Choosing Between Dignity and Marriage

It was only at this moment that Royce finally believed Lily truly wanted to break off the engagement.

A strange irritation surged within him, a sudden aversion to being a puppet led by the nose.

"Uncle Edmond, you owe Lily. If you want to repay her life-saving grace, that's fine.

"It has nothing to do with me. I don't owe you. Break the engagement? Fine, break it!"

Someday, Lily would regret it and come back begging him. Then, he wouldn't compromise so easily.

Royce took Nadia's hand, protectively placing her behind him as if to defy everyone.

"I don't want the shares either. Don't even think about ruining Nadia. Publicly apologize? No way!

"It's Lily who wants to break the engagement. She brought the criticism upon herself!"

Fuming, Royce almost shouted the last sentence.

"Apologize? Sure! Only if you allow me to marry Nadia!"

Knock—Octavian entered, reminding Edmond that there were five minutes until the meeting.

Edmond threw down his pen, stood up, and slowly adjusted his sleeve, asking Royce, "You want to marry Nadia?"

Royce straightened his back, gritting his teeth, "Yes!"

Nadia's heart trembled, filled with joy.

Edmond asked again, "Think it through, no regrets?"

"No regrets!"

Edmond was silent for a moment, his stern face showing a trace of hidden emotion.

"You want to marry her? Fine, two conditions.

"First, I won't take back the shares, but you must compensate Lily since you are at fault. Cash out the marital home, and give her the two shops on Hui'an Road under your name.

"Second, your woman must publicly apologize to Lily, minimizing the damage you've done to her, and draw the public's ire towards yourselves.

"If you can fulfill these two conditions, you can marry Nadia. I'll handle the family."

Hearing this, Nadia suddenly looked up, eyes full of disbelief.

Royce thought he heard wrong, "Uncle Edmond, you... you're serious?"

He had only spoken in frustration, never expecting Uncle Edmond to agree.

Edmond gave him a cold glance, "Do you want dignity or marriage? Decide. This is your only chance. The offer won't stand forever."

Edmond headed to the meeting room first, asking Octavian to take them to the reception room, where they needed to decide before the meeting ended.

Octavian led them inside. As he turned to leave, Royce grabbed him.

"Mr. Pan, what does Uncle Edmond mean?"

Why the sudden willingness to let him and Nadia marry? Octavian didn't understand his boss's thoughts either, but he tried to maintain his composure.

"Miss Jian keeps asking to get engaged and then to break it off... even if it's to repay a life-saving grace, there must be a limit. Mr. Zhou probably wants to resolve it once and for all."

Hearing the door close, Royce suddenly understood.

Once and for all? So, Uncle Edmond was likely tired of it.

Everyone knew Lily's deep infatuation with him, always insisting on marrying him. This time, she was likely acting out of spite.

Who knew if she would want to marry him again after calming down?

Someone like Uncle Edmond, even with the life-saving debt, wouldn't indulge her repeatedly or allow her to act out whimsically.

So, he proposed marrying Nadia, and Uncle Edmond agreed to take advantage of the situation.

Because the way to end the deadlock was for him to marry someone else while Lily was still off balance.

Dignity or marriage? Nadia didn't even need to think.

Dignity? She wanted it, but compared to her dreams and Royce, it was worthless.

Marrying Royce had been her dream since high school. If her appearance mattered more than Royce, she wouldn't have taken advantage of Lily's absence.

Nadia was willing to do anything to marry Royce. She moved her chair closer to him and leaned against his shoulder.

"Royce, I can apologize to Lily. I can bear the blame for her."

She understood Octavian's words. Edmond likely wanted to settle the matter once and for all to avoid being continually indebted to Lily for saving his life.

This was her only chance, and she had to seize it. Just like back then, when Lily left, Zoya asked her, "Do you want to take Lily's place in Royce's heart?" She took a gamble and won. This time, she wanted to gamble again.

Zoya claimed she had a solution, but Zoya was no match for Edmond's influence. Nadia, still awaiting a response, wrapped her arms around Royce's waist, her tone soft and pleading.

"Royce, until today, I never dared to hope for anything. I love you, so even if I remain a hidden lover forever, I'm willing to. But today, I caught a glimpse of light, and I want to grab it."

Royce knew Nadia had endured much for him. He had tried to resist when Lily returned, causing Nadia to cry alone for a long time and pack her bags to leave, saying she didn't want to trouble him.

He had suggested breaking off the engagement to fight for Nadia once, but Uncle Edmond tempted him to compromise with shares.

He knew Nadia always understood her place, loving him without daring to hope.

This time, she was tempted, likely because Uncle Edmond promised to help.