He Stole Me From My Deadbeat Husband-Chapter 429

Henry felt he was talking to a man from the seventeenth century who valued title, prestige, and family reputation more than his family members.

When Marlon was born about seventy years ago, they were already at the point where the noble titles didn’t matter much.

Henry knew many things regarding their connection with the Duchy of York from his late brother, and even James believed there was no point in trying to be a noble when they were already in a modern society.

"We are rich even without those titles, Marlon," Henry said. "We are what people call ’Old Money.’ We have everything, and I know for a fact that you don’t need to prove anything to those people in the Duchy of York."

"You don’t understand, Henry. Being rich is just part of daily life for us. We are born rich and will continue to be so until the end of time. Earning those noble titles has nothing to do with earning even more money," Marlon said. "It’s all about being part of an even more powerful society."

"Is that it? You just want more influence?"

"And honor," Marlon added. "Once you become a Duke, we will be bestowed with honor, and I will die as an honorable man, surrounded by my equally prestigious family members. I will be a great man remembered by many."

...

"You just said things that James could’ve fulfilled had you not killed him," Henry mentioned. "You don’t need ME to do that."

"James is a better candidate than you, indeed," Marlon said without hesitation. "He is much smarter, born from the womb of an equally noble lady, and also better than you in every way possible except for his appearance. But that’s expected from the son of an attractive whore, you have nothing but your looks, just like your real mother."

Henry wasn’t upset by what he heard just now.

He already knew that he was an inferior version of his late brother. In fact, he admired James so much that he didn’t mind having to live under his brother’s shadow, as he had also made peace with his identity as the son of a whore.

He was already grateful that James and Dahlia took him as part of the family.

"Then why? Why would you kill my brother just because he refused to marry anyone but Kate?! Why are you going to the extreme just because that rat-faced bitch asked you to do so?!" Henry began to get upset thinking about his late brother, who died in vain. "He could’ve fulfilled your stupid noble fantasy better!"

Marlon’s gaze turned cold when Henry kept on mentioning James.

"You shouldn’t think too highly of him. He is not one of us. He is a bastard who abandoned his family just so he could marry a bitch who holds no value and contributes nothing to the family," Marlon said. "Katherine has poisoned James’ mind, and now, you are being poisoned by her as well."

Henry snapped when Marlon brought Kate to the conversation and slandered her. His body moved before he could think.

Henry grabbed Marlon’s collar and lifted him up with one hand. He clenched his fist, ready to punch his father and probably kill him in one hit.

"Don’t you fucking dare to slander her. You don’t know her, you old bastard," Henry said in a low but threatening voice. "She is the kindest woman I’ve ever met. She trusted me all her life, yet I... I betrayed her."

Henry began to weaken for a few seconds. He always weakened whenever he was thinking about his beloved.

His body instinctively softened when he thought about all the horrible things he said to her before he even knew her.

Marlon smirked, "Good, now that she is gone. You can focus on becoming the heir of Grant’s family businesses. I will call those people from the Duchy of York so they will handle the document for you to become the new Duke probably ten years from now."

"YOU—YOU’RE NOT LISTENING TO ME!" Henry raised his voice. He regained his wrath after a moment of weakness when thinking about Kate. "Do you think I will magically marry Sarah after I broke up with Katherine? I would rather live and die as a single man until I can meet her again in heaven! I will... I will beg for her forgiveness in the afterlife. I will never marry someone else!"

"You are speaking nonsense," Marlon said. "Love will grow over time. You might not love Sarah now, but after a few children, you’ll eventually learn to love her."

"Bullshit! I will never be in love with a monster!" Henry denied. "Why does it have to be her? I will accept your requirements as long as I can marry Kate. I will be a Duke as long as she can be the Duchess."

"That’s impossible. I won’t allow that, Henry," Marlon rejected the idea. "Katherine is no better than your real mother. She is a whore with no social standing, a woman with a messed-up family, and a divorcee that brings nothing but harm to our family reputation."

Marlon remembered how his colleagues sneered and laughed at him for bringing a whore into his estate. He already told them many times it was Dahlia who wanted that whore to stay, but none of them believed it.

It was the start of their cracked marriage because, in his eyes, Dahlia was just trying to shame him for an accidental mistake that he made years ago.

He knew that nothing good would come out of Henry and Kate’s relationship, so he just wanted to protect his sons.

"A whore like Kate would only ruin your life in the future, you might find her attractive and sweet now, but in ten or twenty years, she will morph into someone like your disgusting mother, with no dignity, no education, no eloquence," Marlon said coldly. "I tried to save James because I know he was a great man to inherit everything, but he was too far gone."

"He loved that bitch so much that he had been blinded. So I had to take Sarah’s advice and kill him," Marlon admitted without feeling an inch of remorse. "I did everything to save him, and I’m trying to save you as well."