The Miner's Daughter Takes Manhattan

Chapter 5

I looked at the man standing before me, his beauty almost divine. The warmth of his hand against mine felt like it had been a lifetime since we'd touched.

"What are you thinking?" His deep voice, rich like a cello's low notes, vibrated in my ears, and I felt my earlobes burn faintly.

Before I could respond, the grand doors of the banquet hall flew open with a bang.

"Evelyn!" Vincent Crawford stormed in, his eyes bloodshot and his suit in disarray.

"Have you lost your mind? You're choosing him over me?"

His gaze zeroed in on the hand I had intertwined with Sebastian's, and his voice cracked as he demanded, "You said you loved me. In our past life, we—"

"Enough!" My father's command sliced through the air like a whip.

"Is this how the Crawfords were raised?"

Vincent's parents hurried forward, apologizing, but they kept pressing.

"Miss Hawthorne has always had feelings for our Vincent—"

"Play the footage," I interrupted, my tone cold.

The screen flickered to life, clearly showing the moment my father announced the engagement—my finger pointing without hesitation at Sebastian Pierce.

Vincent staggered back, his face draining of color as if the ground had been pulled out from under him.

Sebastian's grip on my hand tightened slightly, a faint tremor running through his palm.

"That's enough!" Vincent suddenly lunged at us, his voice hoarse with rage.

"You're just trying to provoke me!"

Before I could react, Sebastian moved in front of me, his posture rigid and gaze sharp as a blade.

"Mr. Crawford, control yourself."

"Get out of my way!" Vincent roared.

"She loves me!"

I gently pushed past Sebastian, the sharp click of my heels echoing through the hall as I stepped forward with deliberate slowness.

"It seems the young master of the Crawfords has forgotten," I said, my voice clear, "the woman standing before you is the heir of the Hawthorne Group."

I lifted our intertwined hands for all to see.

"This is the man I've chosen."

Vincent's face went deathly pale, his lips trembling, but no words came out.

"Escort them out," my father ordered, and the bodyguards moved quickly to obey.

In the final moment before Vincent was dragged away, he suddenly screamed, "You'll regret this!"

Without hesitation, I turned, burying my face in Sebastian's chest, the steady thrum of his heartbeat grounding me.

This time, I would not repeat the mistakes of the past.