'What's happening?' Derek thought as he moved closer.
"I'm fine" Fidelia replied regaining herself back. Thankfully It was not the alter coming out it was just a memory flash back.
She was twelve years old, standing in the hallway with a bloody nose. Bridget had pushed her down the stairs, and Alice had laughed. Derek had walked right past her without a word, his phone pressed to his ear, discussing business as if his "adopted daughter" wasn't bleeding on his marble floor.
'No. He didn't try his best.'
But still... the story about her father. Those words "protect you, no matter the cost."
'What if that part is true? What if he really did care, even just a little?'
She hated how much she wanted to believe it.
She could forgive him for that, maybe. But she could never forget.
And that meant one thing she couldn't stay.
"I want you back in this house," Derek said firmly. "Trust me, I'm doing what I can to help you. But you can't steal your younger sister's fiancé. I won't accept that in this family."
He paused, his tone softening just a little. "Do as I've told you. Marry Silas Carson and live a quiet, happy life with him. This is all to protect you. Please… let me fulfill my promise to my elder brother."
Fidelia stayed silent, her thoughts racing.
'Why Silas Carson again?'
The question burned in Fidelia's mind as Derek spoke.
In her past life, Alice and Bridget had been relentless pressuring her to marry Silas even after she'd caught him in bed with Bridget. Even after the humiliation and the betrayal.
They'd acted like her marrying Silas was essential.
'But why? What's so special about him?'
It wasn't love. It had never been love.
Silas came from a wealthy background, sure but so did plenty of other men Derek could have chosen. Men with better reputations. Men who actually wanted to marry her.
So what made Silas Carson irreplaceable?
Fidelia wiped her tears, her breathing slowly steadying.
Derek was still talking, his voice gentle and persuasive. "Do as I've told you. Marry Silas Carson and live a quiet, happy life with him. This is all to protect you. Please… let me fulfill my promise to my elder brother."
'A quiet, happy life?'
That's what they'd promised her in her past life too. They persuaded her to marry Silas and be a good wife. The way he love bomb her made her fall in love with him only to find out the night before her wedding cheating on her.
And where had that gotten her?
Dead on a marble floor with her skull cracked open.
"I'm sorry," Fidelia said quietly, wiping away the last of her tears.
Her voice was confident that she had already made up her mind
"I can't come back to this house."
Derek's expression shifted immediately. The gentle facade cracked, just for a second, revealing something harder underneath.
"What?" he said in shock
'How much has this girl changed in such a short time?' he thought.
"I said no," Fidelia repeated, standing up and meeting his gaze without flinching. "None of what you suggested is happening."
She reached into her bag and pulled out a slim envelope, setting it deliberately on his desk.
"You dare defy me? After everything I promised your father?"
"I'm sorry, Derek," she said calmly. "It's for my own good. I know you want to protect me but support me instead. I'm marrying Andrian. And I'm not changing my mind."
Derek stayed silent for a moment, studying her. Then, slowly, he exhaled.
"You've made up your mind?"
"Yes."
"Alright then," he said finally. "I'll support you. I approve of your marriage."
Fidelia's eyes widened. She hadn't expected that. She stood up quickly, turning to him in shock, her eyes glassy with disbelief.
"If that's what it takes to make sure you don't turn your back on this family," he said with a faint smile, "then so be it. I can't afford to lose you."
She stayed quiet, hesitant but relieved.
"Fidelia, listen to me," he continued softly. "We're family. And family doesn't hurt each other. So whatever you're planning to do to Alice and Bridget don't. Alice told me about your threat."
"Fine," she said after a pause. "I'll drop it."
Derek's lips curved slightly. "That's my girl." He reached out and brushed her cheek with his hand, smiling.
"I never knew you loved Andrian Richardson instead of Silas," he added lightly. "If I had, I never would've insisted you marry Silas in the first place."
Fidelia smiled faintly, lowering her eyes.
But as the moment stretched, a single thought crossed her mind.
'Am I really in love with Andrian?'
'Yes…No, Maybe.. I don't know' Fidelia Was battling with her mind the she remembered the the letter She took it and placed it on the table.
"I'll be resigning as the General Manager I don't want to work for now," Fidelia said with bold confidence.
"You're leaving the company?" Derek asked.
"No," Fidelia replied calmly. "I'm staying on the board as a shareholder, but I won't be working under you anymore."
'Did he really think I'd continue working under him after everything? Playing the obedient niece while he controlled my every move? Those days are over.'
She turned to leave, but Derek frowned, his jaws locked tight as his fist tightened around the chair in front of him.
"Your father sacrificed everything for this family, for this company. And you're just going to walk away?" His voice dropped low, each word deliberate and cutting.
Fidelia halted mid-step.
'He's using my father against me. Again.'
She squeezed her bag tight but she didn't turn around.
"My father would have wanted the best for me," she said quietly, her voice steady. "You, on the other hand... I can forgive you. But anyone else who tries to ruin me or stands in my way, I won't forgive."
The fact that she was willing to give Derek one last chance didn't mean she trusted him. It meant she was being strategic.
Derek had manipulated her, yes. He'd stood by while Alice and Bridget tormented her. But he'd never directly tried to kill her or destroy her life unlike Silas and Bridget, who'd left her bleeding on the floor in her past life.
So she'd give him a choice: stay neutral, or become an enemy.
If he chose wrong, she wouldn't hesitate to destroy him along with the rest.
Fidelia walked out of the massive Crawford mansion, the door closing behind her without a turning back.
She stood there for a moment, letting the cool breeze wash over her face. Her hands were trembling slightly either from anger or adrenaline, she wasn't sure.
Part of her still ached from Derek's story about her father. The imagination of him dying, asking Derek to protect her, it hurt more than she wanted to admit.
But she couldn't let sentiment cloud her judgment. Derek had proven he was willing to use her, manipulate her, control her.
And she was done being controlled.
Now I still have to confirm what Derek told me. If that's all a lie, then Derek, you have to be a great actor.
She took a steadying breath and spotted Sarah just outside the gate, leaning against the car and staring at her phone.
She took a step toward Sarah when something made her pause.
A young man was walking up the driveway early twenties, wearing a delivery uniform when he stopped her.
"Excuse me, ma'am," he said politely, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Is this the Crawford Mansion?"
"Yes," Fidelia answered curiously.
"Oh, good." He pulled out a small package from his bag. "I have a delivery for Fidelia Crawford."