A Widow's Poison, A Wife's Rebellion novel Chapter 1173

When Caden Larson came looking for Darian, he walked in just as his friend was getting ready to leave with Tanya. Caden's jaw practically hit the floor.

Darian sent Tanya upstairs, leaving the two men alone.

"Dude, what exactly are you doing?" Caden asked, bewildered. "This looks a lot like you're leaving."

"Exactly what it looks like," Darian replied smoothly.

"Are you... eloping with her?"

Sure, no one could physically stop Darian if he decided to walk out, but this was extreme. "Isn't this a bit ruthless?"

"My family refuses to see Yulisa for who she really is. As long as I'm here, they'll force this wedding through."

That woman was terrifying. After the absolute disaster she caused last time, the family had started to sour on her. Yet somehow, she had managed to sweet-talk her way back into their good graces and secure the marriage. How had he never noticed how deep and dangerous her scheming went?

"Yeah, but you can't just pull a stunt like this," Caden argued. "Eloping? How old are you? Isn't this a bit childish?"

Darian smiled faintly, reading his friend's thoughts. "You haven't walked a mile in my shoes. If you were in my position, you'd come up with something even crazier."

It wasn't just a reckless stunt; it was his last resort. Continuing to fight with his family over Yulisa was utterly pointless. Besides, Tanya had been incredibly distressed by the whole ordeal, and Darian refused to waste any more time dragging her through it.

His family wanted to use his sense of duty to blackmail him into marrying Yulisa? Fine. He would show them exactly what his 'duty' looked like. He wasn't about to carry a burden that was unjustly forced onto his shoulders.

Wasn't his family doing the same? They were willing to throw away their dignity to gamble on his loyalty to the family. So he would teach them a lesson. The responsibilities they had aggressively shoved onto him? They could figure out how to clean up the mess themselves. There was no way he was compromising.

"I take back what I said before," Caden muttered. "You really are nothing like Fairfax."

It was true. Fairfax had never even entertained the thought of pulling Starla out of the toxic swamp they were in. He couldn't handle it, but he couldn't leave it, either.

Darian, on the other hand, was brutally decisive. They wanted to create a nightmare? Fine, he was checking out. They could tear each other apart for all he cared; he wouldn't be around to see it.

"Just realizing that now?" Darian shot back. Being compared to Fairfax all these weeks had driven him absolutely insane.

"Honestly, taking her away is the right move," Caden admitted. "Let your family see exactly how far you're willing to go."