Rebirth Snatching Back My Stolen Luck novel Chapter 31

“Make me want to pretend to be more miserable than I actually am.”

The moment he finished his sentence, I let out the breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding.

What was I even thinking?

I scolded myself inwardly. All this flirting and teasing must’ve scrambled my brain.

But…

I looked into his eyes again, only to find that the heat I thought I’d seen earlier was gone–completely.

Had I imagined it?

As the tension drained slowly from my shoulders, I began to turn his words over in my mind.

Was he trying to say he didn’t want my sympathy? That he wasn’t as pitiful as I’d assumed?

If that was really it…

Fine. I’ll play along.

I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes at him. “Which eye of yours saw me pitying you?”

“Is there even anything about you worth pitying? If anything, I should be the one pitied. You own two villas here, and I can only afford to rent one from you.”

He burst out laughing. “You’re right. You’re clearly the most pitiful person here.”

I smiled too, though I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

That was a trace of sarcasm in his voice, right?

Still, thanks to the joke, the air between us lightened again–back to how it was before.

“About the engagement, though…” Dean said suddenly.

“Yes? What about it?”

He leaned forward, his expression turning serious. “Have you ever wondered why you’re the only one being forced into it, even though you’re not an only child?”

I blinked.

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To be honest, that was a question I hadn’t thought much about.

But Dean wasn’t the type to ask baseless questions.

“What are you trying to say?” I asked, my tone becoming equally scious.

“If this Caldwell–Scott alliance is so important, then why not one of your siblings–Julian or Marissa? They could’ve been matched just as easily.”

“And the same goes for the Scotts. No matter how much that man wants to keep all the benefits within his direct line, the family doesn’t belong to just him, especially since his old man is still in charge.”

“From what I know, his younger brother has two unmarried sons and a daughter. Either of the sons could marry Marissa. And if not, Julian could make do with the daughter.”

His words made my eyes widen slightly.

So there were other options.

But before I could feel any relief, he went on, his tone took on a sharper edge.

“But do you know why none of those options were ever considered, let alone suggested?”

I shook my head.

“Because…” he paused for effect, “even if they were, it wouldn’t have worked.”

“Unlike you, your siblings have the power and confidence to reject an arranged marriage.”

His words hit like a lightning bolt out of nowhere, freezing me in place.

And just like that, I finally saw the crux of the matter.

The reason why, even after I got Brandon out of the picture, they simply planned to replace him with someone else, instead of canceling the engagement altogether.

Why they never thought of changing to Julian or Marissa, and matching them with other Scotts.

Because unlike them, I was the powerless one. The useless one.

Julian and Marissa were outstandin

president and the top architect.

But me?

and had thriving careers. Both of them were pillars of the Caldwell Group–the

I had nothing but the title of the Caldwells‘ youngest daughter.

No status. No achievements. No leverage.

So what right did I have to reject the family’s arrangements when this was the one time I could actually be of use to them?

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Chapter 31

A bitter laugh escaped me.

So that was the real reason.

Wasn’t it?

But the part that truly stung was this:

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