Swapped Vows at His Castle, Swapped Bride at the Altar

"Ivy, you know how much that watch meant to me!"

It was the last piece of my grandfather I had left, aside from the Sterling family courtyard.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Ivy's face at my accusation, but she quickly shook it off. "You're mistaken. That isn't your grandfather's pocket watch."

"I'm not mistaken. It's Grandpa's. It was kept together with the gold bracelet!"

"This is a Carlton family gathering. Stop embarrassing me and go home!"

I stared at her in disbelief, my eyes burning red. She panicked. For Jonah, she had disregarded my feelings countless times. But she had never seen me break like this.

Now, seeing me like this, her heart sank.

But just as she reached out toward me, Jonah suddenly cried out, "Theo, I just thought it looked nice and asked Vivi for it. Please don't be mad at her…"

Ivy frowned. "Jon, I gave it to you willingly. Why are you blaming yourself?"

She had defended him again. The words hit me like lightning, and my whole body began to tremble. I exclaimed, "Ivy, how could you do this to Grandpa? What right do you have to give his things to Jonah?"

Jonah stepped forward and grabbed my wrist, shouting, "I'm sorry! It's all my fault. I shouldn't have said the gold bracelet was beautiful. Otherwise, Vivi wouldn't have melted it down to make me this watch, and then overlaid the pocket watch design on top of it…

"Theo, hit me if you want. You two are getting married tomorrow. You shouldn't fight…"

I sucked in a sharp breath, but the rage inside me refused to settle. Grandpa had left that gold bracelet for me. It was meant for his granddaughter-in-law. But it had been melted down into Jonah's watch!

With every ounce of energy I could muster, I slapped Jonah. "Give it back to me!"

A red mark instantly appeared on Jonah's face. Ivy flew into a rage and slapped me in return. "You hit Jon because of a worthless bracelet? How could I marry a lunatic like you? Apologize to him right now, or the engagement is off!"

I staggered back a few steps. When I steadied myself, everyone was staring at me—everyone except Ivy, who was busy comforting Jonah.

At that moment, I was crushed with regret. I never should've fallen in love with Ivy. I shouldn't have been so determined to marry her.

There had been many better choices. But for the sake of those ten years of love, I had destroyed the last thing Grandpa left me. I took one final look at the watch on Jonah's wrist, clenched my fists, and turned away.

Ivy watched me walk away, but only for a second before turning back to console Jonah.

Rebecca's car was parked not far from the Carlton residence. When I climbed in, she gasped, reaching out to touch my cheek, but I pushed her away. "Let's go. I don't want to stay here for another second."

Her brows furrowed. She glanced at the Carlton residence, fury flashing in her eyes, then nodded and drove straight to the airport.

By the time we landed in Hawthorn, it was already nighttime. I received three text messages from Ivy, all sent that afternoon.

"I really don't understand why you have to be so unreasonable. What do you gain from humiliating me in front of my family?"

"You're lucky Jon already forgave you. Let's just put this behind us. We're boarding the flight now. See you in Staravia tomorrow."

"It's just a bracelet and a watch. I'll buy you ten new ones tomorrow, alright?"

I read each text calmly. With a light tap of my finger, I blocked her on every platform. Then, I returned the entire marriage settlement to the Carltons.