"Don't wait any longer. He's not coming."

Sophie Shaw was standing in the pouring rain when a black umbrella suddenly appeared over her head.

Hearing the voice, she turned to see Alaric Blackwood standing behind her, holding the umbrella.

"Damian Morgan is getting married."

A thunderclap went off in Sophie Shaw's head, as if she'd been struck by lightning.

"What did you say?"

'Damian's getting married?'

'With whom?'

'But we were supposed to elope tonight!'

She had been waiting for hours. She couldn't reach Damian Morgan's phone and was worried he'd been in an accident or delayed by an emergency.

"Did you ever consider me, your fiancé, before running off with another man?"

Alaric Blackwood's strong-featured face was tinged with anger. "I'll deal with you later. The reporters are almost here. Come with me."

He grabbed her wrist and forced her into a black Maybach.

She was tossed into the passenger seat, chilled to the bone and shivering uncontrollably.

The man single-handedly lifted her soaking-wet suitcase and tossed it into the trunk.

The entire motion was crisp and efficient.

She was surprised to see Alaric Blackwood under these circumstances.

They were hardly close. Before she died, her mother had been best friends with Alaric Blackwood's mother, and they had arranged a childhood engagement for their children. But her mother had passed away from an illness just a few years after she was born.

Over the years, the relationship between the two families had grown distant, and they had little contact.

She started dating Damian Morgan in college and never imagined that after all these years, with her mother gone, the childhood engagement would still be considered valid.

A few days ago, the Blackwoods had come to formally propose the marriage. The absurd part was, the wedding was decided without her consent.

Alaric Blackwood had a reckless, devil-may-care reputation. Rumor had it he was quite the player.

She didn't want to marry such a playboy. To be with the man she loved, she and Damian Morgan had planned to leave tonight.

They had agreed to meet at six. It was now two in the morning.

BUZZ BUZZ—

The phone in her pocket vibrated.

It was a text from Damian Morgan: [Sophie, don't wait for me. I'll explain tomorrow.]

'Finally.'

After an agonizing eight-hour wait, all she got was this one cold, perfunctory line?

They had promised to leave together. She had gathered all her courage, ready to leave everything behind...

'Has he changed his mind? Does he not want to go with me anymore?'

'And what did Alaric Blackwood mean when he said Damian was getting married?'

A strong sense of unease washed over Sophie Shaw, and her heart felt as if a piece had been carved out of it.

She called Damian Morgan's number back, but no one answered.

"The news of you eloping with Damian Morgan has been leaked."

Alaric Blackwood got back in the car, his first words hitting her like a ton of bricks.

"The good news is, I got here before the media, so you weren't photographed looking pathetic for the headlines."

The man lit a cigarette, took a hard drag, and tried his best to suppress his anger. "The bad news is, the news of Damian Morgan's marriage is true. The bride-to-be is my childhood friend, the eldest daughter of the Kane Family."

'Vianne Kane?'

'Her stepsister!'

Sophie Shaw's mind was in a turmoil. A film of moisture quickly veiled her wide, almond-shaped eyes. "You're lying, right? Damian would never abandon me to marry someone else."

'And of all people, he's marrying *her*? The one who's always antagonizing me, who's so difficult and peculiar.'

"Sophie Shaw, this isn't like you."

"..."

'As if he knows me so well.'

'We've only been forced to meet a few times.'

"Given our relationship, I'll give you two options."

Alaric Blackwood cracked the window open and flicked his half-smoked cigarette out. "Marry me, and you'll get the title of Mrs. Blackwood and everything you could possibly want..."

"I don't want to."

Sophie Shaw didn't even give him a chance to finish, cutting him off coldly. "I don't want to marry you."

The light in Alaric Blackwood's eyes dimmed instantly. His deep, alluring eyes narrowed slightly; he hadn't expected Sophie Shaw's rejection to come so quickly.

His face burned as if he'd just been slapped.

"Then get out of the car."

His tone was non-negotiable. As he spoke, he glanced at his watch. "The reporters will be here in two minutes, tops."

Sophie Shaw didn't move.

"Not getting out?"

"No."

It was pouring outside, it was the middle of the night, and she was at a station far from the city. She wouldn't be able to get a cab.

Getting out meant not only continuing to get soaked in the rain, but also being photographed by reporters.

"Please, just take me somewhere I can get a cab."

