Chapter 6: A Fake Will Never Become the Real Thing

Words : 2261 Updated : Oct 23rd, 2025

"W-what?" Edith Lynch trembled. Beneath the veil, the face she once loved to show the world was stunned with disbelief. Ever since the fire ruined her looks, she'd braced herself to die alone. Then, just recently, her grandmother called her in and pressured her to marry an older executive in the company. Edith refused. She had once dazzled; now, just a few years later, she was reduced to a bargaining chip. Moments ago, after watching Tori Lynch's shameless ingratitude and the cold hearts in the Lynch family laid bare, she felt deeply that Diego Santee didn't deserve this. Thinking of her own predicament, the words slipped out before she could stop them: "I'll marry him." She hadn't truly meant to marry Diego. She just couldn't stomach her family's behavior. She never expected Diego to take her seriously. She stared at the exquisite necklace in the box. She wrestled with it for a long moment, then shook her head, her face clouded. "Diego Santee, I… I'm scarred, and my leg's messed up." She stumbled over the words as if they weighed a ton. It was the truth, and the wound she least wanted to expose. Three years ago, a fire had turned her, overnight, from Easton's first beauty into someone people recoiled from. "It doesn't matter." Diego took her hands and said softly, "Beauty isn't about looks; it's about your heart." "I want to marry you. Will you marry me?" His gaze, earnest and warm, met hers. Edith trembled, her gaze going hazy. "I… I will." A few seconds later, she made a decision she could hardly believe herself. Once she said it, a weight lifted off her chest. Marrying Diego was still better than being handed off to some greasy middle-aged executive. Besides, he took the fall for Marcelo Lynch. He wasn't, at heart, a bad man. "Good." Diego smiled, took the Love of a Lifetime necklace, and fastened it around her neck. The pale skin of her neck and the gemstone's glow made a perfect pair. As he put it on, their eyes met. Edith flushed and dropped her gaze. "If you trust me, let's go get our marriage license tomorrow," Diego said, all seriousness. "Three days from now, I'll come to the Lynch house and marry you properly." "All right. I trust you." She nodded, her hand lifting to touch the necklace. Applause broke out. "A cripple and a spoiled rich kid, how fitting. Edith Lynch, I really ought to thank you." Tori Lynch clapped, grinning from ear to ear. "If not for you, I'd never have shaken off this useless man." Edith frowned and drew breath to speak. A warm hand settled on her shoulder. "No need to waste words on her," Diego said evenly. "It won't be long before she learns who made the right choice." From anyone else, Edith wouldn't have believed a word of it. But when she met Diego's steady eyes, she chose, for once, to believe. "Ridiculous. Where does that confidence even come from?" Tori sneered. "My man is Zayn Waller, the heir of the Waller family." "He only has to lift a finger and he'll get the Lynch family into the Laver Project and on the coattails of Vasea Group. Even his pinky is way better than you." "Ever heard of Vasea Group? A company worth trillions. You couldn't even get hired as a security guard there." The name stirred something in Diego. It sounded familiar. If he remembered right, the third of his mentors had left him the chairmanship of Vasea Group. It was almost comical. After all that scheming, Tori had come, unknowingly, to beg him. Diego let out a quiet, cold chuckle. "As long as I'm here, you're not getting that project." That simple line carried serious weight. "Keep bragging," Tori said with a laugh, as if she'd just heard the funniest joke in the world. "Zayn has already made the calls. How exactly will you stop him? Go running to Vasea Group to complain?" "Wait and see." Diego had no patience for more. He tossed the words over his shoulder and walked away. Silence fell over the Lynch family for a moment, then the room erupted. "Grandma, you can't let Edith marry that loser. Maybe he's just trying to hitch himself to us." "Exactly. Did you see how eager he looked? He practically asked for money." "What kind of man chooses to marry a disfigured woman? He clearly has an agenda." Voices piled on, one after another, with no regard for Edith's dignity. "All of you, enough," Bailey Shadboult said, tapping the armrest. The room quieted instantly. She studied Edith. From the moment the girl's face had been ruined, Bailey considered her a lost cause. Otherwise, Edith would never have been reduced to a chip to win over a company executive. The engagement between the Lynch and Santee families was common knowledge in Easton. Right now, the Santee family was in deep water. If they rejected the match, tongues would wag, and the family would be called faithless, kicking others when they were down. Even that much of a stain was too much to stomach. To them, Edith was already a write-off. Sending her to the Santee family would settle the debt and quiet the outside world. With that settled, Bailey cleared her throat. "No more. Marriage is a personal choice. If Edith is willing to marry him, let her." Tori nearly burst with delight. She ran to Bailey's side, looped her arm through hers, and beamed. "Thank you, Grandma! If I had to marry that loser, how would I live? I knew you loved me best." "Watch your mouth," Bailey said sternly. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm honoring the pact between our families. I won't have the Lynch family branded as treacherous." "I know, I know." Tori giggled. Her pocket buzzed. She pulled out her phone: a message from Zayn. There was progress on the Laver Project. She hid her satisfaction, and, with the whole family present, replied, asking Zayn to come to the Lynch home to explain. "Grandma, I have more good news," Tori cooed, snuggling closer. "Zayn just told me the Laver Project is moving. I asked him to come tell us in person." Bailey's eyes lit up. "The Laver Project is a flagship Easton investment for Vasea Group. It seems Zayn really has a way in." She swept her gaze across the room. "Listen, all of you. Concerning the Laver Project, no matter who it is or how you manage it, as long as you win our family a chance to cooperate, even as a minor participant, I'll fast-track you and appoint you general manager of our company." General manager? The Lynch family traded looks. That post was the surest path to the helm. It was no exaggeration to say that once you held it, one foot was already in the family head's seat. The last general manager had been Edith. She'd been the family's rising star, until the accident knocked her from her pedestal. Ambition stirred the room like wind through dry grass. Tori's lips curled in a private smile. With Zayn's help, she was certain she'd land the Laver Project. The general manager's chair would be hers. Before long, a young man in a crisp suit and too much pomade walked into the Lynch home. It was Zayn Waller, the eldest grandson of the Waller family, one of Easton's Eight Great Families. "Zayn, you're finally here," Tori said, pouting like a girl wronged. "What happened?" Zayn strode to her side and seized her hand. "Who bullied you? Say the word, and I'll teach him a lesson." "That stinking ex-convict, Diego Santee!" Tori huffed, then rattled off what had happened. Zayn's expression darkened. "And the worst part is, he even whipped out a knockoff called Love of a Lifetime to trick me into marrying him," Tori snorted. "Good thing I'm not naive." "But someone with no brain took the trash I tossed away." She shot Edith a contemptuous look. "You're going too far," Edith said, her tone frosty. "For all you know, the necklace is real." She didn't fully believe it herself, but she couldn't stand to hear them smear Diego. "How hilarious. You believe that?" Zayn shifted to a mocking tone. "As it happens, I have a friend in the jewelry business who's seen the real thing. If you've got the guts, let him take a look." "You heard Zayn," Tori preened. "He can verify it. Do you have the nerve?" "No need," Edith said, cold as ice. "Real or fake, it's his way of showing he cares." "His feelings?" Tori gave a derisive laugh. "Who gives a counterfeit as a token of love? Do you even believe yourself? Stop covering it up-fake is fake; it'll never be real."

Chapter 6: A Fake Will Never Become the Real Thing

Comments (0)