The entire hall was shocked to hear Tyler’s declaration.
The Ice Princess, Natalie Anderson, had finally chosen a mate?
Was she dating Tyler Grant?
What was she thinking?
Natalie herself was delirious, her gaze firm on Tyler as he held her by the waist in an intimate embrace.
“She is my girlfriend,” he repeated.
“Anybody who wants to court her has to go through me first.”
Even Silas looked bamboozled.
Personally, he was thoroughly impressed by Tyler’s abilities and behavior.
He wouldn’t mind having someone like him as his son-in-law.
“What nonsense is this?” Mark thundered.
“Silas!
Is this true?
Have you given consent to this relationship?”
Silas took a deep breath before replying.
“It is my daughter’s choice who she wants to be with.
I have no say in the matter.”
Mark turned to Natalie.
“Is it true, girl?
You can tell the truth.
This miscreant is lying, isn’t he?
Why would a popular diva like you want to be with a wastrel like him?”
Natalie’s gaze shifted from Mark to Silas and then to Tyler.
She naturally understood he was trying to defend her honor by claiming to be her boyfriend.
However, the sudden chivalrous act pulled the rug from under her feet.
“Yes…” the beauty replied with blushed cheeks.
“Tyler is my boyfriend.” She reciprocated to his embrace and clung closer to him.
The spectators gasped in unison.
“Bullshit!” Trent barked, waving his arm wildly.
“They’re both lying!
Or Tyler has cast some spell on Natalie!”
Not only did Natalie reject him a minute back, but she accepted a nobody like Tyler as her boyfriend.
What did that make him?
Worse than a poor ex-convict?
The rejection was a colossal humiliation for Trent and the Cooper family.
He felt like jumping off a bridge or shooting himself in the head.
Mostly, he wanted to rip Tyler’s head off.
Mark regained his composure and spoke up.
“Silas!
If Natalie is not available for marriage, then our deal is off.
Tyler is going to die here.
Then, perhaps your daughter will be free to marry Trent.”
“Do you think I’ll give away my daughter to the man who wants to kill my healer and future son-in-law?” Silas said with conviction.
“I have had enough of your empty threats!
Let’s fight and let the battle decide who will survive!”
Natalie’s cheeks reddened as soon as her father uttered the word son-in-law.
Suddenly, she became aware of her body pressed against Tyler.
She immediately let go and returned to her father’s side.
Tyler, who had been enjoying the embrace, turned his cold eyes to the Cooper faction.
“Let the Andersons leave.
Come at me with as many men as you can.
We’ll see who survives in the end.”
Trent gritted his teeth.
“You’re acting cocky because the Andersons are here to back you up, huh?”
However, his father was in a different mood.
Huxley had already whispered in his ears how Tyler had demolished a dozen men on his own without breaking a sweat.
Apparently, he had mastered a ferocious melee technique in prison.
Mark might lose the battle if Silas’ guards and Tyler were a unified enemy.
It would be a considerable embarrassment and a heavy blow to Cooper’s reputation.
Moreover, both father and son could get hurt in the skirmish.
“I didn’t want to go this far, Silas,” Mark said aloud.
“But your arrogance has forced my hand by underestimating my power!”
Did the Coopers have a hidden card yet to play?
“Dwayne Mosby owes me a favor!”
As the name echoed in the banquet hall, most faces darkened in horror.
The mention of Dwayne Mosby struck fear in their hearts.
He was the underworld Don of Sapphire City and the entire Petra county.
Dwayne killed without remorse and wiped out families over a whim.
He had an army of martial artists and gunmen at his disposal, which he used to humble the most powerful men in the county.
Whenever Dwayne traveled, it was like a Presidential parade.
“You’re going too far, Mark!” Silas called out nervously.
“He’ll kill us all!”
Mark cackled aloud, relishing the moment.
“I already contacted him some time back!
Tyler is doomed!
That will teach you to underestimate the Cooper family!”
Both factions stood in stalemate for a few minutes.
Most guards on either side were already disheartened and sweating profusely, knowing that Dwayne Mosby would appear.
Suddenly, the earth shook as if a herd of bulls had arrived.
Mark looked out the window and smirked nervously.
An army of one thousand men surrounded the Marian Hotel.
Within the next few minutes, loud footsteps sounded, and a few hundred men carrying guns and machetes poured into the banquet hall, surrounding all those present.
Silas and Mark’s guards dropped their weapons and backed off to the walls.
Suddenly, the infiltrators went silent, and footsteps echoed down the main entrance.
A bald, middle-aged man in a crisp white suit walked in.
As his spine-chilling gaze scanned both factions, everyone gulped nervously and lowered their eyes.
Dwayne Mosby found Mark Cooper and directed a question to him.
“You better not be wasting my time.
I’ll ask only once.
Who do you want to kill?”
Mark pointed a trembling finger at the defiant figure of Tyler.
“That man!
I want him dead!”