As if to deliberately spite her, Alaric Blackwood didn't start the car.

Seeing her shivering from the cold, he took off his jacket, tossed it to her, and turned on the car's heater.

A van from a media agency pulled up outside the station. Reporters in raincoats, armed with long-lens cameras, jumped out and started milling around.

"Where is she?"

"Weren't we told she was waiting at this station?"

...

'So there really are reporters!'

Sophie Shaw frowned. "Who leaked the information?"

"Look it up yourself."

Sophie Shaw picked up her phone, opened the news app, and found Vianne Kane's official announcement at the top of the trending list.

The headline was explosive: *Famous Actress Vianne Kane Announces Marriage; Fiancé Allegedly Plotted to Elope with Mistress Tonight?*

She tapped on it and saw a grid of nine photos. Vianne Kane, smiling sweetly in a haute couture gown, was arm-in-arm with Damian Morgan. He was in a suit, looking like a perfect pair with Vianne Kane at a high-end restaurant.

The post was made six hours ago, and the number of comments was still skyrocketing.

A tightness gripped Sophie Shaw's chest. She forced a bitter smile.

'While I was waiting anxiously, worried sick that something had happened to him, he was enjoying a candlelight dinner with another woman?'

'We'd been dating for three years. How did I become the other woman overnight?'

'Damian said he would explain. Well, I'd certainly like to hear just what kind of explanation he has!'

"So if you don't marry me, what's your plan?"

Alaric Blackwood returned to their previous topic. "Planning to become gossip fodder for everyone?"

"You don't have a choice, do you?"

"Marry me, and at the very least, you'll have more money than you can spend. Refuse me..."

"And I'll break your legs."

Sophie Shaw's eyes went wide. Alaric Blackwood's words startled her so much that her tears stopped in their tracks.

The man's thin, sensual lips curled up slightly. Her wide-eyed stare amused him, and most of his anger dissipated.

Only then did she belatedly realize he had been joking.

"You have three days to think about it."

Alaric Blackwood started the car.

The station, shrouded in misty rain, and the reporters running around like headless chickens, quickly receded into the background.

The car didn't stop until it entered the city, continuing all the way to a private villa.

"Where are we?"

Alaric Blackwood drove into the courtyard, parked, and shut off the engine. "My place."

"Mr. Blackwood, I've already rejected you very clearly. It's not appropriate for you to bring me to your home."

"I wouldn't advise you to go back to the Kane Family tonight."

"Why not?"

"Damian Morgan went home with Vianne Kane and hasn't left yet. It's obvious he's already moved in as their son-in-law."

Sophie Shaw felt as if she'd been hit over the head with a club.

The Kane residence... a place she had lived for nearly ten years.

Her father, Joseph Shaw, had remarried and become the Kane Family's live-in son-in-law.

...

Back when her mother was alive, she and Joseph Shaw had founded a logistics company that partnered with several e-commerce platforms.

Her mother passed away when she was eight. Joseph Shaw was devastated and lost all interest in managing the company. Their finances gradually went downhill, and within two years, the company declared bankruptcy.

Later, Joseph Shaw was looking for a job and ended up at the Kane Family's company, where he caught the eye of Vianne Kane's mother, Bianca Kane. They dated for about two years and got married when Sophie was thirteen.

Although it was a second marriage for both of them, he was, after all, a live-in son-in-law who came with a child in tow. After the wedding, Joseph Shaw lived cautiously, doing everything he could to please Bianca Kane. He and his daughter had no status whatsoever in the Kane Family.

'It's bad enough that my dad is a live-in son-in-law... but why is my boyfriend following in his footsteps to become one for the Kane Family too?'

Sophie Shaw took a few deep breaths, a pang of anguish piercing her heart.

She unbuckled her seatbelt, got out of the car, grabbed her luggage from the trunk, and turned to walk toward the gate.

Alaric Blackwood stared at her pitiful, retreating figure, then opened an umbrella and got out of the car. He couldn't help but call out, "Wait a second."

Sophie Shaw stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Mr. Blackwood, don't try to stop me. I'm not staying here."

"My jacket."

"..."

She wiped her face with her hand, pulled off the soaking-wet men's jacket, and strode toward the man holding the umbrella. "Thanks. Here you go."

"It's pouring. You're planning to walk back in this?"

"I'll get a cab."

"What cab are you going to get at two-thirty in the morning?"

"You don't need to concern yourself, Mr. Blackwood."

