Chapter 3
Jane Winters POV
When I woke up, Sebastian Grant was no longer in bed.
The sound of a spatula clanging came from the kitchen.
"Darling, get up and eat." Sebastian Grant carried the dishes out.
On the table were heart-shaped egg toast with strawberry jam, all things I liked.
I didn't hurry out. My eyes were still a little swollen.
I pressed cold water over them for ten minutes, then applied a layer of concealer.
Only after confirming nothing looked off did I open the door and go out.
Sebastian Grant pulled out a chair for me to sit down and pushed the soup in front of me.
"After breakfast, let's go to the office together. We have an appointment at the bridal boutique today to try on your wedding dress."
He said it with a smile, his tone full of anticipation.
That wedding dress was designed by Sebastian Grant himself.
He had found a workshop in France to sew it entirely by hand over three months. It was worth eight figures.
Sebastian Grant had said he wanted to give me the best wedding dress in the world.
To put on this show, he really had spent a fortune.
I drank a mouthful of milk and swallowed it down.
"Actually, it doesn't need to be so troublesome."
Sebastian Grant ruffled my hair.
"It's not troublesome. To marry you, any amount of trouble is worth it."
I lowered my head and ate without speaking again.
My phone suddenly rang.
I recognized that ringtone.
It was Melissa Stone's exclusive ringtone.
Sebastian Grant glanced at the caller ID, then got up and walked to the balcony.
"I'll take this call."
He slid the balcony door shut behind him.
The glass cut off his conversation.
But I could see him leaning against the railing, head lowered as he smiled.
I looked away and continued eating.
The egg was fried perfectly.
But when I chewed it, it had no taste at all.
Sebastian Grant hung up the phone and hurriedly pushed the door open to come in.
“Sweetheart, you go to the company first. I have something urgent to take care of.”
He grabbed the car keys from the table, lowered his head, and kissed my forehead.
Before I could answer, he was already out the door.
The door shut behind him, and the draft blew a napkin off the dining table.
Anything involving Melissa Stone was always urgent.
Clients could be ignored. Meetings could be canceled.
One call from Melissa Stone, and he would come running whenever called.
I set down my spoon.
I pulled up the immigration agency I had saved last night and called them.
“Hello, I want to immigrate. The sooner, the better.”
“Of course, ma’am. Please submit your documents as soon as possible. The fastest we can complete everything is one week.”
One week. Exactly the day of the wedding.
After hanging up, I photographed each document the agency requested and sent them over.
More than half the breakfast on the table was still untouched.
I picked up the plate and dumped all the food into the trash.
Sebastian Grant’s cooking really was good. Too bad I no longer wanted to eat it.
I took a cab to the company myself.
Ever since I got together with Sebastian Grant, he had asked me to work at his company.
He said it was so he could see me every moment of every day.
Only now did I understand.
Seeing me every moment of every day was so he could keep this chess piece under his nose and prevent it from going out of control.
When I arrived at the office, I shut the door and turned on the computer.
For the past five years, I had worked diligently, and I knew Sebastian Grant’s company’s finances inside and out.
I spent two hours organizing a detailed statement of accounts.
Just as I finished, my phone rang. It was Sebastian Grant.
“Sweetheart, go straight to the bridal boutique later. I won’t come pick you up.”
“You’re not coming to the company?” I asked. “Didn’t you have an important client to meet this morning?”
The other end of the line paused.
“I still have something to take care of.”
I knew what it was.
No matter how important the client was, how could they compare to Melissa Stone?
“Okay.” I hung up, picked up my bag, and left.
The bridal boutique was in the downtown commercial district. The storefront was small, but it was top-tier in the industry.
I didn’t go in. I simply stood at the glass door.
Inside, the lighting was soft and expensive. Beneath the crystal chandelier, Melissa Stone stood in front of the fitting mirror.
She was wearing my wedding dress.
The handmade lace hugged her waist, and the train dragged across the floor. The gown fit her like it was custom-made just for her.
Melissa Stone turned, the hem sweeping over the floor like a white flower in full bloom.
The staff member beside her had an indescribable look on her face. She stood in the corner, eyes dodging, and no one dared to speak.
I saw Sebastian Grant standing behind Melissa Stone, both hands in his pants pockets, his expression relaxed.
Melissa Stone tilted her head at the mirror, then looked back at him.
“Sebastian, do I look better than Jane Winters in this wedding dress?”
Sebastian Grant smiled indulgently.
“Our Melissa looks good in anything.”
Chapter 4
Jane Winters POV
I pushed the door open and walked in.
The wind chime tinkled sharply as I pushed the door open.
Sebastian Grant turned his head. The moment he saw me, the smile on his face froze.
He quickly pulled his hands out of his pockets and strode over in a few steps, taking my hand.
“Sweetheart, you got here so fast?”
