Chapter 3 - The Hidden Fortune Behind Teddy’s Broken Clothes
Amelia did not get into the car immediately.
She stood frozen beside the courthouse steps, staring at the man who was supposed to be her humiliation.
The man her family had chosen because they believed he had nothing.
No money.
No power.
No future.
But the way Theodore Blackwood looked at her told a completely different story.
There was no desperation in his eyes.
No gratitude.
No fear.
Only confidence.
And that frightened Amelia more than anything.
Because confidence came from somewhere.
Nobody carried themselves like Theodore did without a reason.
"Who are you?" Amelia asked again.
Theodore remained silent for a moment.
The afternoon wind moved through the courthouse courtyard, lifting the edges of his worn coat.
For the first time, Amelia noticed something strange.
The coat was dirty.
The boots were damaged.
His clothes looked like they belonged to a man who had lost everything.
But his posture did not.
His shoulders were straight.
His movements were controlled.
Even the way he opened the car door was not the movement of a homeless man.
It was the movement of someone trained to command a room.
"Get in," he said quietly.
Amelia frowned.
"You keep telling me what to do."
A small smile appeared.
"And you keep refusing."
"Maybe because I don't know if I should trust you."
That answer seemed to interest him.
Most people would have expected Amelia to be grateful.
After all, she had just been forced into marriage with a stranger.
But Theodore noticed something different.
She was scared.
She was hurt.
But she was not weak.
"You should not trust me yet," he said.
The honesty surprised her.
"What?"
"You don't know me."
"Exactly."
"So don't pretend you do."
Amelia studied him.
Nobody in her family ever admitted uncertainty.
Beatrice always acted like she knew everything.
Kimberly always acted like she was perfect.
Raymond always acted like problems disappeared if he ignored them.
But Theodore...
He simply told the truth.
And somehow, that made him harder to understand.
"Then tell me."
"Tell you what?"
"Why my family chose you."
Theodore looked away.
"Because they were desperate."
"For what?"
"Money."
Amelia felt her stomach tighten.
"Hartwell Manufacturing."
She immediately looked at him.
"How do you know about that?"
Theodore did not answer.
That silence was enough.
"You know my family."
"I know of them."
"How?"
"Because powerful people leave trails."
The answer only created more questions.
Before Amelia could ask more, headlights appeared behind them.
A black luxury sedan slowly approached.
Raymond's car.
Beatrice lowered the window.
"Amelia."
Her voice was sweet.
Too sweet.
Amelia knew that tone.
It was the tone Beatrice used when pretending to care.
"Come home tonight," Beatrice said.
Amelia looked confused.
"Home?"
"Yes."
"After what you did?"
Beatrice's expression changed slightly.
Only for a second.
Then the mask returned.
"Do not be dramatic."
Amelia almost laughed.
"Dramatic?"
She looked around.
"Your family forced me to marry a stranger in front of the entire town."
Beatrice lowered her voice.
"Watch your words."
"No."
The answer surprised everyone.
Including Amelia.
Because she had spent years saying yes.
Yes, I understand.
Yes, I'll do it.
Yes, I'm sorry.
But something had changed.
Maybe it was standing beside Theodore.
Maybe it was realizing she had already lost the family she thought she had.
"You wanted this marriage," Amelia continued.
"So I hope you enjoy watching it."
Kimberly stepped out of the car.
"Enjoy what?"
Amelia looked at her.
"My life."
Kimberly laughed.
"Your life?"
She glanced at Theodore.
"You mean this?"
She looked him up and down.
"This is not a life."
Theodore finally spoke.
"Kimberly."
She turned.
"Yes?"
"You should stop talking."
She smiled.
"Or what?"
His expression did not change.
"Or one day you will say something you cannot take back."
Kimberly rolled her eyes.
But again...
She stepped back.
Amelia noticed.
Kimberly was arrogant.
Cruel.
Self-centered.
But even she reacted differently around Theodore.
Why?
That night, Amelia arrived at Theodore's home.
Or what she expected to be his home.