She hadn't even made it out of the yard, still getting drenched by the rain, when a large, warm hand suddenly grabbed her wrist. Alaric Blackwood had caught up to her. His fingers tightened around her slender wrist, pulling her under his umbrella.

"Go inside and take a hot shower first, or you'll get sick."

"I won't try anything. You can take the guest room."

"If you're still worried, then you stay here and I'll leave."

Sophie Shaw stared at the man in surprise. 'Why is he so insistent about this?'

'He seems so roguish, but I didn't expect him to be such a gentleman.'

'Most importantly, they barely even know each other!'

Suddenly, she remembered what he'd said: "The news about Damian Morgan's wedding is true. He's marrying my childhood sweetheart."

'Does he have feelings for Vianne Kane?'

"You..."

Not wanting to hear another word of refusal from her, Alaric Blackwood dragged her up the steps and forcefully pulled her into the house.

Sophie Shaw couldn't help but frown, feeling as if her wrist was about to be crushed by his grip.

'He's not just rough, he's incredibly strong... like an ox.'

She pulled her wrist back, rubbing the reddened skin, her eyes wary.

The man closed the umbrella, took a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet in the entryway, and tossed them at her feet. Then he changed his own shoes and strode into the living room.

She hesitated for a moment before putting on the slippers.

Seeing her standing timidly in the entryway, Alaric Blackwood walked over, grabbed her wrist again, and led her to a guest room with an en-suite bathroom. He then grabbed a clean bathrobe and tossed it to her.

"The guest room has everything you need, and the laundry room is at the end of the hall. Feel free to wash and dry your wet clothes."

Having said his piece, the man turned and left without another word.

Sophie Shaw peeked her head out of the room and saw that Alaric Blackwood hadn't left, but had gone upstairs instead.

She stared at the white bathrobe in her hands, listening to the low rumble of thunder and the sound of the pouring rain outside. Her heart felt empty and a little bitter.

'Though I hate to admit it, Alaric Blackwood is right.'

'If I go back to the Kane family looking this pathetic, I'll be a laughingstock. And if Alaric Blackwood is right and Damian Morgan has moved in as their son-in-law, then what does that make me?'

'What did our three years together even mean?'

She'd met Damian Morgan during her sophomore year of college; he was the one who pursued her. After graduation, he interned at a company for a few months, then decided to start his own business. He'd claimed his parents sold everything they owned to support him. She heard him complain about his struggles time and again, so she gave him all her prize money from college competitions, along with her entire life savings.

That included her savings—a full three million.

She didn't look for another job, instead going straight to work at Damian Morgan's company to help him. To this day, he had never once paid her a salary.

Knowing his family was struggling and that the startup phase was difficult, she never once complained.

'I gave so much. I was even willing to abandon everything to elope with him...'

'And what did I get in return?'

'He's marrying someone else!'

Sophie's nose stung, and tears streamed down her face.

"Bastard!"

"You'd better give me a reasonable explanation!"

She muttered to herself, wiped away her tears, and took the bathrobe into the bathroom for a long, hot shower.

There were new toiletries and a hairdryer in the bathroom cabinet.

She quickly washed up and dried her hair. Then, she took her wet clothes to the laundry room, putting them through a wash and then a drying cycle. By the time she was finished, it was already five in the morning.

Outside, the thunder and rain had both quieted down.

She carried the dried clothes back to the guest room and lay down on the bed, her mind a total mess. Sleep was impossible.

She lay wide awake until dawn, when her phone suddenly buzzed.

It was a message from Damian Morgan: [Where are you? Let's meet.]

Sophie Shaw didn't know where she was either.

She checked her location—Maplewood Estate, a well-known upscale residential area in Kingsport, named for its large maple forest. The people who lived here were either rich or powerful.

She sent her location to Damian Morgan, who replied instantly: [I'm on my way to pick you up. I'll be there in about twenty minutes.]

Putting down her phone, Sophie Shaw lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, spacing out for a full ten minutes. Then she got up, changed back into her own clothes, and quietly tiptoed out of the room.

The rain had stopped. The bluestone path in the courtyard looked brand new, washed clean by the downpour. She pulled her suitcase along the path out of the courtyard. Once outside, she had to rely on her memory from the night before to navigate toward the exit of the residential area.

Alaric Blackwood stood on the second-floor balcony, his expression unreadable, quietly watching her retreating figure.

