Chapter 354: A Mother’s Fury

(Skylar's POV)

"Absolutely not."

Chris barely glanced at me as he signed another document, his focus unshaken.

"Skylar, this isn't your decision."

I slammed my hand down on the desk. "You're telling our son to either marry a girl he doesn't love or lose everything!"

"Yes," he answered without hesitation.

"Chris—"

"It's done." He looked up at me finally, his gaze calm. Cold. "If he refuses, Christiana will take his place. It's as simple as that."

My heart pounded with anger. I had accepted a lot over the years. Too much. But this? Forcing Classic into a political marriage? Stripping him of his identity if he refused?

"He is our son!" I snapped.

"He is my successor."

I exhaled sharply, trying to control the rage bubbling inside me. "And if he fights back?"

Chris leaned back, fingers steepled together. His expression remained unreadable, but I knew him. I knew what that silence meant.

"Then he loses," he said simply.

My fists clenched.

For the first time in years, I looked at my husband and saw not the man I loved, but the emperor he had become.

And I realized… I might have to fight him for our son.