Chapter 199 Marry HER?

Chapter 199: Chapter 199 Marry HER?

Daisy immediately shook her head, trying to explain.

James raised his hand gently.

"Daisy, I know you."

His expression softened for a moment.

"I don’t believe that you deliberately betrayed Cedric."

Daisy’s eyes widened.

James continued, "Whatever happened tonight, I don’t think you were trying to hurt anyone. But clearly, this marriage has become something neither of you wants."

He turned toward Cedric.

"And that means it ends."

Cedric’s eyes widened.

"Grandpa—"

"Both of you will divorce each other!"

His voice suddenly rose through the room. Everyone fell silent.

Daisy stared at him in shock. Cedric looked equally stunned.

James’s face had become red with anger.

"And you, Cedric!"

Cedric stiffened.

"If this is the woman you truly want, then marry her!"

His gaze snapped toward Jessica.

"Isn’t she the woman you’ve been spending your time with? The woman you were with tonight?"

Jessica’s face became bright with barely concealed satisfaction.

"Grandpa, I—" Cedric wanted to explain.

"Don’t explain."

James’s voice was sharp.

"You’ve already made your choice."

Cedric looked stunned.

"Grandpa, this isn’t that simple."

"Then why have you made it so complicated?"

Cedric fell silent.

James turned away from him.

His eyes then landed on Daisy.

For a moment, his anger disappeared. Only sadness remained.

"And Daisy..."

She looked at him nervously.

"I didn’t expect this from you either."

Daisy’s eyes widened. She immediately shook her head.

No, no...

She tried desperately to gesture that she hadn’t done anything wrong.

James understood enough.

"I know you didn’t mean to hurt me."

He sighed.

"But I cannot leave things like this."

He looked toward Alessio.

"And you..."

Alessio’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

James took a breath.

"You will marry Daisy."

The entire room froze.

Daisy’s eyes became enormous as she stared at Grandpa James, completely stunned by his words.

Alessio simply stared at him. Blankly. For several seconds, he didn’t move, didn’t blink and didn’t even seem to breathe.

Even Cedric looked completely shocked.

"Grandpa..."

His voice was filled with disbelief.

James didn’t respond to him.

Alessio was still standing there like his brain had suddenly stopped functioning.

Marry... Daisy?

The thought slowly repeated itself in his mind.

Marry Daisy.

His eyes instinctively shifted toward her. She was standing there with those wide, beautiful eyes, clearly just as shocked as he was.

Marry my crush?

His heart suddenly gave an almost ridiculous little jump.

Marry HER?

For a man who was usually so composed that almost nothing managed to shake his expression, Alessio suddenly felt an unfamiliar warmth spreading through his heart.

He wanted to smile. He really wanted to smile widely.

And that realization almost made him more shocked than Grandpa James’s proposal itself.

Wait...

Why am I feeling this happy?

His lips twitched. He quickly pressed them together.

But it was already too late. Something inside him had become ridiculously light.

For months, he had been trying to convince himself that Daisy was simply his friend. That his protectiveness was nothing more than concern. That the way his attention always wandered toward her was merely because she was different from everyone else.

And now Grandpa James had casually placed the possibility of marriage in front of him. With Daisy. The woman he had secretly been falling for.

Alessio’s heart practically celebrated the idea before his brain could stop it.

I could actually marry her?

The thought made him feel almost giddy. He immediately looked away, trying desperately to regain his usual composure.

Unfortunately, Rafael had noticed everything.

His eyes brightened. He had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from grinning.

My brother is finished.

Rafael lowered his gaze and forced his face into a serious expression. He absolutely refused to laugh at a moment like this. But internally, he was celebrating.

His big brother had been pretending for so long that Daisy was only a friend and now Grandpa James had practically handed him the perfect opportunity.

Rafael glanced at Alessio again. The usually terrifying, emotionless Alessio Ricci was standing there looking as though someone had just offered him the greatest gift of his life.

Rafael almost lost control of his expression.

Oh, this is going to be fun.

Meanwhile, Daisy was still staring at Grandpa James, completely overwhelmed by what she had just heard. She slowly looked toward Alessio.

Their eyes met.

Alessio’s heart skipped.

However, Daisy gave him an apologetic look.

Her expression softened with guilt as she shook her head. She immediately began gesturing with her hands, trying to explain that he didn’t have to marry her, that nothing had happened between them and that she didn’t want Grandpa James to misunderstand their relationship.

Her movements were quick, almost frantic, as if she was desperate for him to understand that she wasn’t trying to trap him into anything.

Alessio watched her hands.

At first, his expression remained blank.

Then he understood.

The small spark of happiness that had appeared in his eyes disappeared almost instantly. It was as if someone had blown out a candle, leaving only cold darkness behind.

His jaw tightened. His hands slowly curled into fists at his sides. His knuckles turned white.

Of course.

She didn’t want this.

Why would she?

To Daisy, he was still only her friend. Nothing more. Just someone who had helped her, someone she worked with, someone she shared comfortable silences with. She had never looked at him the way he looked at her. She had never felt the things he felt.

Alessio lowered his eyes for a moment, forcing himself to swallow the disappointment that had suddenly settled in his chest.

He had allowed himself to imagine something for barely a few seconds and now reality had pulled him back. It was a bitter lesson but one he should have known better than to forget.

Cedric suddenly spoke. "Grandpa, I don’t want to divorce."

Everyone turned toward him.

James’s expression immediately hardened. His eyes blazed with anger, and his jaw clenched. "Shut up!"

Cedric flinched, taken aback by the sharpness of his grandfather’s voice.

"You are already with another woman, and now you don’t even want to divorce Daisy?" James asked angrily. His voice rose with each word. "What exactly do you want?"

Cedric opened his mouth. "I..."

James stepped closer, his presence suddenly intimidating despite his age. "Do you want to cage that girl inside a loveless marriage?"

"No!" Cedric answered immediately.

Then he froze.

His own answer seemed to surprise him. He blinked, as if he had just heard his own voice from somewhere outside his body.

James stared at him. "Then what is it?"