Married To My Billionaire Stepbrother-Chapter 426: Colin’s Plan

The next morning, Justin and Natalie arrived at the Riverdale estate. Aeldric didn’t question them about anything. As long as his grandson was back home and marrying the woman he had chosen, he was ready to accept Natalie’s presence.

Meira was happy to see them.

"Brother, I got a gift for you two," Meira said as she looked at him and handed over a box to Natalie and Justin.

"Whoa! A gift?" Natalie said as she opened her box, while Justin simply looked at it as Natalie opened it. Inside was a pair of couple brooches.

"It’s beautiful," Natalie said, pulling one out and handing the box to Justin to hold. She attached the brooch to the lapel of his jacket and then attached the other to her dress. "This is so perfect," she added in a pleased tone.

Meira was happy to see Natalie liked it.

Just then, a voice came through, which didn’t surprise anyone.

"Aiden, where have you been yesterday?" Grace, who had just arrived, came toward them. Her expression was displeased. "I had been looking for you to get the size of your ring, but you were nowhere."

Justin didn’t even bother to look at her, while Natalie turned to her with a fake pleasing smile. "Ms. Grace, isn’t it quite rude for you to ask a man where he was when he was meeting his wife after so many days?" Natalie brushed her hair away from her neck to settle it behind, revealing the marks of hickeys that she hadn’t bothered to cover with makeup.

"Aren’t you old enough to understand where he must have been since yesterday?" Natalie let Grace see the hickeys on her neck. "If you don’t understand, I wouldn’t mind explaining in detail what he was busy with and what exactly he was doing."

Grace’s gaze darkened as she saw the marks. "Shameless!"

"That’s my husband’s love," Natalie countered smoothly. "You wouldn’t understand, as you won’t be getting any. All the best living the life of an untouched maiden. You might ascend to being a goddess of virtue."

Grace controlled her anger and said, "I will show you your place once I am married to him."

"Sure," Natalie replied with confidence.

Grace ignored her and looked at him. "The person from the jewelry store is here. Let them have the size of your ring."

Justin looked at his hand. "I already have a ring. I don’t need another one."

Grace noticed the ordinary-looking ring and said, "That doesn’t suit your personality. Also, you are going to be the son-in-law of the Hartz family, and people might blame me for not being able to offer the best ring to my husband." freёweɓnovel.com

"Do I look like I care?" He offered her a cold glare. "And even if she puts a rubber band on my finger, it will suit me the best."

Grace looked at Aeldric. The old man finally said, "Aiden, if you have agreed to this marriage, you should follow through with it."

Justin looked at him. "Agreed?" There was a sarcastic tone in his voice. "Didn’t you say all I have to do is appear at the ceremony? Then what’s with this ring and clothes and whatever bullshit this woman comes with every time?"

The air heated up all of a sudden. Aeldric realized he had indeed said that and had nothing to refute it.

"Alright!" Natalie interrupted and turned to Grace. "You see that precious ring on his finger? I chose it for him, and I know the size. Let me tell you about it."

Natalie went to the jewelry designer and checked the ring size measuring tool. "This is the size."

She looked at Grace. "It’s done. You can leave now."

Natalie’s voice held the authority of someone who ruled this family. She had shown it since the moment she came here, and no one could stop her—not even Aeldric.

Grace gritted her teeth and left, as no one stopped her, not even Aeldric.

Aeldric had another plan. He needed Grace to be a part of this family, but she needed to be kept under control. Natalie was doing that perfectly. With Grace here, Natalie would stay on her toes as well, and both women would be busy fighting, while Aeldric could focus on Aiden and take him away from these two.

But the old man still didn’t know what Justin was made of, or how crazy he was about Natalie. He could forget his own existence and abandon it—but not her.

Grace returned to Harts Manor, where she angrily slammed an expensive vase onto the floor in the drawing room.

"My dear, what happened?" Grace’s mother rushed to her, sounding worried.

"Mom, that bitch Natalie—she acts like she owns Aiden, and he lets her!" Grace snapped. "Is she going to stay at the Riverdales even after I marry Aiden? I can’t stand her anymore. Every time I try to get close to him, she’s always there, meddling."

"Calm down," her mother said, guiding her to sit on the sofa. "Get water for her," she instructed a nearby servant.

Grace’s father, Colin, walked in and came to stand near his daughter. "Grace, you already know what kind of woman Natalie is. You shouldn’t be surprised at how shrewd she can be. Didn’t I warn you before?"

"Yes, Father, I know. But..."

"Grace," Colin said firmly, "your goal is to get into the Riverdale family. We have to take them over, and I won’t let your impulsiveness ruin our plan. Aiden is just a step toward that. Don’t fall for him."

Grace’s hands clenched her dress tightly. She didn’t know whether she had truly fallen for Aiden or if it was just her obsession—her habit of always getting what she wanted. But right now, she wanted Aiden to crush Natalie’s arrogance.

"Back then, Alexander was in our way, and we couldn’t make your aunt marry him. But this time, we can’t fail. You must marry the one who is Aeldric’s heir—and that’s Aiden," Colin declared. "I don’t care how you do it, but keep in mind—your father wants control over Riverdale.

"Once we have that, we won’t just rule the business world, but the Mafia world too. No one will be more powerful than us. Marry him and bear his child—after that, he’s of no further use. And then we can get rid of Aeldric easily."

"I understand, Father," Grace said quietly, then turned and walked back to her room.

"She’s just a young girl, and you’re pressuring her with your ambition," Colin’s wife said softly.

He looked at her, eyes hard. "You know my father and I have been planning this for decades. Back then we failed—because of Alexander. After he was gone, I did everything to strengthen our ties with the Riverdales and set the stage for this day. We can’t back down now. Even if it means killing Aiden—just like we did with his father." His gaze darkened.

"Aren’t you afraid of getting caught?" she asked. "The Riverdales are ruthless."

"They couldn’t catch us for decades. What can they do now?" Colin chuckled wickedly. "It was satisfying to watch Alexander die, and I’ll feel that same satisfaction watching his son die."