Chapter 97 Why Marry Him?
#The Brown Family Heir to Wed Commoner Quinley!
Zachary had just finished dismissing a room full of stubborn board members when he saw the headline. Exhausted, he leaned back in his leather chair with his eyes closed, trying to decompress. His phone chimed with an incoming email.
He grabbed the device—just a single link in his work inbox.
One click revealed that sensational headline, followed by photos of David's arm wrapped intimately around Quinley.
In an instant, Zachary's features hardened into sharp lines. His grip on the phone tightened until his knuckles went white, fury spreading across his face like wildfire.
"Mr. Jennings, it's time for the meeting."
Adela knocked and appeared in his office doorway. The temperature in the room seemed to have dropped several degrees, the air pressure suffocating.
Zachary grabbed his jacket and stood, forcing Adela to step aside quickly.
"All department heads are here, along with your mother and brother. Should I—"
Before she could finish, Zachary strode in the opposite direction from the conference room.
"Mr. Jennings!" Adela hurried after him. The meeting room was already in chaos—if Zachary didn't show up, Emily and Landon would cause even more trouble.
"Tell them the meeting's canceled."
He stepped into the elevator and hit the down button.
"Mr. Jennings!" Adela's face went pale. Zachary wasn't impulsive by nature, but his behavior now was completely erratic.
Panicking, she immediately called Lucas.
In the underground garage, Lucas intercepted Zachary just as he reached his car.
"Mr. Jennings, you can't go after Ms. Elikin now. Mr. Brown has already announced their engagement—confronting her won't change anything. Tonight's meeting is crucial. Mrs. Jennings and your brother are clearly trying to push you out. You've worked so hard to build your position at Apex Global Group—you can't let them steal everything you've earned."
Lucas positioned himself in front of the car door, his expression as tense as Zachary's.
He wasn't typically talkative, but these were extraordinary circumstances. As Zachary's closest ally, he had to protect his interests at all costs.
"Move!" Zachary's voice was razor-sharp.
His eyes were bloodshot, his entire body radiating barely contained rage.
"Mr. Jennings, you cannot go."
Lucas refused to budge. Zachary grabbed his arm and physically forced him aside with raw strength before getting into his car. The vehicle roared out of the garage like a bullet.
Lucas didn't hesitate—he jumped into another car and gave chase.
At the upscale restaurant, Quinley and David were having dinner. David's mood was excellent as he ordered a bottle of 1982 Lafite.
He poured Quinley a glass and raised his own. "Cheers."
His naturally handsome features were enhanced by joy, every pore seeming to smile.
Quinley mechanically clinked glasses with him. David drained his wine in one gulp while hers remained untouched.
The medium-rare steak was perfectly prepared, earning David's enthusiastic praise between bites. Quinley had no appetite, picking at her vegetable salad.
Halfway through the meal, her phone began buzzing insistently. Lucas was calling, but she declined and switched to silent mode.
She was too smart for half-measures. Having decided to move forward, she needed to sever all ties with the past completely.
"Quinny, I'm looking forward to the day you fall in love with me."
David raised his glass again.
Quinley was performing admirably, but her heart wasn't in it. Human greed was insatiable—having won her body, he now craved her soul.
"Don't expect too much from me. I'd hate to disappoint you."
She touched her glass to his but still didn't drink, her words falling like ice water on his hopes.
"Quinny, can't you humor me just a little? Why do you always have to be so brutally honest? Come on, try again—just say 'anything's possible.' One sentence, please?"
David pouted like a child, trying to coax her with playful charm.
"I'm full. I'm leaving."
Quinley refused to compromise. She grabbed her purse and stood to go.
She had an obligation to play her part in public, but privately, she intended to remain herself.
Since she wouldn't bend, David did.
"Okay, okay! I was just teasing. Wait for me—we'll leave together."
As Quinley headed for the exit, David quickly caught up. He reached to put his arm around her shoulders, then remembered their agreement and pulled back.
"Quinny, why don't you stay at my place tonight? You'll be moving in after the wedding anyway. My house is huge, really spacious..."
His whispered suggestions made his intentions crystal clear, and Quinley saw right through them.
"Dr. Brown, should we consider voiding our contract?"
She crossed her arms and looked at him with cool disdain.
They'd just signed their agreement, and he was already testing boundaries.
Quinley wouldn't tolerate it. She needed to establish her position clearly—even if she'd sold herself with a contract, she would still be herself.
"No, no, no! I take it back. Quinny, don't be so fierce, okay? I was just joking. Let me drive you home."
David immediately backed down.
On the drive back to her apartment, Quinley felt drowsy and curled up in her seat with half-closed eyes. David glanced at her several times—as a doctor, he knew pregnant women tired easily.
He slowed down and raised the temperature a few degrees.
Thirty minutes later, they pulled up outside her building. As Quinley reached for the door handle, David quickly got out and opened it for her.
"Quinny, you've had a long day. Get some good sleep. Tomorrow morning I'll pick you up to meet my family, then we'll visit your parents. The day after, we'll take wedding photos and book the venue..."
David outlined his plans while Quinley absorbed none of it.
But she still responded dutifully: "Okay."
As she turned to leave, David suddenly pulled her into a bold embrace. She struggled to push him away, but he held tighter.
"Quinny, I hope I can make you happy. But if I can't give you what you want in the end, please promise me you'll still find joy."
His voice was low and serious in her ear. Then he immediately released her and whistled cheerfully.
"I'm so happy right now!"
He called out carelessly, ran a circle around her, then bounded toward his car, waving enthusiastically from the driver's seat.
David carried an eternal youthful exuberance.
Quinley couldn't tell if his happiness was genuine or performed.
They were opposite extremes—she was prematurely mature, cautious and calculating in everything, much like Zachary.
People like them seemed destined to live without joy.
Quinley entered the building and took the elevator up. The moment the doors opened, she saw Zachary.
He stood tall against the wall, radiating an aura of cold fury. The dim hallway lighting created a melancholy halo above his head.
When he spotted her, he turned with eyes dark as storm clouds.
"Mr. Jennings, what brings you here?"
Quinley approached slowly, beautiful in the pink dress he'd once chosen for her personally.
A chasm seemed to stretch between them.
"Why?"
His lips barely moved as he asked the question, anger and confusion warring in his voice.
Quinley's cool gaze swept over his clenched fists, and she smiled suddenly.
"Why what?"
She understood perfectly but refused to engage.
Zachary's fury erupted. He stepped closer, bracing his arms against the wall to trap her between them.
Looking down at her with piercing intensity, he demanded, "Why are you marrying him?"
Quinley met his stare directly.
She'd once harbored fantasies of him taking her hand and fighting the world together. But fantasies were just that—fantasies. He was the untouchable Mr. Jennings, bound by obligations and forced to weigh countless considerations.
She could wait, but she wouldn't watch him lose everything.
Susan's appearance had been a brutal wake-up call. All that longing, all that reluctance to let go—it had all been illusion. She was nothing more than a stand-in living in shadows. Knowing one's place was wisdom.
Quinley smiled again, lifting her chin as coldness spread through her eyes.
"David can give me what I want. You cannot."