the study doors, the reality was far from what they imagined.
The moment Cole stepped inside, he was greeted by Ruben’s thundercloud expression. Flashing a breezy smile, Cole asked, “Grandpa, did Elliana do something to upset you?”
“Elliana? That sweet girl? How could she upset me?” Ruben’s voice sharpened. “You’re the one who’s got me fuming!”
Cole blinked, startled. “Me? What did I do?”
Ruben let out a sharp, disdainful huff. “Care to explain why you haven’t consummated your marriage with Elliana?”
Cole’s jaw tightened as he fell silent. The pieces clicked-this turned out to be what Ruben had grilled Elliana about. But admitting she’d turned him down was out of the question. The humiliation was too much. So he kept his mouth shut.
To Ruben, though, Cole’s silence reeked of deception, and it only fueled his rage. “You’re the head of the Evans family, and this is how you act? You think responsibility’s optional now? Do you know how heartbroken Elliana looked, crying to me that you pushed her away, insulted her looks, and treated her like a stranger? How can you stand there and act like it’s nothing, after humiliating a girl with such a spotless reputation?”
Cole dragged a hand down his face, his frustration mounting. If he hadn’t spent time with Elliana himself, he might’ve bought it. There was no way she would say any of that-Ruben was chewing him out over pure assumptions.
Just as Cole started to find the whole thing funny, a cane smacked against his shin, and Ruben’s sharp voice rang out again. “Why am I talking to you while you’re staring into space-are you ignoring me now?”
Cole nearly burst out laughing. “Ignore you? I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Oh, I think you would!” Ruben shot him a blistering glare. “You’ll promise me right now-you’re going to consummate the marriage with Elliana tonight!”
Cole gave a quick nod. “Fine. It’s happening.”
Ruben’s scowl finally eased. “Good. I’ll have the kitchen prepare a special soup for you to drink later.”
A special soup? Cole didn’t need to ask what kind. It was obvious Ruben wanted to make sure he didn’t just pay lip service and then wriggle out of it. To keep Ruben off his back, he gave another nod.
“Alright, alright.”
That was enough to leave Ruben completely satisfied.
At dinner, the room stayed quiet as everyone focused on their food. Out of nowhere, the butler walked in carrying a steaming bowl and set it beside Cole.
Jeff squinted at it in surprise. “What’s that soup? Why’s Cole the only one getting some?”
Today, dinner had an oddly tense undercurrent that no one could quite name.
Everyone had expected Elliana to come down looking rattled after Ruben’s scolding, but she appeared calm, almost serene-and Cole, for his part, acted no differently than usual.
The contrast between expectation and reality left everyone baffled, each wondering what exactly Ruben had said to the couple behind closed doors. Was Elliana now permitted to join the entertainment industry or not?
As that silent question hung in the air, the butler arrived with a steaming bowl of soup, which he set down beside Cole with careful precision.
Jeff, still too young to grasp the full meaning, simply glanced at it, but the older family members exchanged knowing looks.
Years ago, when Bertram had been a college student, he’d fallen for someone else. But his family arranged for him to marry Irene instead. After the wedding, he’d refused to touch her, prompting Ruben to resort to a drastic measure-a bowl of spiked soup and a locked room. The aphrodisiac’s effects had peaked around midnight. Overcome by its influence, Bertram had finally fulfilled his marital duty with Irene. Now, the same kind of soup sat in front of Cole, and its message couldn’t have been clearer. Cole hadn’t laid a hand on Elliana on their wedding night, and all his recent tenderness had been nothing more than an act-an attempt to fool Ruben. But Ruben had seen through the performance. After dragging the couple in for a stern warning, Ruben had chosen to resolve things the old-fashioned way: with that fateful bowl of soup.
Realizing the implication, everyone cast sympathetic glances at Cole. How could any man willingly be tied to someone the world saw as ugly as Elliana? If the aphrodisiac had forced him into it, wouldn’t waking up be a nightmare? Cole’s predicament struck them all as painfully unfair.
Completely unaware of the tension, Jeff blurted, “That soup smells amazing, Cole! I want some too!”
Trinity, seated next to him, gave his sleeve a discreet tug and murmured, “Jeff, don’t say things like that.”
But Jeff, driven by his bottomless appetite, flared up at the rebuke. “What did I say? We can’t even split a bowl of soup? I’m still growing, and I can’t even get a spoonful?”
Bertram, suddenly hit by bitter memories the soup stirred up, snapped. He shoved a chicken leg into Jeff’s mouth and barked, “Shut up and eat what’s on your plate! Cole’s out there breaking his back for this family-he needs the nourishment. You, on the other hand, do nothing but eat and fool around. What the hell do you need supplements for? Just look at you-chubby enough as it is. You take any more, and your nose’ll start bleeding again!”
Jeff shut his mouth at once, cowed by the reprimand and too shaken to argue.
Irene, who had been eagerly waiting for Elliana to lose face, now ducked her head, cheeks burning with embarrassment, wishing she could vanish into the floor. The steaming bowl sat there like a silent reminder-she was an unloved wife.
The grand dining hall fell into a heavy hush, all eyes flicking to Cole, waiting for his response.
Back then, Bertram had no choice-defying the Evans family would’ve left him destitute. But Cole wasn’t like Bertram. The family’s success revolved around him now. Even if he walked away, he’d still rise as a business titan. So if he flatly refused, Ruben couldn’t do anything about it.
Across the table, Trinity bit her lip, dread curling in her gut. She was terrified Cole might actually drink the soup.
And then Cole did-once he’d cleared his plate, he lifted the bowl with steady hands and drained every last drop without flinching.
Shock painted every face in the room. Cole had proven himself worthy of Ruben’s deliberate choice, showing unwavering loyalty to the family’s legacy. To uphold their traditions, he was even prepared to give up his own desires and bind himself to someone the world dismissed as plain.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.