Chapter 4 STEP DOWN AND HAND HIM OVER

"What of it?" Linda replied coolly, her voice dripping with disdain.

"You're acting like a rabid dog."

Kate's eyes bulged. "Did you hear that, Grandma?! Are you going to let her speak to me like that?!"

For a brief moment, silence hung between them, until the old woman's palm slammed against the wall for attention.

"Enough!" she barked, glaring at Kate. "Hold your tongue!"

Kate's fury fizzled under her grandmother's reprimand. She clenched her fists and kept quiet, lips trembling with pent-up rage.

Though usually composed, she always lost control whenever Linda was involved. There was something about her that drove Kate insane.

Grandma Alice turned her gaze back to Linda, her expression now devoid of warmth.

"Your father and I have discussed this thoroughly. It's time you step down and hand Don over to your sister."

Linda stared blankly, refusing to believe her ears.

"We've decided Kate will move in with you," the old woman continued, as though this was just another piece of domestic news. "You'll assist her. Help her win Don's heart. Convince him to love her instead."

Linda let out a soft, incredulous laugh. "Are you even listening to yourself?"

"This isn't a request," her grandmother snapped. "This is what's best for everyone."

"You mean it's what's best for your interests," Linda shot back, eyes narrowing. "Is he just a prize for you to hand off like a trophy? Do you think he'll just fall in love with her because I step aside?"

"Don is already fond of you," the older woman replied sharply. "That's why we need you to bridge the gap-to make Kate seem more appealing to him."

"You're insane."

Kate stepped forward again. "This wouldn't even be necessary if you had some decency and let me have what's rightfully mine!"

Linda laughed again, this time bitterly. "What's rightfully yours? You threw it away. You were too proud, too selfish. And now, because it turned out better than you expected, you want to rewrite history?"

"Linda!" the old woman snapped.

"No," Linda said firmly, her eyes locked on the matriarch. "This isn't a game. You can't manipulate people like chess pieces and expect everything to fall into place."

"We're your family!" Kate shrieked. "You owe us!"

Linda's voice dropped. "Family? The day you sold me off like cattle, you stopped being that."

A suffocating silence fell over the hallway. The air felt thick, the weight of years of unspoken pain pressing down on all three women.

"I'm done being your pawn," Linda said finally, brushing past them.

"Don't walk away from me!" her grandmother shouted after her.

But Linda didn't stop. Not anymore.

It wasn't just Kate Williams who felt entitled to Don Ashford. The entire Williams family shared that delusion. Of course, they all knew it would be impossible to force someone of Don Ashford's caliber into a marriage by mere wishful thinking.

That was how they hatched this scheme-Kate would temporarily live in the Ashford residence to get close to him, while Linda Williams would act as the supportive "sister" trying to help them build a connection.

Once Don began to love Kate, Linda was expected to quietly bow out of the picture and surrender her position as his wife.

The absurdity of it all left Linda stunned. Out of all the shameless people she'd encountered, her grandmother truly took the crown.

She had never wanted to attend that matchmaking meeting in the first place. They only forced her into it by threatening her grandmother's life.

And now, simply because Kate had suddenly become enamored with Don's success and attractiveness, they expected her to hand him over like he was some borrowed possession. The gall it took for Kate to believe she was the rightful woman in Don's life was baffling.

Linda could, at the very least, understand her dim-witted half-sister's delusion. But what she couldn't wrap her head around was how her father and grandmother genuinely believed in that ridiculous notion too.

What were they thinking?

How did they come to the conclusion that Don Ashford somehow belonged to Kate?

Where did they get such unshakable confidence that he would leave his wife-the woman he had chosen, for her half-sister?

To make things worse, Kate was technically Linda's half-sister, which meant that Don was her brother-in-law.

And yet, rather than seeing that as taboo, her family shamelessly supported this madness!

Not only did they condone it, but they were now demanding that she, his wife, help another woman take her place in his bed!

It was infuriating. She wanted nothing more than to scream obscenities at them.

Damn it all!

That's it.

"Grandma, I know you've been brazen and tactless for most of your life, but this-this is truly the lowest you've stooped. There are boundaries that no decent human should ever cross!" Linda hissed, her voice trembling with indignation. It felt like every time she thought they'd reached the lowest pit of shamelessness, they dug even deeper.

"She's insulting you, Grandma! She just called you shameless and thick-skinned!" Kate instantly seized the opportunity to tattle, as if she hadn't been the one grabbing Linda by the collar minutes earlier.

The elderly woman's expression turned stormy at once. "Linda Williams! It appears you no longer care whether your grandmother survives or not!"

Since her mother's death and the arrival of her stepmother, Linda and her grandmother had depended on each other through every hardship.

But earlier that year, her grandmother suffered a stroke and had remained unconscious in the hospital ever since. Now, the Williams family held complete control over her grandmother's fate.

Her fists clenched tightly by her sides.

"You were so unwilling to marry Don Ashford in the beginning, weren't you? I'm simply giving you a chance to walk away now. You should be grateful," the old woman continued, her voice now laced with a saccharine softness that only made the situation more unbearable.

"If you help Kate win his heart and become Mrs. Ashford, I'll gift you a house. And your grandmother will continue receiving the best care Deltana City has to offer. The both of you can live peacefully for the rest of your lives..."