The address surprised her.
It was not a bridge.
Not a small rented room.
Not an abandoned building.
The car stopped in front of a large private estate outside Pine Hollow.
Amelia stared through the window.
"This isn't possible."
Theodore turned off the engine.
"What?"
"You live here?"
He looked at the mansion.
"Yes."
She looked at him.
"Then why do you dress like that?"
A silence followed.
Then Theodore opened the door.
"Because I wanted to."
Amelia stepped out.
The mansion was enormous.
Stone walls.
Tall windows.
Beautiful gardens.
Security cameras hidden among the trees.
This was not the home of a drifter.
This was the home of someone extremely wealthy.
She turned toward him.
"Explain."
Theodore walked toward the entrance.
"I will."
"But first, you need to understand something."
"What?"
"The man your family thinks they married you to..."
He looked down at his torn coat.
"Was never real."
Amelia stopped.
"What does that mean?"
Before he could answer, the front doors opened.
An older man in an expensive suit stepped outside.
He immediately lowered his head.
"Mr. Blackwood."
Amelia froze.
Mr. Blackwood.
Not Teddy.
Not the drifter.
Mr. Blackwood.
Theodore nodded.
"Prepare the house."
"Yes, sir."
The man disappeared.
Amelia looked at Theodore.
"Sir?"
He said nothing.
She slowly walked inside.
The interior was breathtaking.
A marble floor.
Crystal lights.
Paintings covering the walls.
Furniture that looked like it belonged in a museum.
Everything about the place screamed wealth.
But Amelia wasn't focused on the money.
She was focused on the truth.
"You lied to me."
Theodore looked back.
"No."
"You let me believe you were homeless."
"I let your family believe that."
"Why?"
His expression became serious.
"Because I needed to know what kind of people they really were."
Amelia felt a chill.
"What?"
Theodore walked closer.
"Your family did not choose me because they cared about you."
"I know."
"No."
His voice softened.
"You don't."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"They chose me because they thought you had no value."
Those words hurt.
Because they were true.
"They believed giving you to a poor man would remove their problem."
Amelia looked down.
"And you?"
"What about me?"
"Why did you accept?"
Theodore was quiet.
For a moment, Amelia saw something behind his confident expression.
Pain.
A hidden wound.
"I accepted because I needed something from them."
"What?"
"Evidence."
She looked up.
"Evidence of what?"
Before he could answer, a woman entered the room carrying a folder.
"Mr. Blackwood."
Theodore turned.
"Yes?"
"We found the documents you requested."
The woman placed the folder on the table.
Amelia noticed the name printed on it.
Hartwell Manufacturing.
Her heart stopped.
"What is that?"
Theodore looked at the folder.
Then at her.
"The reason your family destroyed your life."
He opened it.
Inside were financial records.
Contracts.
Bank statements.
And one document with Raymond Hart's signature.
Amelia stepped closer.
"What am I looking at?"
Theodore's expression hardened.
"Your father did not lose his company."
She frowned.
"What?"
"He gave it away."
The room became silent.
"To who?"
Theodore looked at the final page.
Then slowly answered.
"To my company."
Amelia stared.
"Your company?"
He nodded.
"The company your family thinks can save them."
A pause.
"The company they don't know I own."
Amelia's breath caught.
"Who are you?"
For the first time, Theodore gave her the answer.
Not with pride.
Not with arrogance.
With certainty.
"I am Theodore Blackwood."
He placed the document down.
"The founder of Blackwood International."
Amelia looked at him.
The name.
Everyone knew it.
One of the largest private investment groups in the country.
A company worth billions.
A man whose identity had never been publicly revealed.
Rumors said the owner was young.
Brilliant.
Untouchable.
But nobody knew his face.
Because Theodore Blackwood had disappeared years ago.
And now...
He was standing in front of her.
Wearing torn clothes.
Pretending to be a beggar.
Amelia whispered:
"My family forced me to marry a billionaire."
Theodore looked at her.
"No."
May you like
A pause.
"They forced you to marry the one person who could expose them."
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