Apocalypse Villainess? Nah, I'm Nice

He had always been a man of action.

He suddenly charged forward, intending to grab Marcus Monroe from behind and yank him away!

But Marcus Monroe was hardly oblivious.

He had noticed the sound of hasty footsteps behind him long before. As the attack came, he pulled Paige Summers into his arms and swiftly dodged to the side. Then, he spun around, pushed her behind him, and faced Zephyr Mercer himself.

But before he could speak, the other man roared, ”Get away from her!”

Marcus froze.

Just then, a confused voice came from behind him. ”Zephyr Mercer? What are you doing?” Paige stepped out from behind Marcus, an utterly baffled expression on her face as she tried to hide the blush creeping up her ears. ’Is this guy crazy? So what if I wasn’t paying attention and Marcus hugged me for a second? It’s not his place to lose his mind over it!’

Zephyr pointed at Marcus. ”You... you... and him... him...” He suddenly remembered that Paige didn’t know about the engagement. ’Could it be? Is she already in love with someone else?!’ The thought sent a chill from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. This was the first time he had ever developed feelings for a girl, and then he’d abruptly learned she was his fiancée. He had secretly thought it was a done deal, never once considering that her heart might already belong to another. Now, faced with this possibility, he was a mix of fury and indignation. Completely ignoring the fact that he was the latecomer, he demanded, huffing, ”What... what exactly is your relationship?”

In Paige’s mind, he was just a customer at her shop, yet here he was asking such an inappropriate question... Her face instantly fell. ”That’s none of your business.”

Zephyr was at a loss for words. His father had specifically told him that Paige refused to acknowledge the Lowell Family, so he shouldn’t rush to mention the engagement. It would only make her prejudiced against him and make their interactions awkward. But this situation was intolerable. ’Should I tell her or not?’

While he hesitated, a glint flashed in Marcus’s eyes. He ignored the topic, however, and turned to Paige, his gaze falling on her arm. ”You’re hurt. Let’s go get that bandaged up.”

Paige glanced at him quickly before looking away again. She hesitated for a moment, then nodded. ”Come on up.”

With that, she led the way into the building.

Marcus followed gladly.

Leaving Zephyr standing there, utterly cast aside.

He stood there for a moment, then swallowed his anger and stormed in after them.

’She’s my fiancée, after all,’ he thought. ’Even if she doesn’t know it, the engagement is real. How can I let her entertain a man with such a questionable relationship with her this late at night?!’

Paige went upstairs, opened her door, and let Marcus in. Just as she was about to close it, Zephyr burst into the living room like a gust of wind. She frowned. Because he was a client, she didn’t kick him out on the spot, but she couldn’t bring herself to put on a pleasant face.

Her expression was cold as she said, ”Mr. Mercer, let’s discuss business at the shop tomorrow. It’s getting late. Please leave!”

Zephyr tore his venomous glare away from Marcus. ”What about him? When is he leaving?”

Paige almost laughed in exasperation. ”We have a business relationship. I don’t need a customer worrying about my private affairs! Of course, if you’ve had a sudden change of heart and regret commissioning that weapon, I can pretend we’ve never met. But if you’re deliberately...”

Zephyr angrily cut her off. ”I don’t regret it!”

Paige stared at him and nodded slowly. ”Good! Then please leave. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee that *I* won’t have regrets!”

Her blatant threat was like a vicious slap across Zephyr’s face.

As the youngest son of the Mercer Family, despite his strict upbringing, he was used to being fawned over and put on a pedestal. When had he ever been so humiliated! At this point, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He snapped, ”You’re my fiancée! Zephyr Mercer’s fiancée! Doesn’t that give me the right to ask?”

’Fiancée?!’ Paige’s first reaction was that the guy had to be joking. But looking at his expression—deadly serious, with an undercurrent of genuine anger—she realized it wasn’t a lie. ’So... what he’s saying is true...’

It was just that she couldn’t find a single related memory.

Neither her grandfather nor her father had ever mentioned—explicitly or implicitly—that she actually had a fiancé!

Paige frowned unconsciously.

Zephyr continued, ”This engagement was arranged by your maternal grandfather and my grandfather back in the day. Even if you were unaware of it, it’s an established fact. If the Lowell Family had never found you, that would be one thing. But since they have... We Mercers always honor our commitments. There’s no backing out of an agreement made by our elders!”

Paige was finally starting to understand the whole story, and she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’An arranged marriage for a family alliance... I can’t believe this is happening to me.’

’How ridiculous!’

Back then, the Lowell and Summers families hadn’t had their falling out. An arrangement made by her so-called maternal grandfather would have been plausible, as long as her paternal grandfather didn’t object. But what about now? The Summers Family had fallen into ruin, with her as the last of their bloodline... and now the Lowell Family decides to show up. If it were just Wendy Lowell wanting to acknowledge her as her daughter, that would be one thing. But to have a fiancé prepared for her as well... Considering the Mercer Family’s status, she couldn’t help but read between the lines.