Valary stormed in, her heels striking sharply against the floor, each step fast, uneven, filled with rage she wasn't even trying to control anymore.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Her voice tore through the silence before she even fully stepped into the living room.
Martin was already there.
"You don't get to just drop something like that on me over a call!" she snapped, walking straight toward him, her eyes blazing, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Marriage? Next month? Have you completely lost it?!"
Martin didn't react immediately. His face remained composed, but his eyes followed every step she took.
"Lower your voice," he said calmly.
Valary let out a sharp, humourless laugh, running a hand through her hair in frustration.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she mocked, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Should I sit down politely and thank you for deciding my entire life without asking me?"
She stepped closer, invading his space now, her anger spilling over with every word.
"Who the hell do you think you are, huh?" she demanded. "You don't get to control me like this!"
"I am your father," Martin replied, his voice firm, steady.
"Then act like one!" she shot back instantly. "Because right now? This…" she gestured wildly between them "this is not what a father does!"
Her breathing grew heavier, her voice cracking slightly, but she didn't stop.
"You didn't even ask me if I want this!" she continued, her tone rising again. "You just decided it like I'm some… some deal you can finalise!"
Martin's jaw tightened slightly.
"This is not a deal," he said, more sharply now. "Watch your words."
"No, you watch yours!" Valary snapped, her eyes burning. "Because you're the one ruining my life right now!"
Martin's expression darkened just a little.
"Enough," he said, his voice dropping, carrying authority now. But Valary wasn't backing down.
"No!!!" she yelled, her voice echoing again. "You don't get to shut me up after pulling something like this! Who is he, huh? Some dump shit? And I'm just supposed to marry him like a good little daughter?! Hell. No"
She let out a bitter scoff, folding her arms tightly across her chest.
"Unbelievable."
Martin took a slow breath, trying to keep control.
"Don't talk about him like that…He is the best man for you," he said. "I know his family, you will be happier than ever with him, and this way I can give you the life you lost in your childhood through him… I trust him."
"Oh, great!" she clapped her hands once, sarcastically. "You trust him. That's perfect. Then why don't you marry him?"
The moment the words left her mouth, the room went still. But her anger didn't let her take it back.
Martin's gaze hardened.
"You are crossing your limits, Valary."
"Oh, I crossed them?" she laughed again, shaking her head. "You dragged me across them the moment you decided I'm getting married without my consent!"
Her voice dropped slightly, but it didn't lose its intensity.
"I have a life," she said, her tone now more controlled but trembling underneath. "I have plans. I'm not ready for this. I don't even know that guy!"
"You will," Martin replied.
That simple answer ignited her again.
"Oh my God…" she muttered, pacing a step back before turning to face him again. "Do you even hear yourself? This is insane!"
Her eyes glistened now, but her anger refused to let the tears fall freely.
"I am not doing this," she said firmly. "Cancel it. Whatever this is… cancel it. Tell them to fuck off, or else I will make sure to make his life a living hell. Remember my words"
Martin stayed silent for a moment.
Then…
"No."
Valary stared at him, disbelief washing over her face.
"…What did you just say?" she asked slowly.
"I said no," he repeated, his voice steady. "This marriage is happening."
Something inside her snapped completely this time.
"Fucking shit!" she shouted.
"If you walk away from this marriage. Or tried to hurt that boy, then you will lose all of my assets and your mother's," Martin said, his tone now cold.
That was it.
Whatever control Valary had been holding onto…snapped.
"You can't do this to me!" she burst out, her voice shaking with fury as she stepped forward, her hands trembling at her sides. "I am the heir to those assets. They're mine! You can't just take away what belongs to me!"
Her breathing turned uneven, chest rising and falling rapidly as anger and panic tangled inside her.
"I have rights!" she continued, her voice breaking into something sharper, more desperate. "I will fucking sue you, Mr Will."
"Sue?" Martin repeated, a faint smirk forming on his lips, one that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Something was unsettling about how calm he looked.
"Darling…" he said slowly, almost too softly, as he turned toward the table and picked up a set of documents. "Why don't you read this first?"
He walked toward her and extended the papers.
"This is your mother's will."
Valary's anger didn't disappear—but it faltered.
Just slightly.
Her brows furrowed as she snatched the papers from his hand, unfolding them with impatience. But as her eyes began moving across the lines…
Her expression changed.
Her breathing slowed.
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Her throat went dry.
"This is…" her voice came out barely above a whisper, her lips parting as she stared at the document. "This can't be…"
"Yes," Martin said firmly, cutting through her disbelief. "It can."
Valary looked up at him, clearly shaken.
"You will not receive any of your mother's assets, nor mine," he continued in a steady tone that left no room for argument, "unless you marry the man chosen for you."
The words hit her harder this time, colder and more final.
"And even after the marriage," he added, keeping his gaze fixed on her, "you will have to wait one year. Only then will I decide whether to transfer everything into your name, based on your conduct."
Valary's fingers trembled as she held the paper.
"Until then," he finished, "you won't get a single penny."
The room suddenly felt suffocating, as if the walls were closing in on her. She stood there frozen, her eyes scanning the same lines again and again, hoping they would somehow change, but they didn't.
Her mind raced and her chest tightened as one question kept repeating in her head—why would they do this? Why would her own parents trap her like this?
Confusion filled her eyes as her thoughts spiraled, making her feel as if she had been pushed into a dark place with no way out.
It wasn't about survival. She could live without the money.
But this wasn't just money.
Those assets were everything she had built her future on. They were her dream, her project, the one thing she had carefully planned and held onto for years. Every step of her life had been leading toward that goal, and her parents' assets were the foundation of it.
Without them, everything would collapse.
And she knew it.
Her breathing grew heavier as her emotions rose again, this time mixed with helplessness.
Martin watched her quietly for a moment before speaking.
"Think about it," he said, his voice softer but still firm. "If you listen to me, you will get everything the way you want, and your future will stay intact."
He paused briefly before adding in a quieter tone, "And I will have peace knowing you are with a good man."
His gaze softened slightly.
"I am certain your mother would have been happy with this marriage too."
"Don't…" Valary's voice came out low and strained as her eyes snapped up at him. "Don't drag her into this."
Her grip on the papers tightened again, and her jaw clenched as anger returned, stronger now and mixed with pain.
"You think you've won?" she said, her voice trembling but cold, every word deliberate. "You think forcing me into this marriage is some kind of victory?"
She let out a bitter laugh.
"Fine."
Her eyes locked onto his, filled with defiance.
"But remember this," she said as she stepped closer, her voice dropping into a dangerously quiet tone, "I will make sure you regret this decision, Mr. Martin Will."
The threat hung heavily in the air.
Then, suddenly, she threw the papers onto the floor, the sound echoing through the room.
Without saying another word, she turned and walked away quickly, her steps unsteady as she struggled to hold her emotions together. She stormed down the hallway and slammed her bedroom door shut so hard that it echoed throughout the house.
The silence that followed felt louder than the fight itself.
Martin stood there without moving, his eyes resting on the scattered papers on the floor.
After a moment, he slowly exhaled.
"You will understand one day," he murmured quietly, his voice heavy with something close to regret, "when you realise what you could have lost."
He paused, then looked toward the hallway where she had disappeared.
"But I never wanted you to reach that point, Val."