Chapter 3 Are You Dissatisfied With Me

The car window slid down with a quiet hum, revealing a man whose features were so perfectly defined they almost seemed unreal.

Marissa froze-it was Theodore Brooks, the current head of the Brooks family.

The Brooks family was not just influential-it was one of the most powerful families in the region, their reach extending across industries and politics. For someone of his stature, who was constantly buried in high-level affairs, to appear here in person was almost unimaginable.

"Get in."

His voice was smooth and pleasant, yet completely devoid of warmth-a tone that carried authority rather than invitation.

The car door clicked open from the inside.

Marissa blinked, thinking she must have misheard him. She instinctively pushed the door shut again and forced a polite smile. "Thank you, but I'm waiting for someone."

A brief flash of surprise crossed Theodore's otherwise expressionless face. His eyes lingered on her composed expression before he replied flatly, "I'm the one you're waiting for."

When Marissa still didn't move, he reached into the seat beside him, picked up a document, and extended it toward her. His brows knit slightly, his tone remaining detached. "Take a look."

Her gaze lingered on his face for a moment before she finally accepted the document.

She had always disliked the artificial scent of cologne on men, yet the faint cedarwood fragrance he wore was unexpectedly calming-clean, understated, and oddly magnetic.

Almost without realizing it, Marissa opened the door and slid into the seat beside him.

The interior was refined and luxurious, its quiet elegance matching its owner perfectly. As the car moved, Marissa stared down at the report in her hands-her eyes scanning the pages again and again. A DNA test.

Her throat tightened. It turned out she was the real daughter of the Curtis family!

The Curtis family was renowned across Ariolens for their vast fortune and humanitarian work. They owned Corelight Pharma, the nation's largest pharmaceutical company, and had built countless charitable foundations. They were also always the first to offer help in any crisis. They were a name synonymous with power and generosity.

In comparison, the Fletcher family, who had raised her, was insignificant.

And yet, they had sneered at her, insisting her biological parents were from the slums.

The irony almost made Marissa laugh aloud.

Her lashes trembled slightly as she lowered her head, her slim fingers tapping lightly against the document. After a long pause, she finally asked, her voice calm but edged with amusement, "So... are you the husband my real parents arranged for me?" A hint of mischief played in her tone, as though she found the entire situation absurd.

If the Fletchers ever discovered that the supposedly "lowly" parents they mocked had arranged for her to marry the powerful Theodore, they would probably lose their minds.

Her casual, almost teasing attitude rubbed Theodore the wrong way.

He turned his head, studying her closely. She sat there with her chin resting on her hand, the sunlight filtering through the window and dancing in her eyes, turning them into pools of quiet defiance. Something about her didn't match the calm, docile image he had been led to expect from her file.

After a moment, his voice dropped a few degrees colder. "Are you dissatisfied with me?"