Chapter 2

Alfred Pruitt agreed without hesitation.

"Then I'll take the one with the ruby."

I clenched my fingers.

"Alfred, I'm picking out our wedding rings."

He raised his hand and gently smoothed back a strand of Mavis's hair.

"Mavis said she wanted to look at rings, so I came."

His tone was flat.

"If Mavis likes it, of course we'll pick the one she likes. Let her wear it for a while, and I'll give it back to you on the wedding day."

"And another thing—I don't care what things were like before. Right now you're only my fiancée, and you have no right to tell me what to say or do."

I stared straight into his eyes and couldn't stop myself from speaking.

"Alfred, you said you hated mistresses more than anything, that in this life you'd only ever love me. What exactly are you doing right now?"

His eyes flickered for a moment, then went calm again.

"I don't remember."

Mavis's eyes suddenly reddened, her voice full of hurt.

"Alfred, is she calling me a mistress? I know I come from a low background, that Miss Swanson looks down on me. But I have my dignity too..."

Alfred immediately pulled her into his arms and soothed her.

"How could my darling Mavis be a mistress? Don't cry, you're not pretty when you cry."

"Besides this ring, pick out anything else you want, and I'll buy it all for you."

The saleswoman's gaze went back and forth, and when it landed on me it was full of pity and quiet dismay.

My voice was calm, and I gave a mocking smile.

"Well, since the choosing's done, I'll be going."

The moment I turned around, a hand seized my wrist.

"Wait. You haven't apologized to Mavis yet."

I whipped my head back around, staring at Alfred in disbelief.

"Apologize? Why on earth should I apologize to her?"

"Alfred, I'm the one who's supposed to marry you. You're carrying on with her now—if she isn't a mistress, then what is she? What did I say that was wrong?"

Before I finished, a slap came flying at me.

Crack—

I staggered a step, my cheek burning like fire.

Alfred lowered his hand, his expression icy.

"Vanessa Swanson, know your place. The engagement is nothing but the thing that ties you and me together."

"Next time you provoke Mavis, it won't be as simple as one slap."

Rage surged up in me. I wanted to shout at him that I wasn't going through with this marriage!

But before I could open my mouth, my phone suddenly rang.

"Miss Swanson, your mother's blood pressure spiked all of a sudden and she passed out. We've just finished stabilizing her—you need to come right away!"

My head buzzed. I turned and ran.

By the time I reached the hospital, my mother was leaning back against the bed, her face pale.

When she saw me, she complained to the nurse beside her.

"Calling Vanessa at this hour of the night—what a lot of trouble for nothing..."

I rushed over and grabbed her hand.

"Mom, are you all right?"

She waved a hand.

"It's my old trouble. It won't kill me."

Tears in my eyes, I leaned into her arms.

"Mom, you have to be okay."

She raised her hand and gently stroked my hair.

"Silly girl, Mom's just fine. The hospital just makes a fuss over everything. I'm really okay. You just focus on getting ready for your wedding."

I stayed with her at the hospital all night and didn't head back until the early hours of the morning.

When I pushed open the front gate of the villa, the whole house was blazing with lights.

I froze for a moment, thinking I'd walked into the wrong place.

In the living room, Mavis sat on the sofa, ordering the servants around.

"Hurry, hurry! Throw all these lilies out—just looking at them is bad luck!"

"Achoo—"

My lilies, the ones I'd been growing for two years, were being carried out one pot at a time.

And the antique vases I'd collected for years lay shattered all over the floor.