He stepped between Melissa Stone and me, a hint of urgency in his voice. “Melissa is just acting like a child. She’s never worn a wedding dress before. She saw that yours was pretty and wanted to try it on. Sweetheart, don’t mind her.”
He looked back at Melissa Stone, his tone changing.
“Stop messing around. Go change out of it.”
It was completely different from the tone he had used when he said, “Melissa looks good in anything.”
Melissa Stone pouted, lifted the skirt, and reluctantly walked toward the fitting room.
“So petty. It’s just a wedding dress. It’s not like I care.”
I stood where I was and quietly watched the scene unfold.
In the past, I would have gotten angry. I would have fought with Sebastian Grant and said Melissa Stone had no sense of boundaries.
Sebastian Grant would then helplessly coax me, saying I was narrow-minded, that Melissa Stone was still young and immature, and that she meant no harm.
The old me really was too stupid.
I believed whatever Sebastian Grant said.
“I don’t mind. It’s just a piece of clothing.”
Sebastian Grant froze.
He clearly hadn’t expected me to be so calm.
In the past, whenever something involved Melissa Stone, every thorn on my body would stand on end.
He probed, “Sweetheart, you’re not angry?”
“Why would I be angry?”
I looked at him. “Didn’t you say she’s like your sister? Since she’s your sister, if she wants to try it on, let her.”
In any case, I wouldn’t be wearing that wedding dress. It had nothing to do with me.
A flicker of surprise crossed Sebastian Grant’s face.
But he didn’t think too much of it. Instead, he looked relieved.
“Sweetheart, I’m glad you can think that way. You’re my wife, and from now on, Melissa will be your sister too.”
Sister.
I wondered what kind of sister he meant.
“Sebastian—”
Melissa Stone’s voice came from the fitting room, dragging out the last syllable.
“The dress is stuck. Come help me.”
Sebastian Grant glanced back at me, then turned and ran toward the fitting room.
The staff member stood to the side, her expression complicated.
She looked at me sympathetically, poured a glass of warm water, and brought it over.
“Why don’t you sit over there and wait for a bit?”
My expression remained normal. I took the water and sat down in a chair in the resting area.
The two of them didn’t come out for a long time.
I had no choice but to take out my phone and scroll.
The first post was a photo Melissa Stone had posted of herself trying on the wedding dress.
Melissa Stone was wearing that wedding dress, standing in front of the mirror.
Sebastian Grant was right beside her, his gaze falling on her with deep affection.
The caption read:
[The wedding dress Sebastian and I designed together. Of course I had to be the first to wear it.]
Sebastian Grant had told me this wedding dress was designed for me and tailored to my measurements.
So it was another lie.
It had been designed for Melissa Stone. The measurements were Melissa Stone’s too.
No wonder it fit so perfectly.
The comments below were exactly as expected.
Joe Harris:
[Melissa looks insane in a wedding dress! Way prettier than Jane Winters!]
Daniel Carter:
[Sebastian’s taste has always been on point.]
I exited the post hard and locked my screen.
Melissa Stone, why are you in such a hurry?
This wedding dress will be yours sooner or later.
Sebastian Grant will be yours too.
No one is fighting you for him.
I sat in the resting area and finished three glasses of water.
The fitting room door finally opened.
Sebastian Grant came out first. Melissa Stone followed behind him, changed back into her own clothes, but her expression was deeply satisfied.
Sebastian Grant quickly walked up to me, his face full of tenderness.
“Sweetheart, come try on the wedding dress.”
I got up and walked over.
Just as I reached the fitting platform, there was a dull sound from above.
I instinctively looked up.
The enormous crystal chandelier had come loose from the ceiling and was crashing straight down.
“Melissa!”
Sebastian Grant’s reaction was shockingly fast.
He wrapped an arm around Melissa Stone’s waist and threw them both to the side. The two of them rolled into a safe area.
All I had time to do was raise my arm to protect my head and face.
The crystal chandelier smashed into my shoulder, shards flying everywhere.
Agonizing pain exploded from my shoulder blade and spread through my entire arm.
Warm blood flowed down along my collarbone.
I was knocked to the floor.
The staff’s screams sounded as if they were coming from underwater.
Sebastian Grant crouched three meters away, holding Melissa Stone’s face in both hands and checking her up and down.
“Did it hit you? Does it hurt? Let me see.”
His brows were tightly furrowed, his eyes full of heartache.
Melissa Stone curled up in his arms, sobbing softly.
Not even a strand of her hair had been hurt.
Sebastian Grant’s gaze stayed on Melissa Stone the entire time.
He did not think of me at all.
Before I fainted, I saw Sebastian Grant holding Melissa Stone tightly in his arms, gently wiping the tears from her face with the back of his hand.
Chapter 5
Jane Winters POV
When I woke again, I was in the hospital.
