Chapter 3 - THE PRENUP SHE THOUGHT HE WOULD CHANGE
Serena recovered faster than Lucas.
That impressed Malcolm.
Within thirty seconds, horror became indignation.
“You tricked me.”
Malcolm looked at her.
“Yes.”
“You dressed like a servant to spy on me?”
“Yes.”
“That is insane.”
“Possibly.”
Lucas stepped in.
“This is humiliating.”
Malcolm turned to him.
“Interesting.”
Lucas stopped.
Malcolm continued.
“You laughed when an old man fell. But you feel humiliated now?”
Serena’s face hardened.
“You had no right to test me.”
Malcolm looked toward the broken porcelain.
“You gave me a result anyway.”
Then Eleanor entered.
She had been waiting in the adjoining library.
Serena saw her.
Something changed.
“You knew?”
Eleanor nodded.
“Yes.”
Serena laughed bitterly.
“So everyone was in on this except me.”
“No,” Eleanor said. “Only three of us.”
Malcolm watched Serena calculate.
Then she softened.
“Malcolm, I’m sorry.”
Lucas looked at her.
She ignored him.
“I was joking. It was cruel, yes. But I thought he was rude and clumsy and—”
“You tripped me.”
Serena stopped.
Malcolm continued.
“You told me every servant would be gone after tonight.”
Her face tightened.
“I was angry.”
“At whom?”
No answer.
Eleanor handed Malcolm a folder.
Serena recognized it.
Her eyes dropped immediately.
Malcolm saw that too.
He opened the folder.
Prenuptial agreement.
Signed by both parties.
Under its terms:
Serena received generous financial protection if the marriage ended.
But no ownership in Vale Holdings.
No automatic management authority.
No right to alter household trusts.
No claim to Malcolm’s premarital real estate.
No authority over the Margaret Vale Foundation.
Serena had complained once that it was “too corporate.”
Malcolm believed the issue was emotional.
Now he wondered.
He asked:
“What did you mean when you told the staff they would be gone?”
Serena folded her arms.
“I was planning to modernize the household.”
“This isn’t your household.”
“We’re getting married.”
“Marriage does not transfer employment authority.”
“Then what exactly does it make me?”
Malcolm stared.
There.
Not wife.
Authority.
The question beneath the engagement.
Serena continued.
“You expect me to live here like a guest?”
“I expected you to live here like my wife.”
“With Eleanor deciding everything?”
Eleanor raised one eyebrow.
Malcolm said:
“Eleanor works for me.”
Serena laughed.
“Exactly.”
Then Lucas spoke.
“This is why the prenup needs revision.”
Silence.
Malcolm turned.
Serena went pale.
Lucas realized his mistake too late.
May you like
Malcolm’s voice became very quiet.
“What revision?”
