What She Overheard in Her Own Marriage novel Chapter 299

Hearing those words, Noelle's legs gave out, and she collapsed heavily onto her knees.

"Grandmother, I beg you! Please don't force me. I will listen to anything you say, just don't force me to marry a man I don't love. If you make me do it, I won't survive." Tears poured down her face.

"Do I really need to say the word 'parasite' out loud?" Josephine stripped away the last shreds of dignity.

Noelle knelt on the pavement, trembling violently and sobbing.

Hearing the commotion, Elaine Sanders rushed out of the main house.

Seeing Noelle crying her eyes out on her knees, Elaine immediately pleaded on her behalf. "Mom, please don't treat Noelle this way. You watched her grow up. Why be so heartless?"

Josephine looked at Elaine with a frosty stare. "Precisely because I watched her grow up, it is my duty to discipline her."

"Noelle doesn't have a malicious bone in her body. Mom, why are you backing her into a corner? If she made a mistake, I'll punish her. You're getting too old to get so worked up over this." Elaine knew Josephine's temper. If she was genuinely enraged, the fallout would be catastrophic.

Josephine scoffed, glaring at the insufferable mother-daughter duo.

"Elaine, I know you view her as your own flesh and blood, but you need to open your eyes. Stop letting her play you for a fool. It is utterly disgraceful."

Noelle was too terrified to breathe. If the old woman exposed exactly what she suspected right here and now, Elaine would start questioning her too. And if that happened, it was game over.

Fortunately, Josephine still cared about the family's image and opted to keep the dirty laundry under wraps.

Staring down at the top of Noelle's head, Josephine said, "I'm not doing this to be cruel, and I'm not trying to banish you. I just want you to think very carefully. Wasting your youth chasing a dead end is pathetic."

Noelle froze, lifting her tear-streaked face.

Josephine bored into her eyes. "Do you understand me?"

Noelle's lips parted, but no sound came out.

She understood.

But she would never let him go.

Just as the tension reached a boiling point, a black Bentley swept through the gates.

Finnian had chosen this exact moment to return home.

Seeing the van blocking the driveway, he threw his door open and marched over. Seeing Noelle trembling on the ground, tears streaming down her face like an abandoned puppy, his brows snapped together instantly.

Noelle stubbornly held back her tears. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were as red as a rabbit's.

She didn't say a word, just silently crawled into the backseat. Seeing how thoroughly terrified she was, Finnian's lips pressed into a hard line. He turned to the driver. "Take her home. Mom, you should go with her."

Elaine nodded, asking, "Why did you come back?"

"Just needed to grab something," Finnian replied.

Noelle finally looked up, her tear-filled eyes locked onto Finnian. She looked at him as if he were her sole savior and only hope in the world. That overwhelming vulnerability and utter dependence tugged violently at Finnian's heartstrings.

He closed the door and waved the driver off. The Bentley disappeared down the road.

When he turned back around, Josephine was already heading upstairs, refusing to acknowledge him.

Finnian's fingers curled into tight fists. He went to his room on the second floor, grabbed his things, and had Giles arrange a car to leave.

Finnian was dead set against his grandmother forcing Noelle into a marriage. This wasn't some ancient feudal era; women had the right to choose their partners.

But his grandmother was born into that era. Decades ago, it was her word that had bound Noelle to his older brother in the first place. Finnian had always held a deep-seated grudge against his grandmother for that specific tragedy.