Chapter 1

The year I graduated, Melanie Vance drugged me.

I was set up, ended up with a stranger, and got pregnant.

My boyfriend, Ethan Carter, fought his entire family to marry me anyway.

He treated my daughter, Lily, as his own.

He even promised to hand his company over to her in the future.

But today, on our wedding day, he held the diamond ring in his hand and grasped my fingers, yet refused to slide it on.

"To be honest, Chloe, I don't really want to marry you. You disgust me."

"If I weren't worried about Melanie going to jail, and the fact that she's dedicated to staying single forever, I would never have chosen you."

"As long as you promise not to cause trouble for her in the future, I'll make sure you're taken care of. You'll be Mrs. Carter forever."

I looked past his shoulder.

Melanie was standing not far away, a smug, triumphant smile playing on her lips.

Slowly, I pulled my hand back from his grip.

"I'm sorry, but I've changed my mind."

"This wedding is off."

0Ethan didn't move. The gentle, affectionate smile was still plastered on his face, showing no signs of anger.

He just stood there, quietly watching me, his fingers still frozen in the posture of holding the ring.

To the guests, it looked like I was just getting cold feet.

And he, the perfect groom, was simply being patient with my childish tantrum.

He spoke softly, his tone smooth and calm.

There wasn't a hint of malice in his voice.

"Chloe, stop playing around."

"You're a used woman with a kid. Who else would want you if not me?"

Standing nearby, Melanie took a few steps forward. She tried to hide the sheer joy in her eyes as she chimed in, pretending to smooth things over.

"Ethan, don't blame Chloe. She's probably just too nervous."

"After all, what happened back then was a huge trauma. It's only normal that she has scars."

The "incident" she referred to was the trap she had personally orchestrated the night of our graduation.

She was the one who drugged my drink, ruined my innocence, and stripped away my future.

Because of that night, I lost my job offer at a top firm and was pushed into a corner, pregnant and alone.

It was only today that I realized Ethan had known the truth all along.

To protect Melanie from going to prison, he had suppressed all the evidence and hushed up the entire scandal.

And because Melanie insisted on remaining unmarried, he settled for the next best thing—marrying me to keep me quiet.

But what they didn't know was that even though that night was a blur of chaos...

I remembered that man's face perfectly.

Ethan might not want me, but my daughter's biological father was out there.

Still, Ethan and I had truly loved each other once.

We grew up together, giving each other our hearts. We were the couple everyone thought would last forever.

After my scandal, when everyone abandoned and despised me, he was the only one who stood up and insisted on marrying me.

He protected my reputation, showered my daughter with love, and even promised her his estate.

I believed him.

I thought his acceptance was love.

Ethan maintained his gentle, accommodating posture.

He looked at me with endless patience.

"Be good, Chloe. Come back and finish the ceremony."

"What I promised you will always stand. You will be my wife, and Lily will be the only child I cherish."

I looked up, my voice dead calm.

"Didn't you hear me? The wedding is off."

The warmth on Ethan's face finally flickered out.

The tenderness in his eyes faded, replaced by a cold, dark abyss.

In the next second, the giant projector screen above the ballroom—which was supposed to play our wedding slideshow—suddenly flashed.

Instantly, the room was flooded with blinding white light.

What appeared on the screen was not a sweet video of us.

It was surveillance footage from three years ago. It showed me, drugged, helpless, and semi-conscious, stumbling and collapsing in a hotel hallway.

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