Chapter 142:Did you agree to marry her?

Chapter 142: 142:Did you agree to marry her?

Nova’s faint smile shattered instantly, replaced by a glacial, unyielding void. She didn’t utter a single word, but as she slowly turned her gaze toward Stella, her piercing blue eyes radiated an aura so suffocatingly murderous it could stop a heart in its tracks.

Stella felt the invisible, crushing weight of that stare. She attempted to meet Nova’s gaze, but a primal, paralyzing terror seized her spine, forcing her to avert her eyes immediately. She had never experienced such visceral fear in her entire life.

?"A wedding?" Liora’s voice broke the suffocating silence. She turned sharply to Prince, whose attention was entirely consumed by Nova. "Brother, did you agree to this nonsense?"

?Prince seemed entirely deaf to the room. Lost in a beautiful, intoxicating trance, his eyes were locked hungrily on Nova.

?"Brother! Brother!" Liora shouted, her voice laced with deep annoyance. When he still didn’t respond, she reached out and smacked his shoulder.

?"Mhm?" Prince finally blinked, tearing himself from his daze.

?"She just claimed you two are discussing a wedding! Did you agree to marry her?" Liora demanded.

?Prince’s brow furrowed. Ignoring his sister, he turned back to Nova. Switching effortlessly to Mandarin, assuming she couldn’t understand the English conversation happening around them, he asked softly, "Nova, what do you think of this?"

?Nova raised a single, elegant eyebrow. "I can slaughter thousands of women trying to force their way to you, but I cannot fight the one you willingly choose," she replied smoothly in the same tongue.

?Prince’s eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated shock before immense joy flooded his features. He reached out, grasping her hand with a desperate thrill. "Does that mean... you agree to date me?"

?"Trying to approach me slowly? What a cunning, opportunistic man," Nova thought, a dark smirk curving her lips. "Of course," she replied.

?"Then we are officially dating, starting right now," Prince declared, his gaze unblinking and fiercely possessive.

?Nova gave a curt nod.

?Prince was so overwhelmed with joy and he was about to pull her into a tight embrace, but a harsh, grating voice shattered the moment.

?"What on earth are you two whispering about over there?" Mrs. Elena demanded. Her face was twisted in irritation at her inability to comprehend their foreign exchange. She glanced at the man beside her for a translation, but he merely shrank back into the cushions, avoiding her gaze completely.

?Prince’s romantic warmth vanished in a fraction of a second. His demeanor snapped back to pure, impenetrable ice as he gently guided Nova to the sofa, sitting beside her while keeping a firm, protective grip on her hand. Liora quickly claimed the single armchair next to them.

?"Mrs. Elena, allow me to introduce you," Prince announced in fluent, biting English. "This is my wife." He cast a lethal, disgusted glare at Stella. "This frail stalk of sugarcane you selected for me is entirely useless."

?Hearing him boldly claim her as his wife in English, Nova shook her head slightly. "He really thinks I don’t understand the language, doesn’t he?" she mused.

?"You can’t blame him. You never told him you were fluent," Anah’s voice echoed in her mind.

?Nova smirked faintly.

?Mrs. Elena sprang to her feet, her face pale with shock and outrage. "What did you just say?! Your wife?! When did you get married?!"

?"Do I need to report my personal affairs to you?" Prince countered, his tone dropping to a dangerous, freezing register. "You should do well to remember your place, Mrs. Elena. You are not my mother."

?Elena inhaled sharply, her chest heaving as she fought to rein in her fury. "Look at Stella!" she spat, gesturing wildly at the silver-haired girl. "She isn’t just some ordinary girl! She is the second daughter of Australia’s premier Mafia Don! Meanwhile, this... this woman you brought in is dressed ridiculously in plain pants and a shirt! Aside from her superficial beauty, what exactly can she offer your empire? I am doing this for your own good!"

?Nova leveled a dead, chilling glare at the older woman. "This woman is practically begging for a brutal beating," Nova thought.

?Stella, meanwhile, sat up straighter. A haughty, arrogant pride burned in her eyes, acting as though nothing could possibly threaten her marriage to Prince.

?"Mum, I don’t understand you at all," Liora interjected, shooting her mother a scathing look of judgment. "Shouldn’t you care more about my brother’s actual happiness? Why do I feel like you’re desperate to play the role of the evil stepmother? Your relationship with him is already strained enough; instead of fixing it, you try to force a political marriage down his throat. What is the point of this?"

?Mrs. Elena clamped her jaw shut for a moment before sneering. "I am simply trying to secure an alliance that will benefit his future, not hand him over to someone who relies on her face to seduce wealthy men."

?"She truly does need to be put in the ground". Anah chimed in telepathically. "But honestly, I’m more fascinated by that supposed husband of hers. Mr. Benson is just sitting there like a terrified fool, clutching a throw pillow as if his life depends on it. What a coward".

?Nova shifted her lethal gaze to Mr. Benson. Her eyes narrowed in sudden, sharp realization as her enhanced vision picked up details ordinary humans would miss. "Wait a damn minute," she thought, her internal voice laced with dark surprise. "Why is his entire body laced with deep, hidden scars? Is Elena beating him?"

?"Mhm?" Anah materialized directly in front of Mr. Benson, invisible to everyone but Nova. She leaned in, scanning him. "Ah. So that is why he wears a thick, heavy cardigan indoors. He is severely abused by her," Anah murmured, popping back out of existence. "You hit the nail on the head. She’s responsible for every single mark on him."

?Nova’s expression remained utterly blank, though her eyes darkened with an icy, calculating glint as she stared back at the hateful Mrs. Elena.

?Seeing the atmosphere turn volatile, Stella coughed delicately into her hand. "Aunty, please calm down. It is fine," she said sweetly, before turning her dark eyes toward Prince. Her voice was soft, feigning innocence, but the underlying venom was unmistakable. "Prince, you should already be fully aware of the power and backing you will lose if you choose to reject our union."

?"And what exactly do you think you are?" Prince snarled, his patience violently snapping. The sheer malice radiating from him made the air in the room turn heavy. "Say one more word, and I swear to you, you will not leave this estate with your limbs intact."

?Stella turned ashen. All the color drained from her face, her arrogant pride instantly replaced by raw, trembling fear.

?Liora let out a sharp hiss of disgust. Reaching into her designer bag, she pulled out her phone, swiped aggressively across the screen, and shoved it directly into her mother’s hands.

?"You keep pushing her to marry my brother, but take a good look at this precious ’Mafia Heiress’ you selected," Liora snapped, glaring with unadulterated contempt at Stella.

"This is her at a downtown nightclub, letting half a dozen different men grope and hug her. In fact, looking at her pathetic display... I highly doubt she belongs to any mafia family at all."