Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex’s "Uncle" - Chapter 224

Chapter 224: The Romantic Rival Strikes
“He knew full well that you had to marry someone from the Carter Family to reclaim your inheritance, yet he still kept the truth from you and deliberately misled you. Add in his murky relationship with Angelica…”

Jacob raised a brow. “So, Miss Clark, do you hate him now?”

Selina snapped back to reality. “What does that have to do with you?”

Jacob gave a faint smile. “Of course it has something to do with me. After all, I was the one you originally planned to marry. If you no longer like Logan, doesn’t that mean I might have a chance?”

Selina’s expression didn’t waver. “Sorry, Mr. Carter. You’re overthinking it.”

Jacob didn’t seem bothered. “I figured you’d say that. I’m not trying to pressure you. Actually, I have another way to help you reclaim your inheritance—one that doesn’t involve marriage.”

Selina arched a brow, sensing there was more to the story.

Sure enough, Jacob continued, “All I ask is for you to attend a private party I’m hosting.”

Selina looked up at him. “You’re saying if I go to your party, you’ll help me get my mother’s inheritance back? Just like that?”

Jacob’s smile was disarmingly innocent. “Exactly.”

He turned to leave. “Think it over, Miss Clark. It’s not a difficult ask—just attending a party to get back what’s rightfully yours. Seems like a good deal to me.”

Selina couldn’t quite figure out her feelings toward Jacob—there was something about him that felt… off.

After he left, Damien asked, “So, are you going to the party?”

Selina shook her head, about to respond, when her peripheral vision caught sight of a sleek black car parked outside.

She blinked. Damien didn’t own that model, did he? Wait…

Damien clearly noticed too. His brow lifted. “Well, well… someone’s worried about you. Who knows how long he’s been standing out there. Leaving him in the cold might be a bit harsh. Want me to invite him in for some tea?”

Selina, remembering how Logan had deceived her, slammed the window shut. “No need! I’m going to bed!”

An assistant quietly asked Damien, “Should we let Mr. Reid come upstairs?”

Damien waved him off. “Let him stay out there. A little cold might teach him something—like not to take our Selina for granted.”

…

Selina spent a long time upstairs, lost in thought.

She had kept lying to herself—Logan was once a Carter Family foster child, so technically he counted as family, which meant she could claim her inheritance. But now it was clear the Carter Family had severed ties with him, and he was never truly one of them.

She’d tested him again and again, and every time Logan managed to brush it off. And she… foolishly believed him.

She’d married the wrong person. She wouldn’t get her inheritance. And now, there was Angelica too…

For the first time in her life, Selina felt completely lost.

Should she get a divorce?

She knew the importance of cutting losses early. If she left now, she wouldn’t have to care who Logan got close to anymore. She wouldn’t have to feel hurt when he gave his attention to another woman.

But just thinking about divorce made her chest ache.

She stayed in her room until nightfall, skipped dinner, and finally came downstairs at 11:30, her stomach growling.

To her surprise, Damien was still in the living room. When he saw her, he casually said, “Just a heads up—cold front’s moving in tonight. City A’s supposed to get snow.”

Selina frowned. “And?”

Damien nodded toward the front door. “That someone is still outside. He’s been standing there all day in nothing but a light coat. If it starts snowing and he’s out there all night… he’s going to freeze.”

Selina’s gaze drifted involuntarily toward the door.

Logan stood tall, leaning against his car, a solitary figure in the dark like a shard of light in the night.

As if sensing her gaze, he looked up.

Her heart gave a hard thump, and she immediately turned away. “Let him freeze if he wants to. I’m hungry.”

Damien stood with a chuckle. “I’ll go make you a steak. Oh—should I cook an extra one for our friend outside? Poor guy hasn’t eaten all day either.”

Selina shot Damien a fierce glare.

Damien chuckled, clearly enjoying himself. “As long as you’re not feeling bad for him, let him starve.”

Selina: “…”

After finishing her steak, she decided out of sight, out of mind, and shut the front door without sparing Logan a single glance.

Having slept too much during the day, Selina couldn’t fall asleep at night. She lay in bed scrolling through her social feed when she stumbled upon a classmate’s post—City A was snowing.

She tapped on the photo. The snowfall was heavy, with thick accumulation blanketing the ground in just a few hours.

Wait… it’s snowing?

Selina shot upright in bed, then tiptoed to the window. She hesitated with her hand on the curtain.

There’s no way Logan’s still out there… right?

The snow was coming down hard—he must’ve left by now. He’s not stupid. Why would he stand outside in the snow for someone who won’t even come out? He had to have left.

She was just going to take a peek—just one look. She only wanted to enjoy the snow, not to check whether Logan was still there.

After mentally hyping herself up, Selina finally pulled back the curtain—and froze.

Why was he still standing there?!

It was 2 a.m., the entire villa was cloaked in darkness, and the moment she turned on her light and opened the curtain, she might as well have painted a target on herself. Of course she instantly locked eyes with Logan.

Selina’s cheeks flushed crimson, and she yanked the curtain shut.

He was still there… in this freezing weather, at this hour. Was he insane? Didn’t he have a company to run tomorrow? Even if he wasn’t going into the office, standing outside all night in the cold like this—was he trying to die?

She thought about sending someone to kick him out, but all the staff and housekeepers were already asleep.

Selina climbed back into bed. “Not my problem. If Logan freezes to death, it’s still none of my business. Yep. Not. My. Problem. I’m going to sleep.”

But she couldn’t sleep at all.

“This isn’t good,” she muttered. “If he collapses out there, the news tomorrow morning will be all about ‘Mr. Brown’s Villa and the Mysterious Feud with Reid Group’s CEO.'”

Selina sighed deeply and got up.

This was totally for Damien’s public image. Nothing to do with Logan.

She threw on a down coat, grabbed an umbrella, and ran outside.

…

Logan had been waiting for hours.

By midnight, the first snow of the season had started to fall—thick, relentless flakes that clung to his coat and stung his face.

He knew the odds of her coming out were slim, but he couldn’t bear to go back to that lifeless villa. He’d rather spend the night under her window.

At 2 a.m., when he saw the lights flick on in her room and her silhouette at the window, it felt like his frozen heart had jolted back to life.

Just seeing her today was enough.

But then—unexpectedly—the front door opened, and a familiar figure came running toward him with an umbrella.

“Logan!”

Logan felt like the blood in his veins froze.

She came out… for him?

As soon as Selina walked out the door, she was shivering in a gust of cold wind. She scowled and snapped, “It’s the middle of the night—what the hell are you doing loitering outside someone else’s house?”