His phone rang.

The caller ID read—Mrs. Ford.

He brought the phone to his ear and answered, "Mrs. Ford, calling so early?"

It was just six-thirty.

The old woman's kind voice came through the receiver, "Why are you calling me Mrs. Ford? Aren't you two about to get married? Call me Grandma."

"Grandma."

A faint smile touched Alaric Blackwood's lips. Not wanting to listen to the old woman's nagging, he obediently changed how he addressed her.

That one word, "Grandma," made the old woman laugh out loud with delight. "Alaric, when are you going to bring Sophie to have a meal with me?"

"That depends on the situation."

"How hard can it be to have one meal?"

"Grandma, be a little patient."

Sophie Shaw was Mrs. Ford's biological granddaughter.

The Blackwood and Ford families were old family friends. His mother and Sophie's mother, Mina Ford, were as close as sisters. Back then, Mina Ford had a falling out with her family in order to be with the dirt-poor Joseph Shaw.

After Mina Ford passed away, the Ford Family failed to win custody of Sophie Shaw. Joseph Shaw then applied for a court order to prohibit them from seeing Sophie again.

"My dear Alaric, I want to see my granddaughter."

"Grandma, just wait a few more days. I promise you'll get to see her."

"Then be honest with your grandma. When is your and Sophie's wedding?"

Alaric Blackwood hesitated for a few seconds, then chose not to hide it and told the truth. "Strictly speaking, it's not set yet. She actually rejected me just last night."

"But, don't worry, Grandma. There's still a chance to turn things around."

Mrs. Ford's mood was like a rollercoaster, going up and down. "Alaric, how confident are you about the marriage?"

"One hundred percent."

"Are you sure?"

"Grandma, I never fight a battle I'm not sure I can win."

...

When Sophie Shaw arrived at the main gate of the private villa community, she saw a lavish Rolls-Royce parked on the side of the road.

Damian Morgan stood beside the car in a suit, tall and imposing. Decked out in designer brands from head to toe, he looked completely transformed, like a wealthy young scion.

'She remembered Damian Morgan used to drive a second-hand Volkswagen. Had he upgraded to a luxury car this quickly after becoming the Kane family's live-in son-in-law?'

"What are you doing here? This is the most exclusive residential area in all of Kingsport!"

Damian Morgan walked over, took the luggage from her hands, and placed it in the trunk of the Rolls-Royce. He didn't ask if she'd been caught in the rain last night or how late she had waited. Instead, the first thing he cared about was why she was in such an affluent neighborhood.

"I stayed the night at a friend's house," she answered dismissively.

Damian Morgan pulled open the passenger door and gestured for her to get in, then asked casually, "Which friend of yours lives in a place this lavish? How come I've never heard of them?"

"You don't know them."

She got into the car and pulled the seatbelt across her body, buckling it.

Sensing her bad mood, Damian Morgan dropped the small talk. He quickly walked around to the driver's side, got in, and started the car.

After driving a short distance, he pulled over to the side of the road.

Damian Morgan turned to look at Sophie Shaw. Her eyes were bloodshot and her complexion was poor; she clearly hadn't rested well. "Sophie," he asked coolly, "did you see the trending topics?"

"I saw them."

"Let's break up."

Sophie Shaw stared at him in disbelief. "I thought you were going to explain."

"I've decided to marry Vianne. You know my company has never really taken off. No matter how brilliant the design projects are, they're useless without investment. I came from nothing, and it's too hard to get ahead on your own, so..."

"So you decided to marry an heiress and move into her family's home?"

The man's brow furrowed. "Don't make it sound so ugly. There are many shortcuts to success, and this is just one of them. Besides, you deceived me quite thoroughly."

"How did I deceive you?"

"You're not an heiress at all—Vianne Kane is. Your dad married into the Kane Family, so you're just wearing the mask of an heiress."

He had met Sophie Shaw for the first time three years ago.

She was getting into a stretch Lincoln at the school gate, a chauffeur in a suit and white gloves respectfully holding the door for her.

Back then, she exuded the allure of money, like a walking cash machine.

He began to pursue her ardently, catering to her every whim just to win her over. It wasn't until six months ago, when Sophie Shaw took him home to meet her family, that he realized he'd been 'deceived'.

From that day on, he shifted his sights and locked his attention onto Vianne Kane.

"You did deceive me. There's no point in denying it."

