A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 804

It was obvious.

The moment she brought up his childhood sweetheart, a flicker of guilt flashed through his eyes.

He had never mentioned her. Not once.

Maybe Darian thought their relationship just wasn't serious enough to warrant total transparency.

"She and I are just friends!" Darian practically scrambled to defend himself.

"Friends?" Tanya raised an eyebrow.

"A guy and a girl? Just completely platonic friends?"

Seeing that she wasn't buying it, Darian's panic spiked. "You don't know her! She's basically one of the guys. She's a total tomboy who's been living abroad for years. Literally all of her friends are dudes."

Tanya just stared at him.

"Are you seriously breaking up with me over this?" he demanded.

"Is it not enough?"

"I swear to God, I have absolutely no romantic feelings for her. Baby, you have to believe me."

Darian had genuinely feared she was walking away over the hundred bucks. He could fix the hundred bucks! The money issue was easy.

But there was something else.

When he realized it was about Yulisa Moore, he actually let out a mental sigh of relief. If his mom had paraded some sophisticated supermodel in front of Tanya, he would be sweating. But Yulisa? The woman was practically a frat bro in his eyes.

"It doesn't matter if you like her or not," Tanya said quietly. "It only matters that your entire family loves her."

That was the crux of the issue, wasn't it?

No matter how much the man loved you, it meant nothing when the entire family had already handpicked their perfect daughter-in-law.

"Who cares if they like her?" Darian argued. "I'm the one getting married, not them. You don't have to give a damn what they think."

He saw things so simply.

"What you just said. 'I'm the one marrying you, not my family.'"

Fairfax had made those exact promises.

And look what happened. Was a marriage ever truly just between two people when billions of dollars and a powerful family name were on the line?

Darian's jaw tightened.

Hearing her draw that parallel again made his blood run cold.

"Darian," Tanya said softly, but her tone was absolute steel. "Some things are not as simple as you want them to be. We absolutely cannot stay together."

She meant every word.

She refused to live the nightmare Starla had lived with Fairfax.

She had always known exactly what she wanted out of life. And the chaotic, toxic world Darian's family would drag her into? She didn't want any part of it.