Sebastian Grant was sitting in the chair beside the bed.
One hand was holding mine, while the other propped up his forehead, as if he had just woken from a very light sleep.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked haggard and exhausted.
“Sweetheart, you’re finally awake.”
He leaned toward me with a worried face and reached out to touch my forehead.
The anxious look on his face didn’t seem fake.
I pulled my hand free, looked away, and stared at the ceiling.
Sebastian Grant’s hand froze in midair, then withdrew.
“The situation was urgent at the time. Melissa was closer to me. I didn’t think.”
He paused, his voice hoarse. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
I didn’t look at him. “How bad are my injuries?”
Sebastian Grant quickly answered, “You needed a few stitches, but the bone wasn’t injured. The doctor said you can be discharged in two days.”
He raised his hand and smoothed the hair scattered across my pillow.
“It won’t affect our wedding. The boutique has also taken the wedding dress to be repaired. In a week, sweetheart, you’ll still be my most beautiful bride.”
I had been hit so badly I needed stitches, and his first reaction was that it wouldn’t affect the wedding.
What he cared about had never been me as a person. It was whether that performance could go on smoothly.
I tugged at the corner of my mouth. “That’s good.”
Since it wouldn’t affect the wedding, then naturally it wouldn’t affect the gift I had prepared for them, either. Nor would it affect my leaving.
It really was good.
For the next few days, Sebastian Grant stayed at the hospital without leaving my side.
Feeding me water and meals, changing my bandages, wiping me down—he did everything himself.
During the day, he had his assistant bring documents to the ward and reviewed them right beside my hospital bed.
At night, after I fell asleep, he still got up to tuck in my blanket.
With my eyes closed, I listened to his light footsteps as he walked over, and I found it absurd.
I was already asleep. Who was he putting on the act for?
On the day I was discharged, Sebastian Grant personally came to pick me up.
But the car did not head in the direction of home.
“Sweetheart, to celebrate your recovery, I arranged a surprise for you. Everyone is already waiting.”
The car stopped in front of the private club.
I looked at that familiar entrance and said nothing, following him inside.
When he pushed open the private room door, all of Sebastian Grant’s buddies were there.
Joe Harris was the first to stand, smiling broadly. “Jane Winters, congrats on getting discharged!”
Daniel Carter also came over with a glass of wine. “Jane Winters, you’ve suffered. We’ll celebrate properly tonight.”
Every single one of them was smiling like they meant it. They were the same group of people who had treated me like a joke in the private room that day.
Melissa Stone was there too.
She sat in the corner. When she saw me come in, she glanced at me lightly, the corners of her mouth curving slightly.
Sebastian Grant pulled me down to sit and personally poured me a glass of juice.
“Sweetheart, you just got discharged, so you can’t drink. Have juice today.”
I didn’t think much of it. I took it and began drinking.
The dinner was lively, with glasses clinking all around.
Halfway through the meal, I got up to go to the restroom.
As I walked down the hallway, my head began to feel heavy.
My vision was a little blurry, and my legs were going weak.
I leaned against the wall for a while, cold sweat breaking out on my forehead.
Something was wrong.
A hand suddenly covered my mouth.
Someone dragged me from behind into the private room next door.
The private room door was locked from the inside.
A greasy middle-aged man shoved me onto the sofa, letting out a disgusting laugh.
“Pretty little thing, you’re mine now.”
I retreated in terror, but the man lunged at me like a starving wolf.
I struggled desperately, but my whole body was weak, and I had no strength in my arms.
Not to mention, the other party was a grown man.
The difference in strength was too great.
The man tore my clothes apart.
“Get away! Don’t touch me!”
“Pretty little thing, someone gave you to me. Just accept it.”
A wave of nausea hit me. My stomach churned violently, and I almost threw up.
“Help! Is anyone there? Help me!”
I shouted in despair until my voice turned hoarse.
“Sebastian Grant!”
But no one answered.
The man’s hand clamped around my neck.
My vision began to blur, and all that remained in my ears was his vicious laughter and panting.
I remembered that stormy night five years ago and closed my eyes in despair.
How had I forgotten? Last time, Sebastian Grant had been the one who arranged those thugs in the first place, then personally came to play the hero and save the damsel in distress.
How could he possibly come save me?
And this time, who had arranged it?
I closed my eyes in despair.
The private room door was kicked open.
Sebastian Grant rushed in like an asura from hell, his eyes full of violence.
He grabbed the greasy man by the collar, yanked him off me, and threw him onto the floor.
His fist slammed into that greasy face.
The man screamed twice and collapsed to the ground.
But Sebastian Grant did not stop. His fists rained down on the man.
His knuckles were covered in blood. I couldn’t tell whether it was his or the man’s.
Not until that man had completely passed out and gone still.
