Asshole.

  A string of curses drifted through her head, none of which left her mouth. Lina glowered at her Uncle with sheer hatred. She wished a hole would open up and swallow him whole. How could he have not consulted her when making such a horrible decision? ??

  Lina opened her lips, but closed them. She needed a minute to breathe. Or else, she was going to curse him, his ancestors, and his entire livelihood. Once she had a slippery grasp of her sanity, she cleared her throat.

  "Did you publicly announce this yet?" Lina demanded, trying her hardest to keep her emotions in control. But all she wanted to do was chuck a glass of water at him.

  William was impressed. He expected her to throw a slur of insults at him, all of which he'd accept for making this decision for her. He did it for her sake. His intentions were in the right place, but his mind was not.

  "I haven't announced this decision yet," William stated. "But your husband has already agreed. He received my blessings this morning when I contacted him."

  Lina didn't know Everett had her Uncle's contact.

  "He's not my husband," Lina deadpanned. "And he'll never be."

  William loudly sighed. He leaned back in his chair and stared at her like a teacher deciding a punishment for his student.

  "Don't be a child, Lina," William stated. He viewed her as his own daughter, despite how little she looked like him. He cared for her, in his own twisted little way.

  "Lina, I'm offering you a way out of this mess," William sincerely said. "I do it for your own good."

  Lina scoffed.

  William gestured towards her body. "You wanted freedom—a normal life. This is your best chance at getting it. It's known amongst the Chief Executive Circle that the Leclare men never like power-hungry women, and you fit that description perfectly," he began.

  "You can marry Everett and you'll be able to live that college lifestyle without your mother breathing down your back to get married to a rich man," William explained.

  "Oh please, I am the rich man," Lina muttered.

  William softly laughed. "I'm certain you are with the number of shares you own."

  William paused. "And the high profits from every investment that was perfectly executed by you whenever you stood in for me or your Second Uncle."

  William didn't understand how she couldn't see her potential. For god's sake, she made decisions for Yang Enterprise as a hobby. Yet, she didn't want to rule this company?

  "But you must understand where I am coming from," William said. "Your best odds at marriage would be to Everett Leclare."

  Lina would rather die than marry a man her family decided on. Especially a man her Uncle decided on. He was great at weaving a web of lies to trap his prey. He was getting something out of this marriage, and she knew it.

  "Lina, Leclare men are quite kind-hearted. I'm sure you'd know from your dates with Everett. He has promised me this morning that he won't stop you from chasing your ambitions, so long as it's not power within his company," William added, even though he knew she was reluctant to listen.

  "From this marriage, you'll gain freedom, independence, and security with a decent looking man in his late twenties who has no previous prison records or a dangerous background," William stated, staring at her like she was an idiot. "Any woman would kill for this opportunity."

  "Any woman but me," Lina said.

  "Lina, don't be rebellious, you're far too old for that," William chided.

  "Is it so hard to give a woman a little freedom to make her own decision?" Lina asked.

  William's gaze softened. "You know that was impossible the minute you were born a Yang. Your life has been set in stone and will always be decided by other people."

  Lina shook her head. "No."

  "Lina—"

  "No, that will not be me," Lina stated.

  Lina stood up from her chair, forcing it to loudly screech on the floor. He winced and shot her a glare. She met his ferocious stare. Wolf vs fox. Who'd win? She hoped it was her, the cunning fox.

  "Lina!" William sharply said, hoping to reason with his unreasonable niece.

  "Everett is the supposed victim of your affair, Lina, for your relationship with him was announced first," William slowly said. "Those pictures of your museum date—"

  "Might as well have been posted by you," Lina seethed, her heart thundering from the tension. "You promised me, Uncle. You said my pictures would never be leaked anywhere."

  "I did the best that I could, Lina," William stated, slipping his fingers in front of him and resting them on his desk.

  "You're trying to corner me," Lina retorted.

  William gazed at her with sympathy. "You are my father's favorite. I would do no such thing."

  "You're not a man of your word, as much as you'd like to lie to yourself," Lina stated, straightening her shoulders.

  Lina grabbed her purse from his desk and tightly clutched it. She debated swinging the purse at him as one would swing a brick. But no amount of spilled blood would satisfy her.

  "Where are you going?" William demanded, standing up with her. "You will sign the wedding certificate. And I will not take any objections."

  Lina scoffed. What was he going to do? Lock her in here until she submitted? He forgot he was in his late forties and she could flip him with the flick of her wrist.

  "Don't worry Uncle," Lina spat out the last part. "You'll get yourself a signed wedding certificate by tomorrow morning."

  William raised his brows. "If you're going to discuss this with Everett Leclare, it's no use, he's out of this city on an emergency business meeting with Leclare Law Firm. He won't return for another two days," he stated.

  Lina rolled her eyes.

  William frowned deeply. "You should prepare yourself to meet his family, your future-in-laws."

  Lina felt something snap inside of her. She reminded herself to be calm. She had lost her cool before and it did not go well. It never did.

  "Oh, I'll definitely prepare myself to meet my future-in-laws," Lina concluded.

  Lina turned on her heels and stalked off.

  "Lina—"

  Lina grabbed the door and swung it open, startling Anna who had been waiting outside.

  "LINA!"

  Lina didn't stop. She didn't even look back. She was a woman on a mission and she was stopping for no man.