Chapter 108: Wedding Night
"Really?" Owen took a drag of his cigar, eyes narrowing as he looked her over. "I don't think Harriet is that stupid. She agreed to divorce to avoid dragging her uncle down—how could she possibly dare to set me up?"
"I'm telling the truth!" Lark said through tears. "If it wasn't her, who else could it be?"
Owen smiled and wiped the tears from her face. "Stop crying. I can't stand women crying in front of me. Whatever you say, fine."
Lark rarely received this kind of affection from a man, and a strange feeling crept into her heart.
"Mr. Lancaster, what should we do now?"
"What do you want to do?" Owen asked back.
Harriet thought for a moment. "I still want to marry Tristan."
As soon as she finished speaking, Owen's phone suddenly rang.
He picked up and answered, "Xavier, what is it?"
"Dad, is Tristan really going to marry Lark?" Xavier asked. "I feel like Tristan can't quite let go of Harriet."
Owen put it on speaker. "Why do you think that?"
"You don't know—I just went to Cloud Bay to find Tristan and saw him getting intimate with Harriet. They didn't even go to the bedroom, just right there on the living room couch... If Tristan really hated Harriet, how could he let her touch him?"
"Got it."
Owen hung up directly and looked at Lark's face, twisted with anger. He smiled. "You heard that. Do you still want to insist on marrying Tristan?"
Lark's hands gripped the sheets tightly. She said unwillingly, "I want to marry him!"
"But you're already my woman now." Owen looked at the red stain on the bed, remembering how she'd gone from shy at first to seductive later last night, nearly driving him wild.
Honestly, he hadn't had enough of her yet.
Lark quickly said, "But you already have a wife."
She wasn't going to be like Owen's other women—nameless, sneaking around.
She wanted to be the most prestigious woman in all of Emberfall, so she had to marry Tristan and become the legitimate Mrs. Lancaster.
"Tristan can't even perform sexually. What's the point of marrying him?" Owen blew out a smoke ring. "Didn't you feel pleasure last night? You won't experience that with Tristan."
Lark smiled. It seemed not just Harriet, but everyone thought Tristan was impotent.
Lark's eyes darted around. "Mr. Lancaster, do you like me?"
"Didn't before." Owen's hand roamed over her body, his gaze already changing. "But after last night, I do."
Lark laughed coquettishly and leaned into his arms. "Then I'm relieved. After I marry Tristan, I'll still be your woman."
Then she'd be Tristan's wife with Owen backing her up—the two most powerful men in Emberfall would both be in her palm. No one could compete with her.
Killing Harriet would be easier than crushing an ant!
Owen's eyes narrowed. "You want to secretly sleep with me while being my daughter-in-law? I never realized how slutty you are!"
Lark's legs wrapped around his waist like a snake. "Darling, don't you think this is exciting?"
Owen blew smoke in her face. "Fine, we'll do it your way. The wedding goes on as planned, but when I want you, you come whenever I call."
Lark laughed with satisfaction and rolled over to sit on top of him seductively. "Like this?"
"You little vixen!"
Owen cursed, threw away his cigar, and quickly flipped over to pin her down.
After leaving Cloud Bay, Harriet went straight to the Johnson family.
Chase had gone to kindergarten and wasn't home. The servant led Harriet directly to Nolan's study.
"Harriet?" Nolan looked a bit surprised to see her. "What brings you here? How are you feeling?"
"Much better." Harriet thanked him. "I heard from Mr. Jones about what happened last night. Thank you for saving me. If I hadn't run into you, who knows what would have happened."
"I didn't expect such a coincidence either. Since I ran into you, I couldn't just ignore it."
A servant brought in tea. Harriet thanked them and asked, "How's your shoulder injury?"
"I told Mr. Jones not to tell you, but he did anyway."
Harriet took a sip of hot tea. "Mr. Jones knows what should and shouldn't be said."
"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious. Already taken care of."
"I'm sorry. Tristan misunderstood us, so he acted impulsively." Harriet took some medicine from her bag. "This is medicinal powder I made myself—apply it to the wound. And this is scar removal cream—use it once the wound heals."
Nolan smiled. "I'm a man. Having some scars is normal, and it's not even on my face."
"You got injured because of me. I have an obligation to help remove the scar."
"Then I'll accept it. Thank you." Nolan changed the subject. "I heard from Mr. Jones that you bought a new place. When you move, let me know—I'll help you with a housewarming."
Harriet politely declined. "I'm not planning a moving ceremony, so no housewarming needed."
Nolan looked at her. "Is it that you're not planning one, or that you don't want me there?"
Harriet looked a bit awkward and explained, "Tristan has deep misunderstandings about us. I don't want him to deepen those misunderstandings and come after you again."
Nolan nodded. "Good thing he's getting married soon. I imagine after he's married, he won't keep his eyes on you anymore, and then we can interact normally."
"Maybe."
No matter what Tristan's attitude toward her was, once he married Lark, she would absolutely never see him again.
No matter how bad Lark was, Harriet wouldn't interfere in their marriage.
It was a matter of principle.
In the following days, Lark was extremely busy.
This was the wedding she'd been looking forward to most, so she was very invested, making all the decisions herself, big and small.
She even found time to get her hymen reconstructed, preparing for her wedding night with Tristan.
As for Harriet, since that video was recorded, she didn't dare make any rash moves. She planned to wait until she'd won Tristan's heart before dealing with Harriet properly.
But although the wedding preparations were in full swing, Lark never managed to see Tristan.
He wouldn't answer her calls, and when she went to Cloud Bay, Rhea blocked her at the door.
Lark couldn't help worrying—if Tristan refused to attend the wedding, she'd become the biggest laughingstock in all of Emberfall.
But Owen assured her confidently that Tristan wouldn't dare.
Only then did Lark feel at ease.
Harriet tried to numb herself by focusing on work, but it was difficult.
Even if she could manage during the day, when she lay down at night, she couldn't help thinking of Tristan.
She couldn't suppress the feeling of heartache.
On the eve of the wedding, Harriet went to work as usual.
After a busy day, when it was time to leave, Harriet was getting ready to go home when someone knocked on the door.
"Please sit." Harriet was looking down, organizing things, and thinking it was a patient, instinctively asked, "What's bothering you?"
"Mrs. Harriet Lancaster."
Harriet looked up to see a familiar face. "Uma, what brings you here?"
Uma Reed spoke politely but distantly. "Mrs. Gemma Lancaster wants to see you."