Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex’s "Uncle" - Chapter 581

Chapter 581: Mutual Disdain

Amelia’s scalp prickled as a sudden sense of dread washed over her. She instinctively stumbled back two steps, alarms blaring in her mind.

Then she saw the kidnapper pull off his mask.

…That face!

Amelia’s pupils dilated in horror, a piercing scream tearing from her throat—

“Ahhh!”

It was Jaxon! Others might not recognize him, but she did. Jaxon—the shadowy second-in-command at Logan’s side. Jack was in the open, but Jaxon worked in the dark. Almost no one knew he existed, but she knew all too well.

If Jaxon was the one who kidnapped Owen, then this entire abduction had been orchestrated by Logan from the very beginning…

And just now, what had she said? No, no… even if Jaxon knew, so what? No one would believe it, as long as—

“Amelia is vicious beyond words. The Perry Family clothed her and fed her, and what did she do? She murdered their true daughter, stole her child, and drove her to depression and death!”

“The Perry Family once called her a lucky star? Look at them now—look at the Reid Family now. Lucky star? More like a curse!”

“I used to think she wasn’t worthy of being Mrs. Reid, but now that I think about it, Reid Family Group is bankrupt. She and Daniel are a perfect match.”

“Exactly! And that useless Owen—three of a kind. The whole family are nothing but trash. Perfectly fitting!”

Curses spilled in from outside.

With a loud bang, the door to the lounge was kicked open. Several bodyguards stormed in and yanked Amelia up without hesitation. She thrashed and shrieked in terror.

“What are you doing! I’m Mrs. Reid! How dare you treat me like this?! Let go! Let go of me!”

“Mrs. Reid, huh?” one of the bodyguards sneered. “What a joke. After everything you’ve done, your dirty secrets aren’t secrets anymore.”

“Grandma Perry—no, Lady Green—has already filed charges against you! Swapping children, killing the rightful wife… one crime after another. You and Daniel can rot in prison together!”

Amelia’s whole body went weak as she was dragged back into the hall. Her face turned deathly pale under the barrage of contemptuous stares.

Those looks were all too familiar.

Back when Anna, the true heiress, returned, people looked at Amelia this way because she was just an adopted daughter. Later, when she finally forced her way into the Reid Family, people looked at her the same way, calling her a mistress.

Why? Why…

Ahhh! How did Logan know?!

The secret she had buried for a lifetime was laid bare, exposed for all to see. Why?!

But then—terror clawed up her spine. Without that fabricated mother-son bond, how could she suppress Logan? How could she pave the way for Owen?

Most terrifying of all… what about the marriage alliance with the William family?

Amelia shivered from head to toe, but before she could speak, Selina’s soft laugh cut through the silence.

“Ah, it seems Mrs. Amelia has finally realized.”

Selina looked deliberately troubled, then turned to Duke William. “Just now, Duke William said this marriage alliance was meant to repay Mrs. Amelia for saving Miss Paula’s life all those years ago. Therefore, the groom must be Mrs. Amelia’s biological son…”

She paused, sighed theatrically, and added, “So the one meant to marry Paula should’ve been Logan. After all, you already had an engagement. Even I would have to divorce Logan and step aside so he could be with Miss Paula.”

The crowd: “…”

Mrs. Reid, could you maybe sound a little less gleeful? You’re practically dripping with schadenfreude.

Still… what she said wasn’t wrong. Selina had asked several times earlier, and Duke William had made it clear: Paula’s husband had to be Amelia’s biological son.

“But now, Duke William, you can see the situation for yourself.”

Selina shook her head as though helpless. “Logan isn’t Mrs. Amelia’s biological son, which means he has no right to form a business alliance with Miss Paula. On the other hand, Young Master Owen fits perfectly—he’s Mrs. Amelia’s so-called favored child, the heir of both the Reid and Perry Families, and the very one Duke William designated for this marriage alliance.”

“So let me be the first to congratulate the happy couple! What are you all waiting for? Clap!”

The crowd froze: “…”

In the end, they forced themselves to applaud.

Duke William’s face darkened to a sickly shade of blue. “You—”

“Yes? What is it you want to say, Duke William? Don’t tell me you’re unwilling now?”

Selina batted her eyes, her tone dripping with irony. “When you thought Mrs. Amelia’s son was Logan, you were loud about repaying a debt of gratitude with a marriage alliance. But now that her son turns out to be Owen, suddenly both Duke William and Miss Paula look terribly reluctant. What’s this? The son changes, and so does the obligation to repay the debt?”

Then she tilted her head, feigning surprise as she looked at Paula. “That’s quite the remarkable gratitude—you can apparently pick and choose who you repay it to.”

Again, the room fell into awkward silence: “…”

“And honestly, isn’t this even better? If the alliance were with Logan, you’d have to wait for him to divorce me first, and that process would take ages. But Owen? He’s unmarried! No waiting at all. Miss Paula could march straight into the bridal chamber tonight~”

“You—!” Paula’s face flushed an ugly shade of red, her voice shaking with rage as she forced the words out through clenched teeth. “How dare you humiliate me…”

“Humiliate you?” Selina’s cold laugh cut through the air. “What did I say that wasn’t true? You claimed it was all about gratitude—well, your savior’s son is standing right there, ready to marry you. Or is it that from the very beginning, Miss Paula only had eyes for Logan, a married man?”

Duke William’s expression soured. “Miss Clark, watch your words!”

Paula was unraveling. Word of her marriage alliance with the Reid Group had already spread through the royal house of Country Y, the entire nation knew about it—and now the groom was suddenly Owen?

No. No! She would never accept being tied to such trash.

Paula shrieked, “I won’t do it! Father, help me—I won’t marry that worthless nobody!”

“No! Absolutely not! Owen could easily marry a royal princess if he wanted—how dare Paula be so shameless and ignorant!”

To everyone’s shock, before Duke William could even refuse, Amelia erupted first. She sounded completely unhinged, her voice tearing at her throat.

“Our Owen deserves far better than Paula! Who does she think she is—just because she was born a little higher and happens to have a duke for a father, she thinks she can throw her weight around? Without the William family’s backing, she’d have been dead a hundred times over already!”

“That jinx, that walking curse—how could she ever deserve Owen?”

“What did you just say?!” Paula was stunned. She had never expected kind, gentle “Aunt Amelia” to speak of her this way behind her back. Enraged, she lunged at Amelia, clawing and striking.

“And Owen—useless, a failure at everything he touches, dragging bankruptcy with him wherever he goes—he dares look down on me?! If I’m shameless and ignorant, then what is Owen? A disaster star, a curse on legs?!”