Manuel shook his head.
“You offered money. The only valuable thing I found in your arrangement was the woman you tried to break.”
Months later, Manuel’s father was formally cleared, Nelson Enterprises reopened under honest management, and his sister returned to university.
Rosalie gained control of her mother’s trust and Pinecrest Estate.
One evening, Manuel offered her an annulment.
“Our marriage began through pressure and deception. You are free now.”
Rosalie raised an eyebrow.
“Are you trying to leave me?”
“Never.”
“Then stop making decisions for me in the name of my freedom.”
He smiled. “You’re right.”
“I usually am.”
They married again in the small stone chapel with no reporters, contracts, or gossiping crowds.
This time, they chose each other.
Rosalie later used part of her inheritance to create a shelter for women who had been drugged, isolated, or wrongfully institutionalised by relatives seeking control of their money.