The warmth was gone from his eyes, replaced only by contempt for her.

A dull ache spread through Sophie Shaw's chest.

She never imagined that after an entire night of torment, *this* would be the 'explanation' she received.

And now, Damian Morgan was turning the tables, trying to sling mud at her.

'She had never claimed to be an heiress. In fact, she was always very low-key. It was all his own assumption.'

"So this is the kind of person you are? Damian Morgan, you disgust me."

"Me? What about you? Putting on the airs of a pampered heiress. I almost fell for it."

"You're the one who deceived me."

Three years!

'She had given him everything, and all she got in return was his deception and baseless accusations.'

Sophie Shaw's heart shattered.

Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

She quickly wiped the tears away with the back of her hand and looked at Damian Morgan, her eyes red. "You want to break up? Fine. I want Heart of the Ocean."

Damian Morgan froze. "Sophie Shaw, don't be greedy. I founded Heart of the Ocean."

"Could you have afforded to start a company without my help?"

"It was only three million..."

"Now that you've latched onto a better prospect, three million is suddenly not enough for you? Without that three million, do you really think you could have started the company? I put in the money and the effort, poured all my energy into the company and into you, and this is how you treat me?"

Damian Morgan looked a bit guilty. "We ran the company together, after all. You can't make such an outrageous demand."

"And why not? I provided the start-up capital. I'm a shareholder and the legal representative. Heart of the Ocean should have been mine from the start, shouldn't it?"

"Impossible, Sophie Shaw. I poured my heart and soul into this company too. I'm the boss, the majority shareholder."

"Majority shareholder? You have the nerve to say that?"

'Her share should have been seventy percent, making her the majority shareholder. But she had given the three million directly to Damian Morgan back then.'

'Damian had handled all the paperwork for incorporating the company, and in the end, her stake was only thirty percent. He held forty percent, and the remaining thirty was registered under his parents' names.'

'His parents had scraped together some money for him, so it made sense for them to have shares. But the shares Damian himself held? He had carved those right out of her portion, getting them for free.'

Damian Morgan knew what she was about to say and smirked. "Sophie Shaw, you gave me the money willingly. Just accept your loss."

"I won't. I want Heart of the Ocean. That's my condition for the breakup."

It was compensation for the three years of her life that he had stolen through deception.

"I'll consider your condition. You haven't been home all night. You should go back first. Your dad is worried about you."

Damian Morgan started the car again, no longer paying attention to Sophie Shaw in the passenger seat. He didn't see her turn her head away to secretly wipe her tears.

The car pulled up to the Kane residence.

Sophie Shaw immediately got out, pulling her suitcase through the front door.

Joseph Shaw was the first to greet her, stopping her in the foyer. He asked anxiously, "Where were you last night? You didn't answer your phone or reply to my texts."

"I stayed the night at a friend's."

"Why did Vianne tell me you were planning to elope with Damian Morgan?"

As he spoke, Joseph Shaw glanced at the suitcase in her hand. "The internet is in an uproar. Were you really planning to run away with him?"

"That's not true."

"Then why do you have a suitcase?"

"Dad, can you please stop asking? I'm exhausted and sleepy. I need to get some rest."

'Her nerves had been stretched taut all night, and she was at her breaking point. All she wanted now was to close her eyes and rest.'

Seeing her terrible complexion, Joseph Shaw knew better than to bring up the elopement again.

She changed into a pair of slippers, grabbed the handle of her suitcase, and was about to head inside when Damian Morgan walked in behind her.

"Mr. Shaw, good morning."

Joseph Shaw ignored him and followed Sophie Shaw upstairs, all the way to her bedroom door.

"Sophie, you and Damian Morgan..."

"We're about to break up."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's nothing."

"Did you see the news online?"

"Mm-hmm."

"What's so good about a schemer like Damian Morgan anyway? I support you breaking up with him. As it happens, the Blackwood family called. They're hoping our two families can have a formal meeting to discuss the specifics of your marriage to Alaric Blackwood."

Sophie Shaw froze for a moment.

This time, she didn't feel the same resistance she had when she first heard the Blackwoods were proposing marriage.

'She thought about how Alaric Blackwood had spirited her away from the station last night before the reporters could find her, saving her from the media frenzy that would have labeled her a homewrecker who had tried to elope. And she also remembered... how much he seemed to care for Vianne Kane, his childhood friend...'