The Bïllionaire's Retruutioñ

Hearing Gordon's response, Theodore immediately understood that the marriage arrangement had just fallen apart.

Seated in his wheelchair, Damian glanced at Gordon with an expression of indifference. "Mr. Hayes, your son is already in his thirties. I understand your eagerness to arrange a marriage for him. However, I believe the older daughter of the Cross family isn't suitable for him. The younger one, on the other hand, might be a better match."

The entire room fell into an eerie silence. Both Theodore and Gordon tried to decipher the meaning behind Damian's words.

Selena was already married into the Caldwell family. How could she possibly remarry?

Elena was equally puzzled by Damian's words.

Selena, on the other hand, grew frantic. "No! I refuse! I'm already the young Mrs. Caldwell, and I won't marry that fool!"

At the mention of the word "fool," a noblewoman who had been sitting quietly up until now suddenly spoke up. Her tone was icy. "Just moments ago, you were singing my son's praises, calling him handsome and saying this would be a wonderful marriage. But now you call him a fool? How vile and two-faced of you."

Selena clenched her fists in anger. She had only spoken highly of Gordon's son earlier because she had wanted to push Elena into the marriage. Now that the tables had turned, she was desperate to escape.

"Is that so?" Damian mused, an amused smirk playing at his lips. "I didn't realize Selena had such strong feelings for Mr. Hayes' youngest son. Mr. Hayes, if you're interested, I can personally speak to the Caldwell family about the matter."

Selena panicked, her face drained of all color. "No, Father! I don't want to marry him! I was just talking nonsense!"

Theodore's face darkened. He didn't know how to salvage the situation. If he wasn't careful, he would end up offending both the Hayes family and the Blackwell family.

Vivian Cross, equally distressed, stepped forward in a rush. "Please, Mr. Blackwell, don't joke about such things. Selena is already married. She can't remarry just like that. She's still young—she doesn't fully understand what she's saying."

Elena scoffed inwardly. Young? She's twenty-six. Is that still considered young?

She turned to her father with a knowing smile. "Mother, didn't you all say earlier that this was a great marriage opportunity? I believe my sister was truly interested in joining the Hayes family. She simply married the wrong person before. Now that Mr. Blackwell is personally handling the matter, she has a rare opportunity to correct her mistake. It's a good thing, isn't it?"

Selena's face twisted in fury as she glared daggers at Elena. "If you want to marry him so badly, then you marry him!"

Vivian snapped, her voice laced with regret as she blurted out, "How could that fool ever be worthy of my daughter?!"

The moment those words left her mouth, the entire room tensed.

Mr. and Mrs. Hayes were livid.

Mrs. Hayes stood up, her tone dripping with resentment. "So the Cross family thinks my son isn't worthy? If your family hadn't come to us begging for this arrangement, we would never have entertained the idea." Her cold eyes swept over Selena and Vivian. "At such a young age, your daughter is already this scheming and manipulative. The Caldwell family is truly unfortunate to have her as a daughter-in-law."

Mr. Hayes's expression was equally dark. He turned to Theodore with a sneer. "Mr. Cross, what a fine daughter you've raised."

Theodore's heart pounded as he quickly bowed in apology. "Mr. Hayes, Mrs. Hayes, please calm down. It was just a misunderstanding."

But the damage was done.

Gordon's voice was firm as he turned to Damian. "Mr. Blackwell, it seems this arrangement was a mistake. We won't be proceeding with it. I appreciate your time, but we must take our leave."

Damian merely nodded, his face unreadable.

Seeing Gordon leaving in anger, Theodore panicked. "Mr. Hayes, wait—"

But Gordon and his wife had already turned away, exiting the house with fury still etched on their faces.

With the Hayes family completely offended, Theodore cast a murderous glare at Vivian.

Vivian and Selena were seething as well. They had wanted to trap Elena into this disastrous marriage, yet somehow, they had only brought disaster upon themselves. Meanwhile, Elena remained completely unscathed.

Both mother and daughter now despised Elena even more. Their hatred for her grew deeper than ever.

Even though Theodore was livid, he dared not act out. Damian Blackwell was still there, and he couldn't afford to offend both the Hayes family and the Blackwell family.

After Gordon and his wife left, Theodore wiped the cold sweat from his palms. He trembled slightly as he turned to Damian.

"Mr. Blackwell… why have you come here today?" His voice was shaky, uncertain.

He still didn't know the true reason behind Damian Blackwell's visit, and that uncertainty filled him with fear.

Damian Blackwell's gaze settled on Elena Cross.

Theodore Cross also shifted his eyes toward her, suspicion evident in his expression.

Could it be that Damian had come here for Elena?

Did he still want to take her as his wife?

When Vivian and Selena Cross saw Damian's eyes lingering on Elena, a flicker of satisfaction crossed their faces.

Surely, he had come to settle the score with her.

Elena had escaped the marriage—how could the Blackwell family possibly let her off so easily?

The intense gaze made Elena's heart skip a beat.