Joe Harris and Daniel Carter rushed to the doorway. They were stunned by the scene before them, and neither dared to step forward and pull him away.
I curled up in the corner of the sofa, trembling all over.
My vision went dark, and I lost consciousness.
Chapter 6
Jane Winters POV
When I woke again, I found myself lying in the bed at home.
Sebastian Grant was not in the room.
From the living room came the sound of him on a phone call. Through the door, I couldn’t hear what he was saying.
I opened the computer. Sebastian Grant’s Instagram was still logged in.
I clicked into that group chat and scrolled to their conversations from the past two days.
Two days ago, which was the day I was hit by the crystal chandelier at the bridal boutique.
Sebastian Grant:
[Melissa, you went too far. If the crystal chandelier had hit Jane Winters’s face, the wedding wouldn’t be able to happen.]
Melissa Stone:
[Who told her to take my wedding dress? I just taught her a lesson!]
Sebastian Grant:
[She’s only wearing it temporarily. It’ll be yours sooner or later.]
During the two days I was hospitalized, Joe Harris called for him in the group several times:
[Sebastian, come out for a drink? Stop guarding her. No need to bother with her anymore, right?]
Daniel Carter also joined in the teasing:
[Sebastian, you’re way too dedicated. You don’t have to go this hard for an act, do you?]
Sebastian Grant did not reply to any of it.
Melissa Stone couldn’t sit still anymore and questioned him directly:
[Are you actually in love with Jane Winters?]
Joe Harris reminded him:
[Yeah, Sebastian. She liked Adrian Cole for seven years. She was Adrian Cole’s simp.]
Daniel Carter echoed:
[Who knows what she and Adrian Cole have done together? Sebastian, don’t lose your head.]
Someone else said:
[Sebastian, we’ve spent so many years preparing this plan. There are only a few days left. We can’t fail at the last step.]
After a long time, Sebastian Grant replied with two words:
[I won’t.]
Melissa Stone refused to let it go:
[Then call Jane Winters to the private club and drug her yourself. I’ll get someone to sleep with her. Then I’ll believe you!]
So that was it.
The crystal chandelier had been premeditated by Melissa Stone.
The so-called celebration of my recovery had all been a cover.
Sebastian Grant and the others had planned to hurt me!
There had been something in the glass of juice Sebastian Grant handed me, and he had put it there with his own hands.
That greasy man had been found by Melissa Stone.
Sebastian Grant knew the whole time and cooperated with it.
A new message popped up. It was a voice message Melissa Stone had just sent.
Melissa Stone was crying so hard she could barely breathe:
[Sebastian, why did you save her? Did you really fall for her? Do you not love me anymore?]
After a while, Sebastian Grant replied:
[Melissa, don’t overthink it. If something happened to her this time, what would we do if the wedding couldn’t go on? Once the wedding is over, you can play with her however you want, okay?]
I let out a miserable laugh. The fury in my heart was beyond words.
I forced myself to stand, walked into the walk-in closet, and began packing my things.
Over the past five years, Sebastian Grant had given me countless things.
Limited edition bags, full sets of jewelry, the latest top-tier haute couture clothes.
Once, all of these had been proof that he loved me.
Now, I tossed these priceless things into cardboard boxes like I was throwing away garbage.
Sebastian Grant heard the noise and pushed the door open.
“Sweetheart, you just woke up. What are you busy with?”
He looked at the closet that was already more than half empty, his handsome brows drawing together.
The empty room seemed to make him uncomfortable.
“When we move into the marital home in a few days, we’ll have to bring all these things over anyway. I might as well pack early.”
I didn’t lift my head. I answered in a normal tone while continuing to put things into the boxes.
Sebastian Grant’s brows relaxed, and a smile appeared in his eyes.
He was very satisfied with my answer, thinking I was preparing for their future married life.
“Don’t wear yourself out.”
He walked over and pulled me up. “I’ll have someone clean all this up. You just woke up, so rest properly and focus on being my bride.”
I nodded.
Perfect. I really didn’t want to touch any of it anyway.
Sebastian Grant gave the servants a few instructions, changed into another jacket, and left.
He was probably going to coax his little childhood sweetheart.
The servants worked quickly. In less than an hour, they had packed everything into boxes.
I called a secondhand luxury goods buyer.
It was rare for them to run into such a major client, so they brought an appraiser straight to the door.
Wearing gloves, the appraiser examined each item one by one, shaking his head as he looked. “These are all brand-new. Some styles are even sold out at the boutiques. Are you sure you want to sell them all?”
“All of them. Cash payment.”
In less than two hours, all the boxes were loaded into the buyer’s truck.
My phone received a text notification from the bank confirming the deposit.
The number was long enough to keep me fed and clothed for the rest of my life.
I deleted the message, opened a ticket-booking app, and booked a flight for the day of the wedding.